The Much-Anticipated Performance- Review: Blur live in Indonesia

The Much-Anticipated Performance: A Big Sound Festival 2013 Review

Written by Anisa Menur Maulani 

Exactly a year ago, my friend Cinita and I were sitting on the floor of my living room, watching the No Distance Left To Run DVD on a lazy Sunday. Look at all those happy faces, we said. They got to see the Blur gentlemen live, standing only a few meters away from them. When are we going to have the chance to do that?

Funnily enough, the answer came in February 2013, when entertainment and MICE giant Dyandra Entertinment and music promoter Sound Rhythm announced that Blur will headline the Big Sound Festival 2013 on May 15^th 2013 in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Days seem to be fleeting, as we got closer to the night when our dream comes true. We have applied for a leave at work, and find ourselves unable to concentrate at anything. Then it finally happened. Twitter exploded with the news that the gentlemen had arrived, and there were photos swarming around of Damon smoking at the airport, Graham and Dave talking to their fans, and Alex doing a door-stop interview with the press.

May 15th finally arrived and we were finally queuing in line in front of Lapangan D Senayan, where the concert will be held. Noted that Blur was not the only one performing at the event; their show was preceded by Van-She, Tegan and Sara, and The Temper Trap.

I could not speak much of Van-She’s performance, as I am not into their kind of music and thus was not interested in seeing them. But was Tegan and Sara and The Temper Trap were great; their songs were enjoyable, and the audiences seemed to be having a good time listening to them. These are the bands that are worthy of opening up an act as legendary as Blur, and the emotions that they built reached its peak just when the main show is about to begin.

My, how my hands shook and my stomach turned when they darkened the lights on stage and played Theme For Retro.

Then people began to scream “They were on the right side of the stage!”, and shadows moved onto the stage. Last thing we know, people were pushing themselves into front of the stage, and Girls and Boys was heard, closely followed by Popscene.

The atmosphere was crazy. Everyone was screaming; even guys in their twenties screamed like junior high school girls. We were dancing and jumping madly, and smartphones are all up in the air, because no one would want to miss anything.

PHOTOS: Blur at Big Sound Festival, Jakarta 2013

The situation calmed down a bit with Out of Time, only to then explode again as Damon jumped down from the stage during Country House. He ran up along the fence, greeting the maddening fans. He ended up perched on one corner as audiences grabbed his hands, trying to get a touch of the charismatic frontman (Someone was lucky enough to have his/her hat being taken by him). He also managed to shower us with water whenever he got close to the audience.

The encore started with their new single Under The Westway, which was my personal favourite that night. The encore was filled with mid-tempo songs like For Tomorrow and The Universal, and some people felt that show was much too short. Adding one or two more songs perhaps will be appropriate.

There were also complaints on the sound system, as there is a moment when Graham seemed to be struggling with his guitar. At some point during Parklife I was not able to hear any sound of the guitar; but thankfully it was only a minor glitch that did not hamper the whole show.

STORY: A First Look at Blur in Indonesia plus Videos And Setlist

The Blur gentlemen did not talk much. Damon greeted us a couple of times, but there were not many things that he said. However, I find that “Tonight, you inspired me” was the most touching thing he said during the night. It feels great if he was able to feel our excitement for having waited to see them for up to 20 years. 

The show ended with the much-anticipated Song 2, which I believe was the soundtrack of everyone who lived through the 1990s. We jumped, we head-banged, we scream, we cried. The guys left the stage but we knew that we would keep this moment in our heart for as long as we lived.

It is wonderful to finally being given the chance to see Blur performing in your home country, and I congratulate Chile for being the latest addition in their tour!

Anisa Menur Maulani 

(@animenur on Twitter)

Images by Fariz Adnan 

(@andstage on Flickr)

May 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! Blur Tour 2013 - Full dates and rundown  HERE

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 

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