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A 20 Year Wait - Blur in Hong Kong- Gig Review

2013-05-23T20:40:00.006+08:00

The 20 Year Wait: Blur live in Hong Kong – a Review

Written by Florence Lee

It was a magical night. It was a revolutionary night. It was a night of many firsts, a night of which Blur fans in Hong Kong have been waiting and dreaming for – for over 20 years.

When Blur announced that they were playing in Hong Kong on May 6^th 2013, my unexpected reaction was something along the lines of: “Whaaat? Blur in Hong Kong? [long pause]. Haven’t they played in Hong Kong before? [Nope]. Oh my gosh! [insert high-pitched yell here about seeing-my-favourite-band-for-the-first-time-ever-in-history]”. I’m sure many fans in Hong Kong reacted equally as strongly, for when I logged onto Facebook an hour later, the news had already erupted everywhere on local social media and discussion forums.

Blur were a pretty big deal in Hong Kong, especially since many people in the city lived through British colonial times and were influenced by British music. Britpop was popular here back in the 90s; British music is still hip and trendy, Damon Albarn is a household name because of his best-selling Gorillaz and for writing a song called ‘Hong Kong’. I hurried online and bought tickets – freestanding, frontal, mosh-pit tickets – I couldn’t wait to re-live a 90s Blur gig and experience the hype.

STORY: Damon Albarn announces plans to record new Blur album

The day came, and after queuing up for hours at the Asia World Expo the crowd was finally let in. I was amongst people of all ages, most wearing Blur t-shirts and talking excitedly about Damon Albarn. I’ve never seen this many Blur fans in Hong Kong together. There were more than I thought! We all rushed in and waited – hopefully Blur won’t be late right?

Wrong. The concert began 40 minutes late, but when finally Blur rushed on stage, they were forgiven. Blur started off with a bang and jumped into ‘Girls and Boys’, which made everyone dance and jump to the beat. ‘Popscene’, another high energy hit, was next. The crowd went wild, and just as the early-punk song ended, Blur started playing the intro to one of their first singles ever- ‘There’s No Other Way’. The song made the crowd go even wilder, and everyone head banged, shoved and sweated to the beat. Damon Albarn greeted the audience after the song ended and said a few words about playing in Hong Kong, which were met with cheers.

Next came a few slower, low-fi songs from the later Blur albums. ‘Badhead’ was the highlight of the show, since it was one of my top Blur songs of all time. Damon Albarn sang the lead vocals with perfection, spilling emotion and angst, and Graham Coxon’s guitar blasted out mellow sounds. Next came the psychedelic ‘Beetlebum’, which sounded better live than in the album since on stage, the guitar and bass were turned up to the max and the music blasted all across the room.

‘Out of Time’ and ‘Trimm Trabb’ were next – the latter was surprises as it isn’t always played live. However, Trimm Trabb was fantastic and haunting, although by this time the crowd calmed down and everyone was listening to the music rather than moving about. ‘Caramel’ was next – it wasn’t the best since it seemed to drag on live, with its million musical instruments, percussions and mix of sounds. I think it sounds better in the album or with headphones, rather than live. The sound quality was consistent throughout the gig, brining out Blur’s clear sounds.

Hit after hit followed, and slowly the audience got lost in a Blur-coma. The sounds of Blur filled the World Expo, and the night became a haze of ‘Coffee and TV’, ‘Tender’

, ‘Country House’, ‘Parklife’ (no Phil Daniels, thank goodness), ‘End of a Century’, ‘Death of a Party’ and ‘This is A Low’.

Halfway through the show, Damon Albarn interrupted with a special announcement exclusively made in Hong Kong – they were “going to try to record another record” since the boys had some free time in Hong Kong next week. The crowd cheered with excitement – we were all glad to be let into Damon Albarn’s little secret – a new Blur record might possibly be recorded.

STORY: Blur record new demo tape in Hong Kong

The show ended with lots of woo hoos and wa hoos , with Blur playing their signature ‘Song 2’. By this stage, most of the audience including myself was exhausted from the Blur concert, and we all mustered enough energy for one last bop. After all, it wouldn’t be a complete Blur show without this era-defining tune. Dave was banging on the drums with fervor. ‘Song 2’ sounded better live, and I paused to marvel at how much fun I was having dancing to Graham Coxon’s electrifying lead guitars.

A memorable moment at the end was witnessing a group of fans singing the Oasis song ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’ as Blur left the stage. As if on cue, everyone gave them deathly stares. It was not funny.

I didn’t get much sleep after the Blur concert. I couldn’t, probably because deep down I knew I witnessed a historic moment in Blur’s musical history. Possibly also because I just spent the last 2.5 hours jumping up and down, getting squashed and shoving Blur fans around. Or maybe it was the adrenaline still rushing around in my body after the legendary gig.

So I got up, turned on the computer and looped Blur tunes on iTunes until the early hours of morning. It’s the only way of winding down after a Blur gig, and a great way to start off a brand new day.

Blur Setlist - Hong Kong May 6th 2013

‘Girls and Boys’

‘Popscene’

‘There’s No Other Way’

‘Badhead’

‘Beetlebum’

‘Out of Time’

‘Trimm Trabb’

‘Caramel’

‘Coffee and TV’

‘Tender’

‘Country House’

‘Parklife’

‘End of a Century’

‘Death of a Party’

‘This is A Low’

ENCORE:

‘Under the Westway’

‘For Tomorrow’

‘The Universal’

‘Song 2’

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

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

2013-05-19T17:25:00.001+08:00

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

Blur to debut in Chile for World Tour 2013 - New Tour Date announced

2013-05-18T08:23:00.001+08:00

Santiago, Chile is officially the latest addition to Blur's list of venues for their 2013 world tour [click for the full list of Blur tour dates].

Blur fans in Chile will finally have the chance to see their favorite band perform for the first time after all the years of waiting. The gig is scheduled just four days after their gig in Argentina and will be held on November 7th 2013 in the National Stadium Athletic Track in Santiago.

The announcement for a Blur concert in Chile was made less than a day ago on a music site as a move to kickstart an advertising and promotional campaign for the show.

The wait is finally over for thousands of fans in South America, many of whom eagerly awaited this special confirmation. Many online campaigns petitioning for Blur to come to North America, such as the "Blur Tour North and South America" fanpage, have surfaced since Blur's reformation in 2009. Fans in Chile have been anticipating for a Blur concert since the band cancelled a gig in the country 14 years ago during 1999, where Blur toured the world to promote their album '13'.

Blur had a debut concert in Chile scheduled for November 25, 1999 , and the fans eagerly awaited the show at the Estadio Monumental. However, the band decided to cancel the show just weeks before the concert, citing political reasons and differences- including a mention of Chilean authoritarian dictator General Augusto Pinochet's arrest a month earlier in a London hospital.

A Blur gig long overdue

Due to Augusto Pinochet's timely arrest, the local British Embassy warned bands and musicians scheduled on tour for Chile to cancel their shows. Blur's management decided to forgo Chile, leaving thousands of fans disappointed, and continue their '13' tour in Latin America by playing in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico.

14 years later, Blur are finally going to 'debut' in Chile on November 7th at one of Chile's biggest stadiums. With the announcement of plans for new Blur recordings [watch the video of Damon Albarn's surprise announcement] and the possible new dates for Blur's massive world tour, perhaps this year will end on an all-time high note, for both the band and the fans.

Ticketing Information - Blur live in Santiago, Chile 2013

Tickets go on sale this Sunday, May 19th, available through the Puntoticket system, shops Ripley, Cinemark, the Call Center 600 462 6000 and www.puntoticket.com. Prices ranging from 22,000 to 95,000 pesos (includes a 20% discount).

Follow BlurChile on Twitter and stay tuned for more updates and the latest Blur news.

Blur Tour 2013 - Full dates and rundown HERE

Blur @ Coachella- video and image gallery HERE

Damon Albarn- "We are going to try to record a new album" HERE

Blur Europe Tour News HERE

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

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Confirman concierto su debut de Blur en Chile !

2013-05-17T08:27:00.000+08:00

Blur confirmó su debut en Chile

Ya en noviembre de 2010 Damon Albarn había adelantado algo sobre una posible reunión con sus ex compañeros Graham Coxon, Alex James y Dave Rowntree. Ahora, el gran sueño de miles de fans chilenos está a punto de hacerse realidad.

Porque el 7 de noviembre Blur llegará a nuestro país para presentarse en la Pista Atlética del Estadio Nacional, en Santiago.

Todo comenzó cuando, durante los juegos olímpicos de Londres 2012, la banda confirmó su regreso a los escenarios con varios shows por el Reino Unido. Junto a esto se sumó, como sorpresa, nuevas e inéditas canciones como “Under The Westway” y “The Puritan”, escritas para su concierto en Hyde Park del 15 de agosto, y estrenadas vía streaming a todo el mundo en julio pasado.

Las entradas para el show se pondrán a la venta el próximo domingo 19 de mayo, a través del sistema Puntoticket. Los encargados de traer a Blur a Chile son la gente de la productora DG Medios.

Te dejamos con los precios y ubicaciones, para que te hagas una idea de cómo será este espectacular concierto.

(Source)

Desenfoque Gira 2013 - fechas completas y degradados AQUÍ
Desenfoque @ Coachella-video y galería de imágenes AQUÍ
Damon Albarn, "Vamos a tratar de grabar un nuevo disco" AQUÍ
Desenfoque Europe Tour News AQUÍ
Ordene el nuevo Desenfoque: Parklife (Live at Hyde Park CD / DVD) AQUÍ

SUSCRÍBETE AHORA!

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Gig spotlight: Blur at Big Sound Festival Indonesia 2013 (Videos and Pictures)

2013-05-17T00:39:00.004+08:00

Blur played a concert in Jakarta, Indonesia on May 15th 2013 as part of their phenomenal world tour this year, where they headlined one of Indonesia's biggest music festivals- Big Sound Festival 2013. Images of Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James and Dave Rowntree in Indonesia, at the gig, with fans, at the airport and playing pingpong backstage at the concert have surfaced.

Here's a first look at the Jakarta gig:

Blur in Indonesia - Photo gallery

Setlist: Blur at Big Sound Festival, Jakarta Indonesia 2013

Girls and Boys
Popscene
There's No Other Way
Badhead
Beetlebum
Out of Time
Caramel
Coffee & TV
Tender
Country House
Parklife
End of a Century
Death of a Party
This is a Low
Westway
For Tomorrow
The Universal
Song 2

Watch the concert (videos)

Blur interview for Kompas TV Indonesia - May 15th 2013

For more images of Big Sound Fest di Jakarta, visit this gallery.

Stay tuned for a review and more exclusive photographs of the show.

Blur Tour 2013 - Full dates and rundown HERE

Blur @ Coachella- video and image gallery HERE

Damon Albarn- "We are going to try to record a new album" HERE

Blur Europe Tour News HERE

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

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

Blur recorded a new demo tape in Hong Kong

2013-05-15T10:57:00.002+08:00

Damon Albarn has surprised Blur fans yet again. The frontman announced during Blur's first Hong Kong gig (May 6th 2013) that the band "will try to record a new record" in a week-long period during their stay in the vibrant city, and the news (captured in our exclusive video) had taken the world by storm.

The Blur forums have been given a revamp, Damon's been spotted abroad the Hong Kong MTR train, Graham Coxon was seen in the city's "Soho" Lan Kwai Fong, plus Dave's been tweeting meticulously about Hong Kong. Something's definitely up.

A few days ago, a Hong Kong music sharing page "Zenegeist" shared a photo of a new Blur demo in their official Facebook page. The photo has the text "Front of House" written in front, as well as some technical details of the brand new demo tape.

New Blur demo (Facebook.com/zenegeist)

The original post message was in Chinese: 剛才在Avon 樓下碰到blur 的roadie Steve . Steve 透露樂隊已完成在港的錄音工作，並已錄下數首demo. 曲風仍然很blur 和帶有lofi 感覺。 Blur 將會在明天離港

The text can be translated into "We just bumped into Blur at Avon and met their roadie Steve. Steve revealed that the band had completed their recordings in Hong Kong, and produced a few new demo tracks. Blur's new demos still retain the original 'Blur' sound and has a very low-fi feel. Blur will leave Hong Kong tomorrow."

As with many news recently, this is speculation as to whether the information is legitimate or not. The picture seems real albeit the weight, and Damon Albarn indeed announced in front of thousands of live audiences in Hong Kong that they were going to try making new material last week. However, as some fans pointed out, the item in the picture weights 83kg - impossible for a small demo tape.

Graham Coxon also posted a picture of biscuits on what seems like studio equipment on Twitter, presumably from the studio they hired in Hong Kong after the announcement.

Biscuits on studio equipment - speculations on Blur's new recordings 2013

It could very well be that Blur will polish up these demo after their tour, or perhaps finally gather all their previous recordings from the old William Orbit sessions and release a new Blur album. Or perhaps the band will choose not to use the new tracks they recorded in Hong Kong this week. Or, will Damon Albarn change his mind again and decide to drop Blur after the world tour?

Amidst rumours of a new album, new Blur EP and new tour venues for the latter part of the year, anything can happen.

One thing's for sure - the recent Blur news are all pointing to a positive direction, and the band's prospects for releasing a new album are looking rather positive.

Blur Tour 2013 - Full dates and rundown HERE

Blur @ Coachella- video and image gallery HERE

Damon Albarn- "We are going to try to record a new album" HERE

Blur Europe Tour News HERE

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

SUBSCRIBE NOW!

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

Blur's Alex James directs and produces new track for Virgin Media Shorts (video)

2013-05-10T20:17:00.001+08:00

For the premier of the Virgin Media Shorts short film competition, Alex James, bassist and cheese-maker from Blur directed, scored, wrote and acted in his very own short film, all under the main motif of the contest- "Life is Short". For the film, Alex James was given a sponsored Nikon D5200 and asked to let his creative juices spill.

The Blur bassist's final film is a mere 2.20 minutes long, but manages to include an exclusive, new Alex James song titled "Superordinator". The brand new track is the background music to the short film and will definitely keep Blur fans hoping for new sounds satisfied.

Scene from Alex James's directing debut for the Virgin Media Shorts competition

Alex's film, titled "Slice of Life" was filmed in Los Angeles, USA, and features Alex James dancing to the beat, shaking his head, brushing his teeth and walking around the sunny Los Angeles streets.

The film highlights that colorful, high-resolution scenes can be created using a normal-priced DSLR camera. Additionally, the background track also sounds somewhat like an early Blur demo . It also has a surprise ending which you can find out by scrolling down and watching the full film.

Watch: "Slice of Life" - a film by Alex James

Rate Alex James's Short Film:

Happy Birthday Dave Rowntree - Blur drummer turns 49!

2013-05-08T12:00:00.006+08:00

David Alexander De Horne Rowntree, a.k.a Dave Rowntree (born on May 8th 1964, aged 49) from Blur, is an English musician and the drummer of Blur. He is also a registered solicitor and political activist, and has an interest in computer animation and graphic design. Though known as the "quiet one" in Blur, Dave regularly updates his Instagram, Twitter and Facebook stream, even posting pictures straight from the backstage of Blur concerts.

Tweet Dave a birthday greeting at @DaveRowntree

Blur are currently on a week-long visit to Hong Kong, where they played an energetic concert at the Asia World Expo arena.

BLUR FACT: Did you know- Dave Rowntree is the oldest member of Blur, being 3 years older than Blur frontman Damon Albarn and guitarist Graham Coxon (both born in 1969). He's 4 years older than bassist Alex James, who is a year younger than Damon and Graham.

Happy 49th Birthday Dave!

Check out the top Dave Rowntree quotes of all time HERE.

Damon Albarn: "We are recording a new Blur album" 2013

2013-05-06T22:50:00.001+08:00

Blur confirms rumours to release a new album

Blur announces firm plans to record a new album during their Hong Kong concert on May 5th 2013. Not only a new single or a track, but a new album is next up for Blur.

Yes- it is true , Blur will be recording a new album for release soon and will be starting the recording process this week. We heard it straight from the horse's mouth, live from the Blur covert in Hong Kong's Asia World Expo this evening as Damon announced it to the Hong Kong audience.

"It's a secret" said Damon Albarn before announcing the news to the live audience. The Blur frontman seemed relaxed and excited at the prospects of working with Graham Coxon, Alex James and Dave Rowntree for a new Blur album.

"We were supposed to play in Taiwan and Japan next week, but due to unforeseen circumstances we weren't able to go there" he said, "so we have a week in Hong Kong, so we thought it would be a good time to try and record another record".

It looks as if they are planning to use the week in town to record and plan the new Blur album. If that's so, then Blur may have plans to tour the city and gain inspiration from the aesthetic views of the city's skyline for new Blur songs.

Hong Kong fans heard it live - Blur are working on a new record for 2014/2015 release

This news confirms strong rumours that Blur are recording a new album after their massive 2013 world tour, which brings them to cities such as Buenos Aires, Hong Kong, Istanbul and other American, European and Asian destinations around the world. Check out a full list of tour dates and venues from our site.

Once again, Blur are definitely recording a new album and if it successfully gets released, will be releasing new singles , new songs, new Blur B-sides and new albums after their current tour. 2014 is looking to be a fruitful year, with many new Blur songs coming your way if Damon keeps to his word.

Blur's reunion has been a surprise - a very pleasant surprise for the long time fans and devotees. Fans who were in Hong Kong had it lucky since this is the first time the band officially confirmed the new album rumours, ending months of speculations. Perhaps the new Blur album will sound like completely different, unexpected and experimental; or will it be centered around rock and pop ? Who knows.

All we know is that - as Damon Albarn chants : it really really really could (and did) happen.

Exclusive Blur news from Blurballs.com, live from the Hong Kong gig.

Blur announces plans to record new album 2013

2013-05-06T20:59:00.003+08:00

Blur confirms rumours to release a new album

Blur announces firm plans to record a new album during their Hong Kong concert on May 5th 2013. Not only a new single or a track, but a new album is next up for Blur.

"We were supposed to play in Japan and Taiwan" he said, "but it was cancelled so we have a week in Hong Kong".

It looks as if they are planning to use the week to record and plan the new Blur album. Blur plans to tour the city and gain inspiration from the aesthetic views of the city's skyline for new Blur songs.

Blur at Hong Kong - original picture by BlurBalls

Once again, Blur are definitely recording a new album and going to be releasing new singles , new songs, new Blur B-sides and new albums after their tour. 2014 is looking to be a fruitful year , with many new Blur songs coming your way.

Blur's reunion has been a surprise - a very pleasant surprise for the long time fans and devotees. Perhaps the new Blur album will sound like completely different, unexpected and experimental; or will it be centered around rock and pop ? Who knows.

All we know is that - as Damon Albarn chants : it really really really could (and did) happen.

Exclusive Blur news from Blurballs.com, live from the Hong Kong gig. new blur single

Is the demo tape real?
	Yes - I believe it's real
	Nope - fake / photoshopped
	Don't know / Maybe
	Don't care - it's something new