“I’m sorry it took us 10 years to get here,”  Gorillaz frontman Damon Albarn exclaimed to the crowd. And I can’t really blame him. 10 years might as well be a generation in this “gotta have it now” iPod society.

But after experiencing The Gorillaz in full this week, I have to say that a tour this complex is most certainly worth a decade.

As for the main event, it was a spectacle. Not only did you have soul legend Bobby Womack, in addition to legendary rappers Mos Def and De La Soul in the audience, but there were up and comers like Bashy and Kano, the glorious Yukimi Nagano, a horn section, and even traditional Arab musicians. It was clear that no expense was spared to bring the Gorillaz experience to places which we could only dream of seeing it….like the middle of Fairfax, Virginiaperhaps?

After all that, the 10 year wait dosen’t seem so long.

Photo by Gravity 508 (@gravity508). Please support.

Before we get to the main event, however, we have to talk about N.E.R.D. Pharell’s side project was a perfect opening to the Plastic Beach spectacular, and although his punctuality (they started at 7:30 PM on the dot) meant that he played in front of a virtually empty full Patiroit Center, he brought it like he was playing Glastonbury–no ounce of energy was wasted to bring in a good show.

Truthfully, Pharrell does not need to do this. He’s a multimillionaire. He can live off of his production alone. But it’s clear that he prefers the grueling touring schedule because of his “love of real music.” Even though the final product sometimes comes off hokey, he’s passionate about N.E.R.D., even in front of an audience who is still trying to figure the project out.

Photo by Gravity 508 (@gravity508). Please support.

It’s always hard to tour in support of a new album, and other than crowd favorites like “Rockstar,” “Hot ‘N Fun,” and “She Wants to Move,” the set was rather dour as the amazing band tore through the new material of their latest project  Nothing. Having that said, the new material however, sounds great and from the surface, introspective then most N.E.R.D. albums. Pharrell seems to have traded trade his trademark hypeness  for emo jams.

But to the main event.

Damon Albarn is a genius, and I’m further convinced that his name should be thrown around when anyone even mentions Thom Yorke. The Gorillaz are more than an imaginary band. They are a collective thought of music, blending together UK indie rock sensibilities honed in the early 90s with electronic, hip-hop and world sounds. With each album, the project takes legendary artists into a new musical relem and introduces the world to new ones. The Gorillaz are not just a band, but quite simply, a musical powerhouse.

Realizing that there has not been a proper Gorillaz tour in The States in….let’s say ever, Damon was keen enough to throw in tracks from their debut albums. “Clint Eastwood,” and “19-2000″ were crowd pleasures, while tracks like “Tomorrow Comes Today,” was a pleasant surprise. The group also pulled from their second album, Demon Days, with songs like “Dirty Harry,” and “Feel Good, Inc.”

But the greatest part of the tour came from the guests of Plastic Beach. What could’ve turned out to be a logistical nightmare became a key element to the performance. Mos Def and Bobby Womack on Stylo. De La Soul on “Superfast Jellyfish.” UK Rappers Bashy and Kano on “White Flag.” And the wonderful Yukimi Nagano on “Empire Ants,” and “To Binge.” All brought their own flavor to Damon Albarn’s world, backed by a multiple piece band who re-created the album seamlessly.

Sure, this tour might have been a little bit too ambitious–the smallish Patriot Center was not even 3/4ths full, and high end tickets were well over $100. But it’s this same ambition that brought us one of the best bands (virtual or not) of this decade. Real talk.

Mavado vs N.E.R.D. – Money Changer (Cam Jus Blend)

You know I am stickler for Mashups, and this blend by DJ Cam Jus is freakin’ sick. Cam splices Jamaican dancehall artist Mavado‘s “Money Changer,” over N.E.R.D’s “Spaz” and it’s so seamless that its scary. People are sleeping on both Mavado and Cam Jus, will will both become forces to be reckoned with in their own right this year.

Cam has a new party tomorrow night at Evolve in Adams Morgan for you DC people. You should do yourself a favor and check it out.

This year, instead of just having me yap on about my Best of lists, I reached out to several of our readers to give their Top 5 of the best releases of the year. I’ll be profiling a new reader each day until the end of the 2008. Today’s reader is my homeboy Diego from NYC. Check him out at hustlecrow.com.

Name: Diego
Location: NYC
Website: http://www.hustlecrow.com

Here are my top 5 albums/songs of the year. (No particular order)
1. N.E.R.D. – Seeing Sounds
2. Beautiful Day/remix, By U-N-I
3. Kanye West – 808′s and Heartbreak
4. Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago
5. Madonna – Hard Candy

Honorable Mention
1. Dream world, By Robin Thicke
2. Trading Places, By Usher
3. Santogold – Santogold
4. Lil Bit Remix, by Lykke Li and Drake
5. Coldplay – Viva La Vida

Even though Pharrell and company put out a very dope album when they released Seeing Sounds earlier this year I was not expecting this video to drop. In fact, this vid just became a dark horse for video of the year in my opinion. N.E.R.D.’s treatment of the recent financial crisis is one of the few topical music videos that actually succeeds in its premise.

The only thing I don’t like about it is the fact that they cut out the best part of the song!! The almost 2 minute long guitar solo at the end of this track pretty much pwns any rock song I’ve heard in the past 5 years. It also served as the motivation to get back into guitar.

I was never a huge fan of this song. It felt too disjointed and peiced together for me (it was), even though it has some nice Pharrell production. The video, however, is pretty dope, even if it is an extended commercial for Converse. And for the record, I don’t mind Converse and other corporate entities investing in music (TAG Records comes to mind), especially if they can bring new and exciting music to the mix faster than record labels.

That N.E.R.D. album is amazing. Buy it tomorrow. More pictures at the Flickr Photostream and DC’s newest music blog, All Our Noise.

This dude GETS IT POPPIN PEOPLE!!!

CHECK THE PICTURES FROM THE COMMONWEALTH DC N.E.R.D LISTENING PARTY and be mad you missed it, especially if you are a female and like skinned negroes!

N.E.R.D. – You Know What

Res – You Know What

Who Rock’d it Better? © Concrete Loop

So if you don’t know, the N.E.R.D. album drops on June 10th, and I’m thoroughly enjoying it. Go out and buy this album because it’s damn amazing, even if Pharrell annoys me sometimes.

Anyway, I was going to post another track (“Love Bomb”) to wet your appetite (and get you ready for the Listening Party), but I stumbled upon this little tidbit about Res recording the original of their song “You Know What.”  This was not supposed to be a Res song apparently–its simply a reference track for Pharrell in the studio.

Y’all know how much we love Res here so we give her as much shine as possible, and I wish Res could drop this track on an album. (via Soul Bounce, 2 Dope Boyz)

Preorder Seeing Sounds at Amazon.com

N.E.R.D. Seeing Sounds Album Listening Party TONIGHT

N.E.R.D. – Everybody’s Nose (Remix)

I actually spent most of the day avoiding this track because I figured it would be another half-assed remix that has a bunch of artists tacked on the end for more radio play. But this is actually a proper remix, and marks the return of C.R.S., the “supergroup” of Pharrell, Lupe and Kanye, that may or may not put out an album in the near future. Pusha T, who I file under “Southern rappers that are 5 times better than Lil’Wayne” kills this one too.

N.E.R.D. – Spazz

New track from their “Seeing Sounds” LP due this summer.

 N.E.R.D. Complete SXSW Set (ZShare, Zip)

From what I hear, N.E.R.D. killed it at South By Southwest this year. But for all of us who weren’t able to make their Texas set, here is a decent (not great) quality rip of their entire set (via OKP).

N.E.R.D is currently on a promotional tour across the Midwest and South right now before they join Kanye for his Glow In The Dark Tour. So far, the concert reviews have been positive. Here are the remaining dates.

TourDates

March 22 – Richmond, VA, The National
March 24 – Louisville, KY, Coyotes
March 25 – Ashville, NC, The Orange Peel
March 25 – Knoxville, TN, The Vallarium
March 28 – Jacksonville, FL, Free Bird Cafe