In celebration of the locale and majority Hispanic population, the band decided to include a plethora of traditional Mexican elements.
British band Gorillaz hosted their first Demon Dayz Festival in the United States this weekend, and they chose as their venue Pico Rivera Sports Arena.
That’s not even in the major metropolitan area of downtown Los Angeles. Nowhere near the popular festival site Exposition Park. The band didn’t even go with another major, probably better known city like New York. They chose Pico Rivera.
And, most likely in celebration of the locale — Pico Rivera sits right next to East LA and Whittier, those cities having a majority Hispanic population — the band decided to include a plethora of traditional Mexican elements.
There were four major themes that stood out:
During the afternoon the group Mariachi Alma y Corazón walked along the perimeter of the arena performing Gorillaz songs in the traditional Mexican folk style. During one performance of the 2001 hit “Clint Eastwood,” a fan jumped in to rap Del the Funky Homosapien’s bit.
Walking into the festival, it was hard not to miss the numerous nods to Día de los Muertos. You just had to look up to see strings upon strings of papel picado, a colorful collection of pieces of paper that usually feature floral and skull designs. At the festival, some had the traditional skull, while others had the phrase “Demon Dayz” etched into them.
There was also a hard-to-miss Gorillaz sculpture that transformed each animated member of the band, Noodle, Murdoc Niccals, 2-D and Russel Hobbs, into a dancing skeleton mariachi musician. The art piece made for a popular photo opp.
There was also a Demon Dayz Dome that featured DJs throughout the festival. The tent was shaped like a calavera, a colorfully painted sugar skull usually displayed during Día de los Muertos. Not only did the tent itself resemble the holiday, but inside there was a face painting station where you could get done up in skull makeup.
In between bands on the main stage, a popular Mexican form of wrestling took place on a ring located pretty much in the middle of festival grounds. Big, burly men dressed up in colorful masks body-slammed each other, threw beer on the crowd and put on a show for anyone interested. A few minutes into a fight, a decent-sized audience would form and cheer their favorite fighters on.
At any music festival these days in the food vendor section, it’s common to see anything from burgers and Greek gyros to vegan ramen and green tea boba. However, at this festival, Mexican food shined. It was abundant, located at every corner, and filled the festival grounds with rich smells. Taco booths, a papusa truck, tortas, they had it all. Even the alcoholic drinks stayed true to Mexico. Almost every cocktail menu featured Corona, tequila, michelada and palomas.
Most of these elements came back before the Gorillaz started their headlining-set. The giant Día de los Muertos sculpture served as the band’s entrance. With a spotlight shining on them, the skeletons floated through the audience and were led by Mariachi Alma y Corazón and the lucha libre wrestlers.
For a group based out of the United Kingdom, and for the most part inspired by Japanese art, it was almost surprising to see all of the Mexican elements that Gorillaz decided to include in the festival. However, the details not only pulled the whole event together, they also made for a fun, beautiful and familiar experience.
