Chronicles of a Blur Fan -Mexico Gig Review & pictures 2013

This is Part I of II – a two part series from BlurBalls all about Blur’s 5-day visit to Mexico City, where they played a gig in El Plaza Condesa (March 15^th 2013) and then in the huge Vive Latino Festival (March 16^th 2013).

For this part, Mirja García writes about her meeting with Blur and reviews the El Plaza Condesa concert.

Author’s Foreword: Hello Blur fans! This is my 5-day summary of my Blur experience in Mexico (Part II here). First and foremost, I will try to keep it fun and short because I don't want to bore you with words. So, I thought the best idea was for my review of Blur at Mexico to be divided into a "Blur Chronicle" by days. 

I hope you can enjoy my review, experience with meeting Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon and the rest of Blur, and some pictures I took with the band.

Day 1: Wednesday, March 13^th 2013 

I had contacted someone few days ago and he was totally nice by picking me up after work, so afterwards we headed to the airport and arrived at 6pm. we really thought Blur would arrive at this day, but sadly it didn't happen. The Blur team, crew and staff arrived this day and told us they were arriving next day at midnight (24 hours). However, the day was worth it as I got to meet other Blur fans, which was so nice because I have never met any other Blur fans before!  I left the airport at 10pm.

Day 2: Thursday, March 14^th 2013 

I had expected Blur to arrive in Mexico the day before, so my original plan was to spend this day trying to look for them at the hotel or something. It wasn't that way (as they didn’t arrive yesterday), so a few fans and I planned to head right to the airport again. They HAD to arrive this day! I got there at 6pm- apparently Blur should have arrived at 6:30 or 00:00 hrs (Friday midnight).

It was 8pm, and we had one last hope left. One bloke told us they had arrived one day ago. We all tried hard to hold onto our instincts and hope that they will arrive soon. 11:42pm came, and anxiety started eating us alive. At 00:00 hrs, the same bloke stood in front of us and quietly told us "Just do not scream and try to be calm”. Hearing that made me nervous and relieved- the moment I had been dreaming of for probably for more than 11 years was about to really happen.

The first member of Blur who came out was Dave Rowntree. And then I just lost it and became very excited when I saw Graham Coxon coming out of the plane. I didn't see Alex James and Damon Albarn walking out because of Graham, who of course got freaked out and said he needed to smoke first. 

Then I went to Alex; I was so very nervous and he said to me "How are you darling? Are you alright?" Alex signed my magazine and had a smile upon his face.  

And then, there was on my right side came Damon Albarn himself. I got there and he started to sign things. Since I am a small person, it was hard for him to see me and I had to try and get his full attention. Finally, he saw me, and I asked him if I could hug him. Damon nodded, and then I asked for a picture. Right away, he looked at me with his typically deep eyes and a smiley expression, and said: "Oh, I have to stop".

I felt like dying right there on the spot, and what Damon said made me laugh. I told him "Yeah..." and both of us posed for the camera but Blur’s security guard waved her hand in front of our faces and said: "You, everybody, can't take pictures of the inside".

Both Damon and I didn’t care about what the security guard said; Damon was such a saint because he stopped for a very long time, posing with me for pictures. A friend also wanted some photos with Damon but it was too late, he had to go. Damon was very nice that day to all the fans. I have to admit I was scared about meeting him. Because I was worried about making a fool of myself or making the Blur boys upset. My fear turned out to be far from reality – Damon and the band were amazing!

          

At this point, I had to leave. But before I got a chance to leave, Dave (such a lovely man) spoke to me and asked, "How are you?” However at this point, I was so nervous that I didn't quite catch the question. All I said back was "What?" He repeated his question, and I told him "To be honest, I'm dying and going to heaven right now!" Funnily, he replied "Oh, don't you die" and then gave me a big hug.

All that was nice, but I had one thing left to do before I left- I had to catch up with Graham Coxon! Someone told me that he was outside, so I finally found him. He made me lot more nervous than Damon did, but in the end I got another hug and he signed my ‘A+E’ album. He was quiet surprised about seeing my copy of ‘A+E’ and smiled when he saw it. As Blur left on two separate vans, the fans and I gave them a goodbye by singing the chorus of ‘Tender’: "Oh my baby...Oh my baby…Oh my…" It was definitely one of the best four days of my life!

Top: With Graham Coxon
Bottom: Signed copy of Graham Coxon's eight solo album 'A+E'

Day 3: Friday, March 15^th 2013

Review – El Plaza Condesa Concert

I woke up early just to get to the line for the Blur Mexico warm up show and to be right in first row. This day was mostly for waiting for the Blur gig. We knew where they were staying, so we planned that we will visit them later. It was nice as I could speak to lots more fans like me- there were two girls named Carmen and Lizzy who have the most best-looking pictures taken with Blur. They are such nice people; all the Blur fans are. I ended up being so friendly with the fans (shout outs to Michelle, Oscar, Brenda, Scarlett and of course Carmen and Lizzy), I started considering them as part of my “family”!

We waited two hours for the show to begin in the Plaza, and then some people at the gig started playing Gorillaz music. I wonder if Damon heard it because everyone, including me, started singing out loud. The gig turned out, of course, to be the best gig of my entire life!

The popular "Gramon Inspires Me" sign 

I sang along to each song; I jumped, I smiled. I tried to hold Damon's hand each time he got close to us. I brought with me a "GRAMON INSPIRES ME" sign, and the first member of Blur to see it was Graham. When he saw it, he gave me a beautiful, naughty and embarrassed smile, and then laughed. The second person to see it was Damon- he smiled with an "Oh Dear" expression and turned to look at Graham knowingly. Alex also seemed amused and surprised by my sign. Then one of the blonde trumpet players tried to read the letters, and both Liz and I can read his lips: “GRAMON”. I held it up for a bit more; he laughed, pointed out my sign and called on his other trumpet-playing mate. I think my sign was very popular – it definitely made people laugh.

I enjoyed each song during El Plaza Condesa. During the gig, my camera’s battery died; this proved to be both a good and bad thing. I hated the fact that I could not record the Blur show in HD (which would have looked amazing) but loved the fact that I could enjoy the show and screamed as much as I wanted. Every song was my favorite- I was very surprised when they opened the gig with ‘Popscene’. When ‘There's No Other Way’ came on, it caught me by surprise. ‘Caramel’ was very gorgeous and well played. The encore was marvelous too.

When ‘The Universal’ came, I couldn't hold back the tears anymore because I knew it was going to be the last song. I wanted to make the Blur show go on forever. On a happier note, I managed to get Graham Coxon’s guitar pick at the end of the show- it was the best feeling in the world to touch his guitar pick. 

After the first ever Blur show of 2013, and after watching Blur in my home Mexico for the first time in 10 years, I went to sleep with a smile upon my face.

Written by Mirja García

(@MirjaLolita on Twitter)

Read Part II 

Monkey: Journey To The West to kickstart in USA - Damon Albarn does Opera

To the West it goes - Damon Albarn's opera "Monkey: Journey To The West" is journeying  truly to the 'west' of the world map. Fans in USA will be able to witness the show because the opera will be playing in this year’s Lincoln Center Festival.

The production, created by Damon Albarn and his Gorillaz partner Jamie Hewlett, originally premiered at the Manchester International Festival in 2007. The new set of productions will be Monkey: Journey To The West's New York debut. It will be staged 27  times at the David H. Koch Theater, from July 6 to 28.

“It sold more tickets than any other single event in the 36-year history of Spoleto,” said Nigel Redden, director of the Lincoln Center Festival, “But it’s never been in New York and to some extent, many artists feel their work has not premiered in the U.S. until it has premiered in New York.”

Monkey: Journey to the West is a tale about a monk's perilous, adventurous and self-discovering journey from China to India while he searches for sacred Buddhist scripts. The opera is headed by legendary director Chen Shi-Zheng and features original music from Damon Albarn. It combines theater with illustration (by Jamie Hewlett), Chinese martial arts, acrobatics and dance. An official album of the soundtrack was released in 2008.

"A high-octane, 90-minute rock 'n' roll circus…breathtaking." —Guardian 

"A life-enhancing triumph." —Evening Standard (U.K.) / "The event of the year." —Time Out London

Even though Damon Albarn hasn't revealed any new plans for Gorillaz material, it seems that his previously rocky relationship with Jamie Hewlett has repaired, replenished and rejuvenated. After all they will be working closely together for the new set of shows in America.

Perhaps Damon Albarn will decide to release new Gorillaz material, if all goes well with Jamie and the opera. A good plan after the Blur shows of 2013?

Monkey: Journey To The West (Lincoln Centre Festival 2013)
Date	Time
Jul-06	8:00 PM (preview)
Jul-07	2:00 PM and 8:00 PM (previews)
Jul-09	8:00 PM
Jul-10	8:00 PM
Jul-11	8:00 PM
Jul-12	8:00 PM
Jul-13	2:00 PM and 8:00 PM
Jul-14	2:00 PM and 8:00 PM
Jul-16	8:00 PM
Jul-17	8:00 PM
Jul-18	8:00 PM
Jul-19	8:00 PM
Jul-20	2:00 PM and 8:00 PM
Jul-21	2:00 PM and 8:00 PM
Jul-23	8:00 PM
Jul-24	8:00 PM
Jul-25	8:00 PM
Jul-26	8:00 PM
Jul-27	2:00 PM and 8:00 PM
Jul-28	2:00 PM and 8:00 PM

Blur Live in Hong Kong - Buy Tickets Now

Tickets are now available for the Blur: Live in Hong Kong 2013 concert to be held on 6th May 2013 at 8:00pm, Asia World Arena (promoted by Midas Promotions).

Tickets cost HKD $680-$880 depending on the category of seating (marked, free standing, wheelchair/ disabled). Tickets are on sale from 25 February 2013 at HK Ticketing’s Venue Box Offices, K11 Select and Tom Lee Music Stores.  

Blur Live in Hong Kong 2013
Date:     Monday, 6 May 2013
Time:     8pm 
Venue:     AsiaWorld-Arena
Tickets:    HK$880 / HK$680 Standing and Seated
HK$480 Seated Only
    Available from 25 February 2013 through HK Ticketing, K11 Select and Tom Lee Music Stores
Ticketing hotline:    31 288 288
On-line ticketing:    www.hkticketing.com
HK Ticketing applies a customer service fee to all tickets purchased via its network. This fee is additional to the face value of the ticket and is payable upon purchase of tickets.
Blur official website: http://www.blur.co.uk/ 
Some more information below:

*Each person can purchase maximum 10 tickets per transaction on the 1st public on sale day.

Age Limit for Standing Zone: Restricted to Age 12 or above with Height Limit 140 cm

Age Limit for Riser Seating: Age 6

Admit One Only

NO Replacement for any loss of Standing tickets. 

To avoid delays in entering the venue and to ensure an enjoyable experience, all ticket purchasers are recommended to pick up their tickets at any HK Ticketing's outlets prior to the show day.

Smoking, outside food & beverage is prohibited in AsiaWorld-Expo.

Unauthorized photography, filming and recording is prohibited in the performance venue. All cameras and AV recorders are strictly prohibited. A bag search may be conducted.

How to get there - transportation services to the venue:

Special Airport Express Fare at Hong Kong Station/Kowloon Station ↔ AsiaWorld-Expo ($52 for Same-day Return)

Point-to-point Express Bus Route X1 - Express transit at MTR Tung Chung Station

Direct A-route Buses to AsiaWorld-Expo

The 90-minute show will be the first time Blur has ever played in Hong Kong. Frontman Damon Albarn, however, has visited the city several times as part of his Gorillaz-stint in the past few years.

Fans from Hong Kong are making a buzz on popular local discussion forum 香港討論區 discuss.hk ("香港既Britpop迷等左十幾年先等到Blur來香港!"). Local news paper Apple Daily also reported about the gig:

樂迷周一撲飛

早前Blur宣佈於5月9日到台北演出，令不少港迷嘆息，幸而樂隊已鐵定5月6日舉行香港騷，此站更成為樂隊亞洲巡迴首站。香港主辦商昨日凌晨正式宣佈Blur香港演唱會詳情後，消息隨即受到網民瘋傳兼洗版。
有本地網民昨日留言表示消息令人難以置信，也有人稱Blur首次舉行香港騷是2013年的音樂大事，樂迷紛紛計劃組團朝聖。一般網民對樂隊最貴的880元香港門票，比起英國樂隊The Stone Roses的香港門票更便宜而感到滿意。不少香港樂迷昨日紛表示準備下周一門票開售時撲飛，還有網民不怕重蹈Lady GaGa港騷炒燶飛事件，並揚言：「今次一定要掃飛，實唔怕放唔出！」

Purchase your Blur: Live in Hong Kong 2013 tickets via HK Ticketing now!

Liam Gallagher slams 'Blurasis' , starts new Britpop War

Liam Gallagher of former band Oasis has criticised his brother for being a "snake in the grass"- for playing with Blur in 2013, sparking new controversy and a whole new, twenty-first century Britpop battle. 

"Blurasis", the new term coined by a Blur fan who uploaded a performance from the Teenage Cancer Trust charity concert featuring both Blur and Noel Gallagher, has become the word associated with the budding relationship between the former Britpop enemies.

The singer compared Noel Gallagher's show at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday, 23rd March, where Noel sang 'Tender; with Blur's Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon, to "sipping champagne with war criminals". The show raised money for supporting the charity Teenage Cancer Trust. 

'Blurasis' - Damon, Graham and Noel smiling at the Teenage Cancer Trust gig 2013

Liam has taken to social platform Twitter to start the new war between the bands. Today the musician posted a tweet (dated March 25): "Don’t know what’s worse RKID sipping champagne with a war criminal or them backing vocals you’ve just done for BLUE!"

Perhaps what he was referring to when he mentioned "sipping champagne" in the tweet was brother Noel Gallagher attending a drink at the Number 10 with Tony Blair during the height of his Britpop fame, and the important 90s feud with Blur.

Hang on- did he call Blur "Blue" accidentally on purpose? 

All Blur fans knew that Noel was the one who wished Damon Albarn would "catch aids and die" in the 1990s. Damon Albarn also exclaimed back in the Britpop battle of the bands: "I can't make up with Noel. Britpop would be over and heaven forbid that we'd ever admit we'd all grown up!". However, the two posed happily together in recent award shows and even played together in the historical concert this Saturday as part of Blur's new set of gigs. 

Could this be another harsh attack on Blur? Another Britpop battle and feud?  It could be that the tweet was a direct attack on brother Noel. Liam Gallagher is known for tweeting about his brother's new projects ("High flying smurfs") and for making bold, public statements about other musicians. 

Read all about the historical Noel / Damon / Graham Teenage Cancer Trust gig, which yielded in new Blur material HERE. 

Check out the setlist HERE. 

Opinions - Liam's tweet is
	just a joke - no harm
	What a *&$#@!
	He meant it
	Liam who ?
	Blur deserved it - they are sleeping with the enemy
	No comment

Blur Tour 2013 - Full dates and rundown  HERE

Blur confirmed for Mexico HERE

Blur Europe Tour News  HERE

Order the new Blur: Parklife (Live at Hyde Park CD / DVD) HERE

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Happy Birthday to Damon Albarn ... Blur frontman turns 45!

Happy Birthday Damon Albarn! The Blur frontman turned 45 years old on March 23rd this year. 

To celebrate, here are some original funny Blur memes we created. Some of the best Damon Albarn pictures are also below. 

It's been over 23 years since Damon Albarn, then an unknown Goldsmiths University student, had decided to give up acting and become a full-time musician and singer. 

 

 

Blur fact: Did you know - Dave Rowntree is actually the oldest member of Blur, not Damon Albarn! 

First look: Blur at Vive Latino Festival Mexico (Pictures)

Blur played Mexico City's Vive Latino Festival on March 16th 2013. According to many fans who went to watch the band live, the show was an exceptional one - the "best Blur had ever sounded".

Damon Albarn - Looking young and hip at Vive Latino 2013 

Damon waving a Mexican percussion instrument - "Almost hitting his face" said a fan

Blur drummer Dave Rowntree also did an exclusive 15-minute interview with Radio Ibero (Ibero 90.0 FM) about the 2013 shows. The drummer sounded positive and high in spirits, exclaiming that the show had a "packed audience, jumping up and down. That's why we do this really, it's lovely. You can see it was the real fans, everybody from the front to the back knew all the words, it was just lovely." 

He also mused on Blur's current popularity high. "We got more famous by releasing less music", Dave said. 

"Last time we weren't selling tickets out in 10 minutes, we weren't playing big festivals. Mystique as been growing around us."

"We became way better known and more popular for doing nothing. I can't explain it." 

- Dave Rowntree, 2013 Tour

He seems to be ambiguous about a new Blur album. "It was all really good fun" he said, when asked to describe the 2013 gigs. "This is an extension to that. We did a few shows leading up to [Hyde Park] and we thought it really wasn't possible to do something in London. So why not do some wider touring, for the longer-suffering fans around the world who hasn't seen us in a decade". So it seems this tour is merely to please the wider fans, but not to make a new album.

So why now? Dave said it was a "logical progression" to "try things out" this time, and that previous tours didn't satisfy the global demands of Blur fans. They have recorded some things, but there seems to be no plans to release more future songs so far.

Listen to the audio recording of the excellent interview below.

Dave Rowntree [Entrevista] by Ibero909fm on Mixcloud

Watch Blur at Vive Latino 2013

Blur: Vive Latino Mexico City - Setlist:

Popscene 
There's No Other Way
Girls & Boys 
Tracy Jacks 
Beetlebum 
Out of Time 
Trimm Trabb 
Caramel 
Coffee & TV 
Tender 
Country House 
Parklife 
Song 2 
Advert 
End of a Century 
This Is a Low 

Encore :
Under The Westway 
For Tomorrow 
The Universal

For more pictures, check out this album on Facebook. Visit this gallery of professional shots HERE.

A 10 Year Wait - Blur El Plaza Condesa Mexico gig Review

Review: Blur – El Plaza Condesa Mexico Gig

Written by Guillermo Torres

Every Blur fan knows that before the first big gig at every tour, a warm-up show is going to be played… and that is the case for this specific show.

The Plaza Condesa is small venue located in the most “cultural-artistic-hipster” neighborhood in Mexico City: La Condesa. The place used to be a movie theater back in the 1960’s, so it has a 1,900 people capacity.  Almost two years ago, it was refurbished for concert purposes, and by the end of last year hosted bands such as M83, Morrissey, Underworld, Dead Can Dance and Marillion. However, never had there been a show where tickets were sold out in less than five minutes, like it happened with the Blur warm-up show on the evening of March 15^th 2013.

The expectations were really high- you may imagine how it felt to wait 10 years to have your favorite band back in town playing a live concert. There were people who queued more than nine hours before the doors opened, and scalpers were everywhere, asking for up to £400 per ticket (when the original cost was £42).

So the show started with the non-album single “Popscene”. Can you imagine how crazy the crowd got? Everyone were screaming and jumping, and the sounds were close to perfect! Then Blur played “There’s No Other Way”, “Girls & Boys” and ”Tracy Jacks”…My first thought were: these guys sound just like they did the last time I saw them- you got it, ten years ago! But a few minutes later, I realized I was wrong; their sound that night was the best I had ever heard.

Thank You - Graham Coxon 2013

“Jubilee”, “Beetlebum” and “Out Of Time” were up next. These songs were emotional, raw, and I was crying by then. I do believe that Blur and the rest of the band were also surprised and amazed at the level of response from the people. “Trimm Trabb”, “Caramel” and the other hits were played next. And then came one of the most chorused songs of the night: “Coffee and TV”…

“Tender” was a really emotional moment in the show, but the three songs “Country House”, “Parklife” (with no Phil Daniels) and “Song 2” were enough to put everyone’s spirits to the top. “Advert”, “End Of The Century” and “This Is A Low" were the last ones from the main gig set list.

The moment of the night, without a doubt, was when Blur performed “Under The Westway”. By this time, we all knew that we were close to the end. “For Tomorrow” and “The Universal” were the songs that closed the show.

Great Band + Great Venue = One the greatest gigs I’ve ever attend!

I can’t wait to the see them at Coachella again!

 

Guillermo Torres

(@ElPincheTorres on Twitter)

Pictures by Geraldine 

(@arreborriquito on Twitter)

March 15^th 2013  

Went to a Blur concert in 2013? Have a picture for us to feature? Write a review for us and get published. Contact us now! 

Blur Tour 2013 - Full dates and rundown  HERE