Gorillaz captivate !1st century music fans in Boston's .

Gorillaz is a band truly indicative of the 21st century. An amalgation of musical styles, roots, and elements fused into one cohesive whole, the band appeals to many different types of people of many different styles and backgrounds. The band`s performance in Agganis Arena in Boston last night let that fact shine.

I give to say, the bulk of people who asked me around the concert were concerned that I would be watching some animated cartoons all night.

Well, yes and no. There was indeed a band, and what a grouping of musicians it was. After N*E*R*D`s slightly dissapointing perforamce (in my opinion, a better lot in studio than live), a grouping of some eight orchestral musicians and a four-person choir emerged onto the blue-lit stage underneath a bold title of `GORILLAZ` under a large projector screen. The crew was tempered to high-definition cartoons and videos on this hefty screen before, in between, and during the real music. The beloved cartoon characters that hold up `Gorillaz` were introduced on the test as the actual band mounted the stage, along with numerable guests such as De La Soul, Mick Jones, and Bobby Womack. Contrary to popular belief, the present is mostly focused on the real band members and their musicianship- which is quite riveting, though their talent often tended to have second-place to the overall image- powerful stage lights, loud beats, and the captivating videos. While some songs seemed to come short for no real apparent reason (perhaps too much awaited hype for the big hits that came later in the set) crowd favorites such as "Clint Eastwood" and "DARE" included- many others gained new life performed live, such as new single "Rhinestone Eyes." Though the show seemed to be a bit all over the place, I couldn`t complain about its power to catch every scene that the set is known for: its diverse group members from all different places, ages, and musical styles, its wide assortment of call types (electronic dance, hip-hop, duet ballads, among others), and man, it was loud- and still sounded good. I couldn`t help but reflect how good this band encompassed today`s musical variety and aspirations: The band`s combination of graphics, traditional and electronic sounds, dark lyrics and calculated bursts of melodies all encompass an unprecedented diverse and complicated audience for pop music in the 21st century. The lyrics in most songs are ironic or critical, yet hopeful, the moods behind them danceable yet dark, and the images projected on the screen above the set were simultaneously grotesque, yet cryptically beautiful. A convoluted, ethically and musically diverse group of musicians (a grouping of traditional Arabian musicians were even brought on tour to perform) performing morally and intellectually complex music, in a high-definition, technicalized format is so much more than just showing of a lot of cartoons on a shield to fun music.