April 16, 2013

Blur at Coachella - Watch video, pictures, reviews

It was a very English Coachella - Blur performed in America's Coachella music festival on Friday 12th April to a massive group of festival-goers, spinning out hits such as 'Girls and Boys', 'Parklife' and 'Song 2'. They were part of a very British lineup, joining the likes of English bands such as "The Stone Roses".

Many fans who have waited years to see the band were pleased. Blur hit the stage at 10pm on Friday evening; Damon Albarn was in relatively good moods and made jokes at the audience just like he used to from earlier Blur tours.

The performance from Blur received mixed reviews from critics and fans alike. Northernmonkey, a fan from the official Blur forums reports: The crowd seemed a bit quiet, although the broadcast didn't show much of the crowd and locked firmly on the stage, the set was a lot shorter than expected, but this was obviously to do with the time slot given. The set list was good, although I think they should have dropped 'Parklife', way too rooted to the UK and not my favourite Blur song, Phil Daniels should have been left at home.

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Blur

"Everything else was good though and the boys sounded great and as a band looked the part, to a person who maybe wouldn't know who Blur are, they don't come across as a band who are mid 40's and beyond, and most of the songs still sound fresh and in many ways more relevant than they did in the 90's. 

'Trimm Trabb', the song, is amazing live and Dave is a highlight on the drums."

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Blur's Damon

Pasadena Star News criticised the show, saying "there was plenty of room for fans to sit down and take a break before the performance, which is a rarity for a Coachella main stage headliner. But audience members ran to the group's set when Blur performed the uptempo "Boys & Girls" but the rest of the set lost steam with slower tracks or the group's overall lack of charisma despite the antics of lead singer Damon Albarn, with eyes that looked red and facial expressions."

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Alex James and Damon Albarn - Coachella 2013
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Damon Albarn jumping during a song - Coachella 2013

Damon Albarn also explained to the audience about how Britain’s gray weather influenced many songs. Damon explained that the tune 'Tracy Jacks' was about a character who was bothered by the weather. “It’s very nice to enjoy your sunshine,” he said.

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A telling tweet - on Blur at Coachella 

Set list- Blur's Coachella set 4/11/13:

  1. Girls & Boys
  2. There's No Other Way
  3. Tracy Jacks
  4. Beetlebum
  5. Out of Time
  6. Trimm Trabb
  7. Caramel 
  8. Coffee & TV
  9. Tender
  10. Parklife (ft. Phil Daniels)
  11. Song 2
  12. This is a Low
  13. Sing
  14. For Tomorrow
  15. The Universal
Watch - Coachella Video Gallery 


You can watch the FULL show of Blur at Coachella, now available for online streaming below.



Despite the good reviews from Blur fans, not all of the big music magazines were swayed. Pitchfork gave Blur's show a slightly negative review, reporting that "...other headliners felt less interested in meeting the crowd halfway. Blur frontman Damon Albarn has now headlined Coachella in two different acts (Gorillaz played in 2010). But Blur’s Coachella set bore a similarity to that of their late-90s heroes Pavement in 2010: they didn’t seem particularly happy to be there or all that excited to see each other

Set opener “Boys & Girls” had a fun energy, but later in the set they made you wonder how much it pains them to still have to play “Song 2”. Maybe so much that they felt the need to satiate the diehards by leaning on atmospheric deep cuts such as “Trimm Trabb”, “Caramel”, and “Sing”."


Went to Coachella ? How's the show ?
  


Read a short review of the Blur show HERE.
Also be sure to check out The Guardian's review of Day 1 at Coachella.

Check out the FULL gallery of Coachella pictures, snapshots and photographs HERE. An Additional gallery HERE.


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