The Blur Thread

[James.]

OK here is my 'review' of the concert. This was my first ever proper indoor concert so I apologise if I come across as a bit of a rookie Also, it was a few days ago so the experience isn't so fresh in my mind And sorry, no pics. I foolishly only brought my iPod Touch whose camera is shockingly bad.
Warning: LONG-WINDED REVIEW INBOUND! Only read if you really have nothing better to do

Before the show:

Spoiler

Until about 4 o'clock on Monday it was no certainty that I would actually be able to go to this concert. Having been away for about a week, I had missed the tickets being delivered so I had to go to the sorting office to collect them. Following an unbearable wait of what seemed like ages, the tickets were finally in my hand. However, things soon turned for the worse. According to the terms and conditions which came with the tickets, the ticket holder must provide proof of ID and the name must match the name on the credit card. Shit. I had used my mother's credit card to buy the tickets. After an excruciatingly long phone call to the Eventim helpline, during which time I missed 2 trains, everything finally seemed sorted out. I was told to present my passport as well as my mother's credit card to some official representative when I got to the venue.
With that crisis averted, I could finally get on the train to Wolverhampton, via Wellington to pick up my date. Other than having to sit behind an extremely foul-mouthed young mother, the journey was fairly uneventful and we shortly arrived in Wolverhampton.
Seeing as I'm a bit of a gig rookie, I had no idea how early we should arrive at the concert. We turned up at the Civic Hall at 6:30, with 30 minutes to go until the doors opened. There were already large queues forming, but my date needed the toilet and also insisted on going to the nearby KFC. As a gentleman, I was unable to say no to a lady, so off we went. After wandering about for ages looking for toilets (which turned out to be closed) we popped into KFC (where the service was unbearably slow) before arriving back at the Civic Hall with minutes to spare. We were let into the venue despite my previous fears, and by some stroke of luck we met two friends of mine from college who had secured places quite near the stage on Graham's side. (oh yes, and it turned out there were toilets and food inside the venue )

The show itself:

Spoiler

Finally, we get to the actual concert! The support act (The Bots, anyone heard of them?) were nothing special. Just a guitarist and a drummer with a huge afro who looked about 14. They pretty much sounded like they were just playing random riffs and jams for about half an hour. Got to applaud them though, for playing to an audience who were there for one band and one band alone: Blur.
At 9 o'clock the house lights went down and the atmosphere was unbelievable. Knowing that we were just a few seconds from being in the same room as four of the greatest musicians of the past 20 years (sorry Radiohead) was one of the strangest feelings of my life. Suddenly without warning we could see them walking down the spiral staircase next to the stage... and there they were! Before I could even recover from the feeling of actually seeing them before my own eyes, they launched right into the first song, the unmistakeable Girls & Boys! Not one of my personal favourites, but it worked perfectly to get the crowd going. Barely had Girls & Boys come to a crashing end, when the first notes of the next song started. I could hardly believe my ears - London Loves! Just a few days previously I had wondered to myself if they would bring out any of the old Parklife album tracks that they hadn't played in years, but I never expected it to actually happen. You wouldn't think it was a song that no-one had heard live for 18 years - the audience were deafening, and it seemed everyone knew every word. And that's pretty much how it was for the rest of the show - fan favourites such as Tracy Jacks, Jubilee and Trimm Trabb were greeted with as much enthusiasm as any of the hits. The main set went continued without surprises (Beetlebum's ending was incredible as always, the fans went wild for Graham singing on C&TV, Out of Time was once again the only song from Think Tank to make an appearance) until a couple more new additions: Young & Lovely and Caramel. These weren't a complete surprise as I knew they had been played at Maida Vale a few days ago, but they were sublime nonetheless. One of the highlights of the concert was the fantastic Trimm Trabb. As Dave started to drum the intro and Damon ad-libbed into the microphone, I heard one guy behind me say "Oh, this is the intro to Song 2!" As the song reached its climax I couldn't help bellowing out the "AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH" at the same time as Damon.
Following this were 3 hits spanning 3 albums: Sunday Sunday, Country House and Parklife. Before Parklife, Damon said something about Phil Daniels being unable to make it so he wanted us to sing it instead I think he fucked up the second verse but you could hardly tell over the deafening audience singing along. At this point I couldn't imagine how it could get any better, until Damon and Alex exchanged a look and Alex started up a familiar bassline... it took me a few seconds to realise what song it was, but even when Graham started to play the riff I wasn't sure if I was dreaming or not. It was only when Damon started to sing "Colin Zeal knows the value of mass appeal..." that it dawned on me. Colin Zeal is one of my all-time favourite Blur songs, and I had never imagined that I would one day hear it live. I think I may have been the most excited person there at that point, and I couldn't help feeling a bit self conscious as I went crazy to Graham's solo Then came the first of the new songs: "This is a new one, it's called The Puritan" was followed by huge cheers which soon turned to laughter as Dave prematurely started drumming while Damon was still taking a swig of water: "You're not supposed to start until I'm ready!!! "
Following this, there came a trio of 'loud' songs with Popscene, Advert and Song 2, the latter of which got the audience pretty much bouncing off the walls (not unlike the music video ) and I ended up separated from my friends . The lights went down and I wondered if this was the end of the main set before I realised that Damon was still standing there with a guitar, with the rest of the band taking a back seat. I was extremely surprised to hear No Distance Left to Run, as I had read somewhere he didn't like playing it because it made him too sad Certainly it was extremely moving and emotional to hear it played live for what must have been the first time in 12 years. Next was another song from the same album, the wonderful Tender, accompanied by a huge singalong by the audience. The monster of a set was brought to a perfect close by the inevitable This is a Low. It’s hard to imagine a Blur setlist that doesn’t have this incredible song closing off the main set or an encore, and this time the boys didn’t disappoint.
The encore break came as a welcome breather, as my throat was beginning to ache from singing along so much. As always, there were chants of “Oh my baby…” and “We want Blur!” from the crowd, and it wasn’t long before the band came back for a few more songs. Damon took a seat behind the piano, and I was certain they were about to play Under the Westway. But to my surprise, Damon started to play the piano chords of Sing! I seem to remember that at the Maida Vale gig he played the first couple of notes of Sing before switching to UtW, but this time they played the whole thing! I would have sung along but my poor tired throat was unable to keep up with the “Aaaaaah”s in the chorus. Instead I just stood there in awe as they played this beautiful song. After that they really did play Under the Westway, which was as great as I expected and the audience sang along as if it were an old classic. I was expecting that final booming piano note to be the end of the encore, but Damon continued to play and the crowd were cheering so loudly it took me a while to realise that he was playing Intermission another of my personal favourites! This was a new arrangement which didn’t quite reach the ridiculously fast climax of the album version, but it was still epic.
After this trio of piano songs, Damon came to the front and I was puzzled as I couldn’t think what songs they hadn’t played yet Someone next to me seemed certain that they were going to finish with Charmless Man ( #3) Well, our questions were answered with Graham playing the first 13 notes of End of a Century. Damon stood there and grinned at us for a few moments (at this point I heard someone drunkenly singing: “Ants in the carpet… dirty little monsters” unaware that the song hadn’t started yet ) before launching into the classic song. Another classic followed: For Tomorrow, the wonderful brass section’s finest moment, and another rousing singalong. Finally, Damon uttered those tragic words “We’re going to play one more song and then leave you…” but what more perfect way to end than with The Universal. Somehow I had managed to find my way back to my friends, and we finished the night with an emotional singalong. Although the band had been on for a good 2 hours, and played an impressive 27 song setlist, it was hard to “just let them go” but just like that it was over. Damon thanked us and said we had been brilliant, and before we knew it the band were off the stage and the house lights were back on But it had been a perfect end to a perfect night.

The amazing setlist:

Spoiler

Girls & Boys
London Loves
Tracky Jacks
Jubilee
Beetlebum
Coffee & TV
Out of Time
Young & Lovely
Trimm Trabb
Caramel
Sunday Sunday
Country House
Parklife
Colin Zeal
The Puritan
Popscene
Advert
Song 2
No Distance Left to Run
Tender
This is a Low

Sing
Under the Westway
Intermission
End of a Century
For Tomorrow
The Universal

I ended up writing a lot more that I originally intended hence the multiple spoilers.

__________________
Keeper of:

Spoiler

Murder - "What could it possibly gain?"
White Shadows - "Part of a system, a plan, I am...

I don't know why I feel so tongue tied, I don't know why I feel so skinned alive

[bRITAnka]

So short period of time is left for the concert!!
Let's meet maybe? It's so cool to see many people at one place with the same interests in music.. Coldplay and Blur lovers!
Add me if you like http://www.facebook.com/margarita.koreneva
(i am very friendly. feel free to add me)
if you know where damon albarn lives, message me please)
See you all!

[Black Rose]

Have fun on Sunday Blur fans

Think of me when I'm sat behind a probably dead-quiet bar

[James.]

Well? How was Hyde Park, people who went?

[Mark]

Incredible.

Really moving at the end when Damon just looked out, teary-eyed before saying "Goodnight!" and leaving the stage. It really did seem like the end.

[TylerS]

I didn't go to it since i'm not from the UK but i'm going to listen to Parklive soon.

[James.]

I've just ordered Parklive I didn't go to Hyde Park but the setlist was basically the same as the concert I went to Only The Puritan is missing, did they really not play that? I guess they will include it as one of the bonus tracks from the warm-up shows.

[Cheese Nip 2]

That setlist is awesome! I need to get Parklive

[James.]

Another thing I noticed is on the tracklist it says Under the Westway/Commercial Break even though I'm pretty sure they played Intermission, not Commercial Break. At least they played it in Wolverhampton so I would assume they played it in Hyde Park as well.

Also, I really wanna get Blur 21 when it came out I thought I could resist it, but now the attraction of all those b-sides and unreleased demos is too strong!

[Mark]

The Puritan wasn't played. A backing track was stopped after being started for what was only a few seconds. Followed by a glaring look from Damon. I thought they'd played it at the wrong point, but they never started it again.

[Ms Magpie]

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mrkjhnwht;5385424
Incredible.

Really moving at the end when Damon just looked out, teary-eyed before saying "Goodnight!" and leaving the stage. It really did seem like the end.

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I LOVED IT.

I was down at the front but I couldn't see Damon all that well from where I was standing so I'm looking forward to some good videos of him looking at the crowd. It was a truly fascinating moment even though I couldn't see him at that precise moment and I wish they'd stay on the stage for just a little bit longer to play more just one more song. I hope it's not the end, it can't be.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SuperFitz;5385863
I've just ordered Parklive I didn't go to Hyde Park but the setlist was basically the same as the concert I went to Only The Puritan is missing, did they really not play that? I guess they will include it as one of the bonus tracks from the warm-up shows.

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I preordered the deluxe box set a while ago and downloaded the mp3's today. As for The Puritan - I thought they simply changed the setlist but it looks like it wasn't that... Perhaps Damon thought it didn't fit that moment.

[Ms Magpie]

Sorry if anything's written a bit weird... the gig went by in what seemed to be a minute and especially the last few songs were all dream-like. I haven't seen anything quite that good until then, hence my... confusion and all.


Louise, Kelly - it was great meeting you!

[loudefix]

Again an incredible concert! I almost cried at the end.
Yes, I think Damon doesn't wanted to play The Puritan at that moment but it doesn't matter. I mean they played Young and lovely, London Love, Caramel and Sing !! Not the songs I would have chose if I had the choice (Bugman!!) but it was still so good!

I am very happy to met you girls. As always I would have liked talk to you more (especially with you Kelly). If only I wasn't that shy and embarrasing with my english (and having French fans around me doesn't help me at all) but anyway, I felt so good thinking you were there and you had a great time seeing blur (well I assume it was awsome for you too!).
Those two french I spend the gig with were really nice. The girl is an "old" fan and had great stories about gigs she attended to.

Does the view from Primrose Hill was nice Nina?


And Thank you SuperFitz for the review. I read it before I leave for London on saturday morning and it totally make me in a good mood for the concert on sunday!

[Ms Magpie]

Louise, I'd feel much better if my spoken French wasn't that horrid! I couldn't find the right words at all.

Yeah they were nice. Shame we weren't standing closer together - I tried to save a spot for you guys but there were so many people everywhere, I was exhausted and I couldn't see anyone I knew apart from Suzanne.

The view was absolutely lovely despite the bad weather. It IS windy there and now I have a sore throat because of the stupid hill. I'll post some photos later today.

[Mark]

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ms Magpie;5386158
I LOVED IT.

I was down at the front but I couldn't see Damon all that well from where I was standing so I'm looking forward to some good videos of him looking at the crowd. It was a truly fascinating moment even though I couldn't see him at that precise moment and I wish they'd stay on the stage for just a little bit longer to play more just one more song. I hope it's not the end, it can't be.

I preordered the deluxe box set a while ago and downloaded the mp3's today. As for The Puritan - I thought they simply changed the setlist but it looks like it wasn't that... Perhaps Damon thought it didn't fit that moment.

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Couldn't have been all that far away from you!

(Also, I see you're the other one who voted for 13 on the poll; well done for being awesome.)