Gorillaz Make Triumphant Return to Southern California With Lou Reed

About halfway through Gorillaz multimedia extravaganza at L.A.'s Gibson Ampitheatre on Wednesday night, frontman Damon Albarn reminisced about closing out Coachella 2010. By all accounts a smashing success, Albarn admitted the show left a lasting imprint on the group. "Coachella gave us a sense of positivity about coming to America," he said, causing the crowd -- many of which were probably in attendance at the festival -- to erupt.

Of course, between now and then, Gorillaz have had plenty of other memorable moments. They became the first "western pop band" to play a show in Damascus, Syria, a fact which Albarn used to introduce a group of Arab musicians that joined them on the tour. He then took a page out of Bono's playbook and gave a giant white flag to a fan, encouraging him to run around the audience with it.

Gorillaz have also found time to record a new single, the electronic-heavy 'Doncomatic (All Played Out),' with Daley. The up-and-coming British singer joined the band onstage to perform the track, giving it a rougher hew than the finely polished studio version and making the crowd dance like crazy.

Still, probably no one danced more than Albarn, who couldn't take the Cheshire Cat grin off his face all night, prompting him to joke, "If I look like I'm enjoying myself, I'm not. Hating every minute of it. It's fun being in this band."

And it's just as fun being in the audience as well. Not only is the band, which features the Clash's Mick Jones and Paul Simonon, incredibly talented, they can also draw guests like Lou Reed, Bobby Womack and De la Soul, creating a rare experience for everyone in attendance. In the space of the encore, they can go from Womack's gorgeous 'On the Cloud of Unknowing' to the riotous party anthem 'Feel Good Inc.,' showing a versatility that makes them completely worthy of their festival headliner status.