Blur Live

[YB941 5thD EFM ~soul~]

And then there were two...

 

With the scarcely lamented demise of Suede and Shed Seven the only inhabitants alive in the Britpop graveyard are its original dinosaurs: Oasis and Blur. At one point even that looked unlikely. Such was the ferocity of the 1995 'Country House' Vs 'Roll With It' chart battle it looked like one would surely tear the other limb from limb - the lumbering northern beatlesaurus against the lightweight southern mockneyraptor.

 

A year later, Oasis appeared to have lost the battle but won the war. Blur had their number one but it was the Gallagher brothers who sold out Knebworth twice in a champagne supernova (whatever that was) and sold about a billion albums.

 

Not that you'd know it now. Oasis have been cryogenically frozen in designer togs ever since - their masterplan consisting of about two ideas - while Blur have looked ever outwards for inspiration. Tonight's gig, which runs the gamut of their career from 'She's So High' to 'Out Of Time' - from art punk to Tangier-tinged ballads - is testament to just how convergent their paths have run. Opening with the droning hum of 'Ambulance' its like Britpop never happened. And, as those who've witnessed an Oasis gig in the last few years will know, this is a good thing.

 

It's immediately apparent just how many great songs Albarn & co have written - the still-thrilling discoid bounce of 'Girls & Boys', the wonky gospel of 'Tender', the soaring fragility of 'Beetlebum'. And that's within the first six songs. The rest of the set pulls together the convergent threads of their career with ease from 'Good Song' to 'Caravan' to 'Music Is My Radar' to 'This Is A Low'. Each could be the product of a different band entirely yet each is totally (B)lurred.

 

The loss of Graham Coxon has hardly dampened their sound. In fact, by replacing their lynchpin guitarist with three backing vocalists, Simon Tong from The Verve and an extra drummer it would be churlish to say that Blur 2003 are not a musically enhanced model.

 

Even the 'strike a light' appearance of Phil 'Geezer' Daniels for an impromptu encore of 'Parklife' - which turns The Coronet into a beery wedding reception - doesn't break the spell. It merely highlights how far ahead of the pack they've moved. The days of dog tracks and crap Damien Hirst videos are but distant memories.

 

They end with the triumphant chorus of 'The Universal' and barely have to sing a word. Unlike most of their contemporaries Blur are still making it happen.

 

www.dotmusic.com

 

 

[EFM The Firm, The Voice]

That reminds me Shed 7 are playing the Shepards Bush Empire on Wednesday!

[Stu B]

I saw Graham Coxen perform last night,he was pretty good!He played a really weird song that he said was about "aliens coming to planet earth because we've fu**ed it up",it had lyrics like "people of planet earth,you are cruel,you eat hamburgers and go to school..." Cooper temple clause, the scissor sisters and the music were really good last night aswell.

[YB941 5thD EFM ~soul~]

Where did he play?

 

[****!!****] - I've been looking out for Graham Coxon solo for months.

 

Do you have The Kiss Of Morning or The Sky Is Too High solo albums, fleetboy? Superb stuff!

 

 

[EFM's Librarian]

Sorry Zeal should have told you about that, it was the XFM winter warmer. It would have meant you giving money to homeless people though. I think it was at the forum?

[SteveP]

Going off th Blur topic, saw Radiohead and Bowie a couple of weeks back both excellent.

 

Are blur touring next year?

[Stu B]

It was indeed the xfm winter warmer,at the Astoria.I don't have any of the solo albums but i may have to invest in them..

[YB941 5thD EFM ~soul~]

I don't mind giving money to the homeless if I'm getting something out of it, Libro!!

 

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[SteveP]

FB, I've got Kiss of The Morning, a very good album, defintely worth getting.

 

As for all this charity stuff, I've done my bit some of that £100 I shelled out on Glastonbury must have gone to Africa or somewhere poor, like Grays.

[Chubbhead EFM]

The only Graham Coxon solo stuff I've ever heard is his cover of that song that goes 'that's when I reach for my revolver'. is that on any of the albums? and is his stuff quite 'rocky' or what?

[YB941 5thD EFM ~soul~]

That's on the Golden D album, which is the heaviest and my least favourite, to the point that I don't like it.

 

My favourite two of his albums are The Kiss Of Morning (his most recent) and The Sky Is Too High (his first from '98), which are both really mellow and lo-fi.

 

His other album, Crow Sit On Blood Tree, is like a mixture of the mellow and thrashy stuff.

 

 

[SteveP]

I think that's on 'How High is the Sky?', I wouldn't say it's all rocky, in fact 'reach for my revolver' sounds a bit like a Clash song to me. His stuff is quite a mix, you'd need to give the album a good listening to, it's worth it though.