Blur
Empress Ballroom Blackpool, 10th June 2015
The Britpop sensation perform the second of three warm-up shows in one of Lancashire’s favourite venues.
This month Blur will headline of few prestigious British Summer Time festival slots at Hyde Park, but have chosen first to bless the Blackpool stage in preparation, performing in the seaside city for the very first time. Excitement in the region has not only reached the Britpop survivors who lived through its heyday, but also hoards of teens, bearing the band’s infamous logo across their chests.
As fitting with the cover of latest (and first in twelve years) No.1 album The Magic Whip, which features an ice-cream cone made up of fluorescent lights and replicated in the gleaming lights behind the stage, the foursome walk out in front of their fans to an ice-cream van edition of Greensleeves, as well as to deafening cheers. Concealing half of Damon Albarn’s face is a pair of brightly-coloured novelty ‘Blackpool’ glasses, which he will later toss into the crowd, unleashing a fight-to-the-death scramble to retrieve them.
Blur launch straight into recent single Go Out and the ecstatic reaction of the audience is induced. However, disaster strikes not five minutes later when the front barrier breaks from the impact of the cramped crowd, forcing an immediate halt mid-way through of There’s No Other Way. The band rush through the rest of the song after a temporary fix, before announcing a quick break to secure it properly. Even without their presence on stage, the audience are undeterred and continue to chant the chorus.
Back on track, and songs picked straight from the last LP, including Lonesome Street and Thought I Was a Spaceman, are merged successfully with older ones, He Thought of Cars and Trimm Trabb to name a couple, chosen from a discography of hits spanning some twenty-five years. Both are welcomed with equal warmth, with every lyric lolling off many of the room’s tongues. Twice bassist-turned-cheesemaker Alex James wistfully lights up a cigarette on stage, whilst Albarn makes at least three appearances at the barrier, entering the crowd.
High-impact hits are all Blur leave the fans with before the encore. Beetlebum sees a mass singalong, fuelled by passion and a love of the music legends facing them, and Tender becomes an instant highlight for many. Predictably, the consecutive pairing of Parklife and Song 2 takes it up a notch, or perhaps eighty; immediately the pit sees a frenzy of euphoric movement. The nostalgic knock back to the mid-nineties is continued with a closing double whammy of To the End and This Is a Low.
And the encore is just a good. Stereotypes kicks it off again, followed quickly by the stereotype-spouting Girls & Boys. The Universal concludes the set perfectly, and is performed with such heart that in those four minutes everyone present seems to forget that it featured in an irritating British Gas advert.
Empress Ballroom Blackpool, 10th June 2015
The Britpop sensation perform the second of three warm-up shows in one of Lancashire’s favourite venues.
This month Blur will headline of few prestigious British Summer Time festival slots at Hyde Park, but have chosen first to bless the Blackpool stage in preparation, performing in the seaside city for the very first time. Excitement in the region has not only reached the Britpop survivors who lived through its heyday, but also hoards of teens, bearing the band’s infamous logo across their chests.
As fitting with the cover of latest (and first in twelve years) No.1 album The Magic Whip, which features an ice-cream cone made up of fluorescent lights and replicated in the gleaming lights behind the stage, the foursome walk out in front of their fans to an ice-cream van edition of Greensleeves, as well as to deafening cheers. Concealing half of Damon Albarn’s face is a pair of brightly-coloured novelty ‘Blackpool’ glasses, which he will later toss into the crowd, unleashing a fight-to-the-death scramble to retrieve them.
Blur launch straight into recent single Go Out and the ecstatic reaction of the audience is induced. However, disaster strikes not five minutes later when the front barrier breaks from the impact of the cramped crowd, forcing an immediate halt mid-way through of There’s No Other Way. The band rush through the rest of the song after a temporary fix, before announcing a quick break to secure it properly. Even without their presence on stage, the audience are undeterred and continue to chant the chorus.
Back on track, and songs picked straight from the last LP, including Lonesome Street and Thought I Was a Spaceman, are merged successfully with older ones, He Thought of Cars and Trimm Trabb to name a couple, chosen from a discography of hits spanning some twenty-five years. Both are welcomed with equal warmth, with every lyric lolling off many of the room’s tongues. Twice bassist-turned-cheesemaker Alex James wistfully lights up a cigarette on stage, whilst Albarn makes at least three appearances at the barrier, entering the crowd.
High-impact hits are all Blur leave the fans with before the encore. Beetlebum sees a mass singalong, fuelled by passion and a love of the music legends facing them, and Tender becomes an instant highlight for many. Predictably, the consecutive pairing of Parklife and Song 2 takes it up a notch, or perhaps eighty; immediately the pit sees a frenzy of euphoric movement. The nostalgic knock back to the mid-nineties is continued with a closing double whammy of To the End and This Is a Low.
And the encore is just a good. Stereotypes kicks it off again, followed quickly by the stereotype-spouting Girls & Boys. The Universal concludes the set perfectly, and is performed with such heart that in those four minutes everyone present seems to forget that it featured in an irritating British Gas advert.
