# Escape to Plastic Beach Tour

The Escape to Plastic Beach Tour was a concert tour by the British alternative rock virtual band Gorillaz in support of their third studio album Plastic Beach. During the tour, Damon Albarn recorded The Fall, described by Albarn as a "diary of [his] experience" throughout its American leg. The album was released in late December 2010 to fan club members, and physically in April 2011.

## Live band

* Damon Albarn – lead vocals, keyboards, piano, acoustic guitar, melodica
* Paul Simonon – bass guitar, background vocals
* Mick Jones – rhythm guitar, background vocals
* Jeff Wootton – lead guitar (Certain dates)
* Simon Tong – lead guitar (replaced Jeff Wootton on certain dates)
* Cass Browne – drums, drum machine
* Mike Smith – keyboards
* Gabriel "Manuals" Wallace – drums, percussion
* Jesse Hackett – keyboards
* Wendi Rose - Choir direction and backing vocals

### Guest collaborators and additional musicians

* Bashy – rap on "Clint Eastwood" and "White Flag"
* Kano – rap on "Clint Eastwood" and "White Flag"
* Mos Def – rap on "Stylo" and "Sweepstakes" (select dates only)
* Lou Reed – guitar and vocals on "Some Kind of Nature" (New York City and Los Angeles only)
* Bobby Womack – vocals on "Stylo", "Cloud of Unknowing" and "Demon Days"
* Neneh Cherry – vocals on "Kids with Guns" (select dates only)
* Bootie Brown – rap on "Dirty Harry" and "Stylo"
* MF Doom – rap on "Clint Eastwood" and "November Has Come" (select dates only)
* Miho Hatori – vocals on "19-2000" (select dates only)
* Yukimi Nagano – vocals on "Empire Ants" and "To Binge" (select dates only)
* De La Soul – rap on "Feel Good Inc." and "Superfast Jellyfish"
* Daley – vocals on "Doncamatic" (select dates only)
* Mark E. Smith – vocals on "Glitter Freeze" (select dates only)
* Roses Gabor – vocals on "19-2000" and "Dare"
* Members of Syrian National Orchestra for Arabic Music – orchestration on "White Flag"
* The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble – brass on "Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach", "Broken", "Sweepstakes" and "Plastic Beach"
* Demon Strings – strings

## Opening acts

* We Are Wolves (Montreal)
* N.E.R.D. (North America)
* Little Dragon, De La Soul (Europe, Asia & Oceania)

## Production

The Escape to Plastic Beach Tour also featured new music videos and visuals on the big screen in the background while band members played up front. Visuals accompanied such songs as "Broken", "Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach", "Dirty Harry", "Empire Ants", "Last Living Souls", "White Flag" and many others alongside the original music videos for the group's previous songs.
The poster used to promote the tour was highly influenced by the theatrical poster for the 1969 Sam Peckinpah western, The Wild Bunch.
The tour was later noted by Albarn to be an extremely costly endeavor; in a 2013 interview with Rolling Stone, Albarn explained: "I made about 20 pounds by the end of it, so I won't be going on another of those. It was incredible fun, I loved doing it, but economically it was an absolute fucking disaster."

## Setlist

The following setlist is obtained from the concert held at the Bell Centre in Montreal, on 3 October 2010. It is not a representation of all shows on the tour.
* "Gorillaz in Dressing Room Part 1" (visual intro)
* "Orchestral Intro"
* "Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach" (with The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble)
* "19-2000" (with Roses Gabor)
* "Last Living Souls"
* "O Green World"
* "Stylo" (with Bobby Womack & Bootie Brown)
* "On Melancholy Hill"
* "Rhinestone Eyes"
* "Superfast Jellyfish" (with De La Soul)
* "Tomorrow Comes Today"
* "Kids with Guns"
* "Empire Ants" (with Little Dragon)
* "Gorillaz in Dressing Room Part 2" (visual interlude)
* "Dirty Harry" (with Bootie Brown)
* "El Mañana"
* "White Flag" (with Kano & Bashy)
* "To Binge" (with Little Dragon)
* "Dare" (with Roses Gabor)
* "Glitter Freeze"
* "Plastic Beach"

### Encore

* "Cyborg Noodle" (visual interlude) / "Cloud of Unknowing" (with Bobby Womack)
* "Feel Good Inc." (with De La Soul)
* "Clint Eastwood" (with Kano & Bashy)
* "Don't Get Lost in Heaven"
* "Demon Days"
* "Gorillaz in Dressing Room Part 3" (visual outro)

## Tour dates

| Date | City | Country | Venue |
| North America ||||
| 3 October 2010 | Montreal | Canada | Bell Centre |
| 6 October 2010 | Boston | United States | Agganis Arena |
| 8 October 2010 | New York City | United States | Madison Square Garden |
| 10 October 2010 | Camden | United States | Susquehanna Bank Center |
| 11 October 2010 | Fairfax | United States | Patriot Center |
| 13 October 2010 | Detroit | United States | Fox Theatre |
| 14 October 2010 | Toronto | Canada | Air Canada Centre |
| 16 October 2010 | Chicago | United States | UIC Pavilion |
| 17 October 2010 | Minneapolis | United States | Target Center |
| 19 October 2010 | Houston | United States | Toyota Center |
| 20 October 2010 | Grand Prairie | United States | Verizon Theatre |
| 22 October 2010 | Austin | United States | Frank Erwin Center |
| 24 October 2010 | Denver | United States | Wells Fargo Theatre |
| 26 October 2010 | Phoenix | United States | Comerica Theatre |
| 27 October 2010 | Los Angeles | United States | Gibson Amphitheatre |
| 28 October 2010 | San Diego | United States | Viejas Arena |
| 30 October 2010 | Oakland | United States | Oracle Arena |
| 2 November 2010 | Seattle | United States | KeyArena |
| 3 November 2010 | Vancouver | Canada | Rogers Arena |
| Europe ||||
| 11 November 2010 | Dublin | Ireland | The O$_2$ |
| 12 November 2010 | Manchester | England | Manchester Evening News Arena |
| 14 November 2010 | London | England | The O$_2$ Arena |
| 15 November 2010 | Amsterdam | Netherlands | Heineken Music Hall |
| 16 November 2010 | London | England | The O$_2$ Arena |
| 17 November 2010 | Birmingham | England | National Indoor Arena |
| 18 November 2010 | Brighton | England | Brighton Centre |
| 21 November 2010 | Berlin | Germany | Velodrom |
| 22 November 2010 | Paris | France | Zénith de Paris |
| 23 November 2010 | Paris | France | Zénith de Paris |
| 25 November 2010 | Antwerp | Belgium | Lotto Arena |
| Asia ||||
| 3 December 2010 | Chek Lap Kok | Hong Kong | AsiaWorld–Arena |
| Oceania ||||
| 6 December 2010 | Perth | Australia | Burswood Dome |
| 8 December 2010 | Adelaide | Australia | Adelaide Entertainment Centre |
| 11 December 2010 | Melbourne | Australia | Rod Laver Arena |
| 16 December 2010 | Sydney | Australia | Sydney Entertainment Centre |
| 19 December 2010 | Brisbane | Australia | Brisbane Entertainment Centre |
| 21 December 2010 | Auckland | New Zealand | Vector Arena |

### Cancelled shows

List of cancelled concerts, showing date, city, country, and venue :
| Date | City | Country | Venue |
| 8 September 2010 | Glasgow | Scotland | Glasgow SECC Arena |
| 11 September 2010 | Newcastle | England | Metro Radio Arena |
| 5 October 2010 | Hartford | United States | Toyota Oakdale Theatre |
| 19 November 2010 | Milan | Italy | Mediolanum Forum |
* ↑ The concert in Dublin on 11 November 2010 was originally scheduled to take place on 22 September 2010 but it was rescheduled.
* ↑ The concert in Manchester on 12 November 2010 was originally scheduled to take place on 12 September 2010 but it was rescheduled.
* ↑ The concert in London on 14 November 2010 was originally scheduled to take place on 14 September 2010 but it was rescheduled.
* ↑ The concert in London on 16 November 2010 was originally scheduled to take place on 15 September 2010 but it was rescheduled.
* ↑ The concert in Birmingham on 17 November 2010 was originally scheduled to take place on 10 September 2010 but it was rescheduled.
* ↑ The concert in Berlin on 21 November 2010 was originally scheduled to take place on 17 September 2010 but it was rescheduled.
* ↑ The concert in Paris on 23 November 2010 was originally scheduled to take place on 14 September 2010 but it was rescheduled.

### Box office score data

| Venue | City | Tickets sold / available | Gross revenue |
| Lotto Arena | Antwerp | 7,322 / 7,328 (99%) | $516,657 |
| Sydney Entertainment Centre | Sydney | 9,677 / 11,651 (83%) | $950,425 |
| Brisbane Entertainment Centre | Brisbane | 5,907 / 6,380 (92%) | $687,449 |