Review: Blur at Vive Latino Festival 2013

This is Part II of 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 Vive Latino concert.

Author’s Foreword: Hello Blur fans! This is my 5-day summary (Part I here) of my Blur experience in Mexico. 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 4: Saturday, March 16^th 2013

Review - Vive Latino Festival

Today was the day of the Vive Latino Festival 2013 where Blur are playing for the first time in nearly 10 years. To be honest, I knew there was going to be so much standing and lots of hours listening to different musicians perform. Before the first few artists came out on the stage, one male fan pushed me and punched me right in my mouth- he was very high, aggressive and totally not one of our Blur fans. The security guard took him out so I wouldn’t get hit again, and I was disappointed because I was right in front of Alex James’ spot.

Somehow I got on the barrier again after the Tame Impala played. At one point, my back was killing me. At the time Blur was almost coming out, I couldn't stand my back pain anymore-thank heavens I was at the barrier so that I could have a bit rest inside.

A fan "...gave Damon Albarn a bracelet which he kept and used for the Vive Latino concert" 

Blur’s performance at the Vive Latino was heavenly. The band members all looked so happy, I was so happy, and every single fan were too. It was the best time ever! I don’t have much to say about the concert because I only spend the time outside for Blur and not any other band. Of course, the feeling of watching Damon Albarn perform was totally amazing, and there were also big, huge screens so we could see them out there in the crowds.

Graham Coxon and Damon Albarn on stage - 2013 

It was in my opinion, a perfect night!

Day 5: Sunday, March 17^th 2013 

Even though my body needed lot of rest after watching Blur at the Vive Latino Festival 2013, I woke up early to head right to Blur’s hotel in Mexico City. Oscar (one of the biggest fans of Blur in Mexico, and the one who gave Damon a bracelet which he kept and used for the Vive Latino!) and I met up in the hotel so that we could catch Blur and meet them one more time.

The hotel lobby was full of artists that appeared to perform in the Vive Latino Festival. I have to admit I didn't pay that much attention to them. I was just focus on my beloved British band Blur. After probably an hour of waiting later, I saw one of the band’s choristers coming out of the lobby- next out was a tall, bald man who came out with Blur’s other three choristers and various staff.

I approached the tall, bald man, and he and I had the most lovely chat; he was very nice and kind to us fans, and listened as I told him how long I have loved Blur for. I also told him how much their job means to me, and how I’m grateful for all the people involve in making Blur’s music possible. We were talking about warm up gig in Mexico City’s El Plaza Condesa (see Part I) on Friday night, and we mostly talked about how great ‘The Universal’ was and how happy he felt by being here to witness the band. We took a picture together.

After that, I waited for bit more until I saw Rudy Albarn, Damon's nephew. We shared a nice talk as well- Rudy was so nice and he looked just like a mini version of Damon! I also took a picture with him whilst he held my phone. Then I waited bit more for the band. I was amused by how kind they were to me and talked with me about random things. 

Finally, one of the main members of Blur came out- Alex James. Alex was very posh, as always, and I approach him whist other fans also reached out for him. I thought I was going to speak to him by myself; nonetheless I went towards him and we talked- he was so lovely.

I took out my Blur book and Alex started laughing at it. He said: "It's been ages since I saw this!" and also told that to one of the crewmembers beside him. He took a while to read through the book and see the pictures with me. He was laughing at a few Blur pictures, and he had a most lovely laugh. We kept on talking and he signed on my book and also on my "GRAMON INSPIRES ME" sign. Surprisingly, he also told me he saw it on Friday's El Plaza Condesa Warm-up show. We both laughed and I got to take another picture with him.

Suddenly, I saw Damon Albarn in front of Alex. I wanted to get a better picture with the Blur front man, and luckily the fans stopped him from leaving outside. I got closer and asked if I may take a photo with him- he was very nice and immediately said "Of course". Damon dropped one of the CD's someone gave him on his way. I stopped to reach for it, giving the album back to him. I was so happy when he said “Thank you dear” to me. 

Damon also took my Blur book and leafed through a few pictures. He had a smile upon his face and then he sign in a specific page. He then read my "GRAMON…" sign, smiled and sign on it. “Did you see it on Friday’s gig?" I asked. "Yeah, I actually did a couple of times" was his reply, and we shared smiles. Afterwards, I thanked him again for everything and for playing in our Mexico City.

Damon signed other fans’ autographs and walked to the Blur van as they had to leave. He was about to jump into it, but I needed my picture with the great man. "Damon, can I take my picture with you please?" I shouted, and he was kind enough to come out of the van and said: "Okay the last one". He walked to me and looked me in the eyes (even though he had those big sunglasses on, we could still see his eyes). Since I was short, I stood on tiptoes and he stooped down. I hugged him by his neck and he grabbed me from my nape- it was a bit of hug and someone took the pic with my phone. To give him a Mexican farewell, I kissed him on the cheek and said "Thank you". "No problem dear" he replied, and that was exactly happened for my picture. He was far too kind with everyone, to be honest.

Top: Damon in the airport ; Bottom: Blur in Vive Latino 2013 

We were still hopeful that Blur would stay longer, so we waited for a few more hours. Bad choice- the crew had started to leave and we already knew when they were heading at the airport for the final journey. I chatted to Alex James’s bodyguard, who was also named Alex (like Smoggy with Damon). One of the crew members gave Oscar the keys to Blur’s hotel room, but we didn’t know whether Blur were going to come back at the end. It turned out they entered through a backdoor, which was blocked by security.

A fan suggested we go to the airport to say goodbye to Blur. We did just that - in fact our taxi cab was right in front the band’s van, I know it sounds slightly creepy, but it was not. We met them again, and there were more signings and photos taken. 

This time, Graham Coxon was slightly distant and reserved. He was tired from the shows but after minutes, he suddenly changed moods and became friendly and signed some more pictures. I showed him my hand-drawn sign and he immediately said "I actually saw this on Friday, it made me laugh". It was a great feeling to hear that my sign made the band laugh. Blur left for the plane shortly afterwards. It was a magic experience- my fellow Mexican Blur fans were there, sighing, thinking, and smiling, and we left the airport after few minutes after we took our first official photo as a real fan club – the Blur Mexico Fan Club.

Blur Mexico Fan Club - at the airport 

These few days were the best days of my life by far, and it meant a lot to me that I had the chance to meet my favourite band Blur. Many thanks to Oscar and all your effort to organize this Blur fans meeting. It was one of the best musical experiences I ever had- the Blur members were really lovely and caring to all the fans who attended the shows. I'm glad that they came to Mexico and played a few shows, even though they left us with a sad, melancholy feeling. We look forward to seeing Blur play again soon.

Without a doubt, ‘The Universal’ was the soundtrack for my week with Blur. To me, "it really, really, really could happen".

Written by Mirja García

(@MirjaLolita on Twitter)

Pictures from Mirja and Oscar Martínez Silva

 (@Osblur on Twitter)

March 2013

Blur gig in Tokyo Japan Cancelled

Blur fans in Japan will be disappointed by this announcement - the annual Tokyo Rocks 2013 music festival in Japan is cancelled less than 6 weeks before the event this year - due to unknown, mysterious factors.

The festival was originally set for May 11th - May 12th 2013. Bands such as Blur, My Bloody Valentine and Primal Scream, whom are scheduled to play in the festival, have made arrangements to refund customers who bought tickets to the shows. This was a great disappointment to the fans who have made plans to travel.

Graham Coxon and Alex James: The last time Blur set foot in Japan was 10 years ago- in 2003 

According to the official website of the Tokyo Rocks festival (Japanese only), the festival was "cancelled due to several factors”. However, there were no further details about what these factors were.

This news have left many fans outside and inside Japan angry - fans have made special plans and bought airline tickets just for the show. Blur last played in Japan in 2003's Summer Sonic Osaka festival, and Akasaka Blitz Tokyo as part of their 'Think Tank' world tour. This year would have been the first time in 10 years that the band set foot in Japan's capital city.

And this also means that Blur will lose one more Asian date, only playing in Hong Kong and Taiwan as part of their 2013 tour.


Blur Tour 2013 - Full dates and rundown  HERE
Blur @ Coachella- video and image gallery HERE 

Blur confirmed for Mexico HERE

Blur Europe Tour News  HERE

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

SUBSCRIBE NOW!

If you missed old news, visit the NEWS ARCHIVE to read about past news!

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Robbie Williams bashes Blur and Alex James

Robbie Williams has continued his rant against Britpop stars, this time saying his nan could take Alex James' place in Blur.

Recording the first of his Radio Rudebox podcasts, the Take That singer said James "hadn't been very nice" to him when they've met in the Nineties, adding: "Alex is the bassist in Blur — my nan could do that. All she needs is a new haircut."

Williams explained he first met Blur during a TV show appearance in Manchester with Take That when he was 16. He said: "From what I now know, looking back, they were suffering from a little bit of middle-class angst. I did feel like I was part of the shit beneath their shoes for being in a boyband."

He did, however, praise Damon Albarn for being a "majestic songwriter", said he loves Graham Coxon's solo albums and believes drummer Dave Rowntree would make a "great politician". Williams also revealed intimate moments he shared with a who's who of Britpop, including taking heroin with Elastica and reading poems to Jarvis Cocker at Glastonbury. 

Earlier this month, Williams wrote a blog post criticising Britpop bands including Suede, Kula Shaker, The Bluetones, Echobelly and Northern Uproar, and went some way to apologising for it on his podcast, which you can hear here, particularly to Shed Seven's Rick Witter, who contacted Williams on Twitter, saying: "We've had good chats in the past. What went horribly wrong?" 

Robbie said: "I don’t want to upset him, he's a nice guy. I’ve met you three times, Rick, we have chatted and we’re on a level. I’m sorry that I slagged your band off." He then insisted his “misguided blog” was just defending pop, saying: “There is a lot of snobbery towards pop music, to me and pop in general — it’s kind of a despised art form. There’s a lot of ‘Check out that fat c***, he’d be nothing without Guy Chambers'. I'm coming from a place of, ‘Hang on, I’m being picked on here, I don’t like it'."

(Source)



Blur Tour 2013 - Full dates and rundown  HERE
Blur @ Coachella- video and image gallery HERE 

Blur confirmed for Mexico HERE

Blur Europe Tour News  HERE

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

SUBSCRIBE NOW!

If you missed old news, visit the NEWS ARCHIVE to read about past news!

Remember to subscribe to RSS and "LIKE" BlurBalls on Facebook.

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!