Quite an interesting comparison - for those who bashed Blur at the Brits for performing poorly... note how the crowd makes or breaks the band.
September 3, 2012
Blur - Hyde Park versus Brit Awards
August 30, 2012
Damon Albarn to put Blur aside for now
According to a recent report by Total Essex, Damon Albarn dismissed the 'this-is-all-over' Blur talk that was all over the media before and after Hyde Park 2012.
On Hyde Park, Damon Albarn was patriotic and very proud to be British: "It was brilliant really. The whole thing was very special. What an extraordinary couple of weeks it's been. The whole Olympics has been brilliant – a tonic for the whole country – and it was an honour to be a part of that.
"I love this country and I love this city. London is our city and I live just round the corner from Hyde Park so when I was given the invitation to do the gig, I jumped at it really."
"Yes, It's a full stop for now because we've all got other stuff going on – Graham has another solo album due out, Dave is busy with politics and being a lawyer and Alex is combining making cheese and running a farm with his life as a media whore while the African Express sets off round the country this week – but to say it's 'The End', that's not true at all."
There's also a secret - Damon also remarked: "We've talked about it privately and I have my own idea of a scenario but it probably won't be that either because you can't be that clear about such things because you just don't know."
So, 21 years later and the vision is still no clearer than ever. Yes Blur or No Blur, it's still a blurred future.
All we want to know is - what exactly did Blur discuss about that they can't tell us ?
August 10, 2012
REVIEW: Blur - Plymouth Pavillions Gig (Aug 2012)
Apparently, Blur's Plymouth Pavillions gig was something similar to those of a "mosh-pit band". The band's interaction with each other were great, but the audience that night was quite varied and wild. Blur forum member 'dave griff' wrote:
An unexpected but awesome 'London Loves' and a superb 'Tracy Jacks' are followed by an insane 'Jubilee' that elevates me to bounce my way to the front in sheer excitement. 'Beetlebum' is both deliciously dark and beautifully uplifting, 'Out Of Time' benefits greatly from Graham's presense and the delightful 'Young And Lovely' sounds like it could have been a long lost cut from Bowie's 'Hunky Dory', also proving that the band have some truly wonderful B sides in their cannon. 'Trimm Trabb' sounds astonishing, especially when Graham's guitar explodes with devasting power towards the end, while another '13' highlight 'Caramel' seems even more achingly stunning than ever. 'Sunday Sunday''s ideal snapshot of British life plays home to a brilliantly frenzied middle section, and it's hard to imagine anyone here without a smile on their faces during a joyous 'Country House' and a terrifically energetic 'Parklife'.
The sounds emerging from Graham's guitar are nothing short of incredible, ripping into 'Bugman' with mind blowing power. At one point during 'The Puritan' his instrument sounds like an old engine revving up, before the band launch into a berserk 'Popscene'. 'Advert' is delivered with blistering force, and the whole place erupts for an amazing 'Song 2'. This madness then makes way for the wonderfully delicate 'No Distance Left To Run', a much needed moment for the crowd to catch their breath, before 'Tender' arrives and affirms itself as a most glorious anthem. Damon dedicates 'This Is A Low' to Plymouth and other seaside towns like it, and the band disappear for a while.
Remember to read Mr Scott Music Blog's full review of this warm up show. Check out No Crowdsurfing's review of the gig too for more insight and a little bit more of Blur. The setlist was the following (credits to LizBerry):
April 8, 2012
The Death of a Blur (and possibly Gorillaz) - Damon Albarn speaks out
BLUR NEWS: Damon Albarn has spoken out about Blur's future, and it does not look bright. The Guardian featured an insightful, in-depth interview with the Blur, Gorillaz frontman on April 7th 2012. It also featured several new Damon Albarn pictures, taken against a nature backdrop.
The article goes, as follows, because we could not have written it better (SOUCE: THE GUARDIAN):
Check out Blur's rumoured new album HERE.
Analyse other rumours and articles reported by us HERE, HERE and HERE.
March 5, 2012
Blur has a new hymn-like, tear jerking track up their sleeves for Olympics gig 2012
Alex James appeared on television show Top Gear on March 4th 2012 and spoke about Blur's future plans.
He told host Jeremy Clarkson that Blur has been working on a new song - "We've got a new song to unveil, I just listened to it in the morning".
Alex also added that the unnamed track was "like a hymn, a real tear-jerker".
When asked about their controversial Brit Awards performance of 12 days ago, (click to read a feature article about the happenings of that night) where Blur received the Outstanding Contribution to Music award, he said: "It was utterly magnificent to get back together and smash those songs out again."
Last month, Blur's frontman Damon Albarn and guitarist Graham Coxon played a new Blur song 'Under The Westway' during an acoustic set at the War Child pre-Brit Awards charity gig at O2 Sheperd's Bush Empire in London. Watch an exclusive BlurBalls recording of the great performance in the video below.
However, the band still contradicted themselves with mixed messages about their future "new" recording. In recent interviews, there were a lot of "Yes, we are working on new songs" and "No. we are not going to make a new album" and some "We're not sure"'s.
With these mixed messages about the potential new Blur album, fans can only speculate. So far, nothing was confirmed by the band. They seem reluctant to talk about any future albums, although are happy to chat about individual tracks. They debuted Under the Westway in the War Child event. However, Alex James did say it's probably a "no" to a new Blur album on last night's Top Gear episode.