Blur played a live show on the Grande Scène Stage in Belfort, France on the evening of 7th July as part of their continuing 2013 World Tour. The show was part of one the Eurockéennes Festival, one of France's biggest annual musical events.
One might think that Blur are newcomers to France, but Blur are no stranger to the country- Damon Albarn and the band played in the Eurockéennes Festival exactly 18 years ago on 7th July 1995.
French band 'Skip The Use' performed a cover of Blur's famous "Song 2" at the festival. |
User Cold War kid from the official Blur forums describes the France Eurocks show:
"I was a the concert they played in France, the day before yesterday. It was great, Damon obviously had a very good time. He played the outro of Coffee & TV for a really long time and talked a lot in French. I don't know what happened before the gig but Graham Coxon was in very bad mood. Or was it just because his guitar was out of tune during tender?
The crowd in the first 15 rows were packed... It was pretty intense. I still can't believe that those very young kids and many small girls made it to the end without fainting. I had to step back a little bit after Country House/Parklife. But apparently people were very quiet in the back.
The setlist was perfect. Many people complain here about the lack of originality in the setlist, but when you are in the crowd, you just want them to play 'Parklife', 'Tender' or 'Song 2' so that the crowd can go berserk and not 'Trailer Park' or 'Battery' in you leg. I don't think it would work well in festivals and blur should save them if one day they play proper gigs again. It was fantastic to see them again and can not wait for the next time."
Fans could be heard saying "J'adore Blur!" in the front row during 'Parklife' |
Blur's Eurocks concert received generally positive reviews from both devoted fans and many local journalists. Many fans were "overjoyed" to be able to watch Blur live after the long wait. Afan commented: "I found the concert Blur quite magical, I was expecting something dusty but it was electrifying and joyful."
Photos and Images- Blur at Eurockéennes
See more photos from a comprehensive album HERE.
Setlist - Blur live at Eurockéennes Festival 2013
Girls & Boys
Popscene
There's No Other Way
Beetlebum
Out Of Time
Trimm Trabb
Caramel
Coffee & TV
Tender
Country House
Parklife
End Of A Century
This Is A Low
Under The Westway
For Tomorrow (Visit To Primrose Hill Extended)
The Universal
Song 2
Enjoy a selection of fan footages from the gig and watch hits including 'Coffee and TV', 'Song 2', 'Country House' , 'Parklife' and more being performed.
French band Skip The Use' also performed a special rendition of Blur's biggest hit in America, 'Song 2'. The song was covered using a mix of French and English lyrics and featured the same tune and signature guitar riff as the original. Watch it below:
To find out more about the day of the festival, click HERE. Alternatively for those fluent in French, read a local review HERE.
Blur launched a new digital tour diary on their website to mark the commencement of the tour. Fans around the world are invited to create a scrapbook of memories from their 2013 tour. As quoted in the description, fans can add their memories by signing in to the site with Facebook. They are then given access to an exclusive 10% discount code, redeemable at the Blur store.
Alternatively, anything tagged with the appropriate gig hashtag on Twitter, tumblr, YouTube, Instagram and Soundcloud will automatically feed into the site, as each gig is unlocked throughout the year. Each gig is assigned a unique hashtag, which can be found on the site’s hashtag map.
The band will be heading to Russia tomorrow for a show in the Afisha Picnik festival on July 13th 2013. Don't forget to stay tuned and see more tour pictures on the fantastic Blur tour diary.
Blur Tour 2013 - Full dates and rundown HERE
Blur @ Coachella- video and image gallery HERE