Blur

Blur only played two shows in the US this fall in support of its surprise new album The Magic Whip, so my wife and I flew to NYC to catch the East Coast show at Madison Square Garden. Blur were extremely thankful finally to be playing in such a prestigious location. The whole show was a big 'thank you' to the fans. The setlist spanned the band's illustrious career. I was hoping for a few more new songs, but I can't complain a bit. The band was in top form, careening about the stage as if it were 1997. The crowd as just as appreciative, singing along to every song. It was an amazing night. Never thought we would see Blur with Graham Coxon again, so it was particularly poignant.

Woo-hoo!! Never thought I would get to see them so it was a treat. The "Tender / Parklife / Song 2" stretch of songs towards the end of the main set was great. Lots of fun and energy.

Blur blended old with new in an unforgettable wall of sound at the Garden! The band, plus back up singers, plus string section, plus horn section, plus percussion (17 performers all in) absolutely ROCKED! This was not a nostalgic trop down memory lane as much as a chance to enjoy a band that has impact today!!! Thankful to be there!!

Finally got to see Blur in LA after being a fan for about 20 years. They did not disappoint! Show was energetic, heartfelt, and fun! They are so good live.

Great concert!! Can't wait for them to come back!!

I love Blur more each time I see them. We loved watching the show in the open air venue, under the stars. An absolutely brilliant night. I hope to have the opportunity to see them again, soon.

Damon and the guys never fail me. The sound, the performance can be summed up in one word....perfection!

It was like time stood still and 90's were reborn again.

No Band Better in the past 20 years, and Absolutely Stunning Live Performance! Courtney Barnett the best new artist out there, and put on a great show as well! Best Concert Ever.

This was their first show at the Hollywood bowl, Damon mentioned how he was nervous of performing there. He has nothing to be nervous about, they were amazing. They played a few songs from their newest album and a selection of their classics. This was my first time seeing them live, as I was a child for their last tour. I'm not disappointed at all. Damon is great singing live, he interacted with the crowd. I'm definitely investing in a front row ticket for their next visit ! Do come back Blur ! Your L.A. fans love you !!!

I had never seen this band live, and was always more of an Oasis fan during the '90s when they were rivals. This show exceeded all my expectations. Superb musicianship, humor, and amazing song-craft combined for an outstanding evening under the stars at the Bowl. This was a real treat, since the band doesn't tour very often in the U.S., and I almost didn't get tickets. I'm really glad I did. I'm a Blur-eever!

I've been wanting to see Blur live since I was 10 when I had first gotten a hold of their self-titled album in 2001 from FYE. They had instantly become one of my favorite bands, alongside Gorillaz. After listening to their self titled album, I listened to the rest of their works online and fell in love, Damon Albarn had become an idol to me. Little did ten year old me know what was going on with the band and that they would soon break off, but not before one last tour, sans Graham. I had no idea they were even touring in 2003 and I would have been too young to see them in Toronto anyway. So when it was announced in 2009 that the band was getting back together with Graham in the mix, my hopes had risen. They played a few on/off shows, a series of festivals, and then not much else had happened. The one off single, Fool's Day, was released, and that seemed like a little teaser for something else, but two years go by before Damon and the gang even announce more shows to coincide with the Olympic's closing ceremony, and another single, the wonderful Under the Westway/The Puritan. After those shows, and the festivals extending into 2013, it seems like that might be the last of Blur. Two years later. Blur surprises the world by announcing The Magic Whip, their first album in 12 years which culminated from a series of recordings in Hong Kong after a show in Japan was canceled. Better yet, the album turns out to be outstanding and Blur is satisfied enough with the response that they announce a world tour. Days, weeks go by, and Americans are waiting. They play Jimmy Fallon and a surprise free show at the Williamsburg Music Hall. I would have gone, but it was so limited, I would have never made it. Another week goes by and there it is, they announce two major shows in the US, their first two major shows, sans Coachella, since 2003. It was decided that I would take the train from Buffalo to NYC and see my favorite band play at MSG. And it was great. The band walked onto the stage after a brilliant set by Courtney Barnett, whose debut album is one of the best of the year. You can tell Damon is excited before they dive into Go Out, the debut single from The Magic Whip. The crowd goes nuts. Looking around, MSG looks packed, and I would later find out that it was indeed sold out. Blur demonstrates that they can perform in an American arena on par with how they do in arenas in the UK. After performing a few new ones and a few classics that everyone was into, they bust out Country Sad Ballad Man, which, aside from playing it a week prior in Mexico, they hadn't played it since 2000. Next they play Beetlebum and Graham really shines hear with his guitar work, proving that he really is one of the greats. Two songs later they play Trimm Trabb where Dave's drums excel in sound and Damon in on his knees, kneeling over the crowd in despair as he sings "I sleep alone". Tender has the whole crowd moving in an excellent performance and then Damon tops it off by calling Donald Trump a chump, "Democracy, right?". With Parklife, they bring a number of fans onstage as they were unable to bring any celebrity, unlike in LA when Fred Armisen had performed the song. Fortunately, one of the fans has the first verse memorized and nails it before Damon takes over, finishing the song off. The rest of the set is exactly what I expected from Blur, a series of hits and popular songs. And I couldn't be more satisfied. For hundreds, if not thousands of people, this would be their first time seeing Blur and with such a rare show, of course they're not gonna play Billy Jean or Zeal, how random would that be? But thankfully they did close off the proper set with This Is A Low, what a great song. Minutes later for the encore, they plow through Stereotypes, which was a pleasure to see live, Girls and Boys, which I expected them to play at some point, For Tomorrow, which was actually unexpected but well received, and then The Universal. The violinists shine here, and Damon is so happy that he can finally say, "Friday night at Madison Square Garden, thank you for this". It had only taken them 25 years to get to this point, and man, it was well worth the wait as I had gotten to see it with my own eyes. This is surely a night to remember.

BLUR was bloody brilliant!! They sound even better now than they did 12 years' ago. I love that they only chose to do 2 shows, and that one of them was at Madison Square Garden. They spread the love East Coast & West Coast style!

So glad that Blur stopped by the US for their tour for their new album! Never been to NY, but made the trip from TX just so I could see this band live with my sister. Wasn't disappointed. The band put on a high energy performance playing all their classics as well as their great new songs. They got the crowd involved, and even in my nosebleed seats, I felt part of the show! Wish they had more shows in the US! Come back soon!

I had wanted to see Blur my entire life. I finally did and it was amazing.

I've been a fan of Blur since my teenage years, so it was a dream come true to attend this concert. The best part was the energy and vibrant atmosphere and that they played songs from all the albums, including the least commercial ones.

Damon is a genius, Graham is a rock god and Blur is best when the play live.

First and only time I saw blur was at Dc's 9:30 club, off the Think Tank tour, I was lucky enough to see them with 1200 others... Seeing them for 2 hours at the majestic Madison Square Garden was a true dream come true. Band deserve a much bigger audience here in the states, and for 2 hours, in the greatest city on earth, it seem like blur and America finally understood each other. This was one of the best 2 hours I spent this year...

It s only taken us twenty five years to play here, but as I keep telling myself, better late than never. Damon Albarn It s been a prolonged journey from Primrose Hill - complete with band break­ups, numerous side­ projects, and second careers in law and caseiculture along the way but after 24 years, Blur finally made their debut at The Garden. As the second of only two official US appearances on The Magic Whip tour (though they did also play a free show in Brooklyn earlier this year), the nearly sold­-out New York show came hot on the heels of their other bi-coastal concert at the Los Angeles Bowl earlier in the week. Like so many before them, including their old nemesis, Oasis, Blur have always struggled to tame the elusive beast that is the U.S. market, and it was hard to shake the view that their condensed tour wasn t in large part engineered out of a desire to scratch a personal itch, specifically the chance to play at Madison Square Garden. Albarn was clearly enamored to be playing at the iconic venue, as evidenced by the numerous thanks that he bestowed upon various people, which at times made it feel more like a farewell performance. In contrast to the Williamsburg show earlier in the year in which they played the new album alone and in its entirety, this was a shut­-up­-and­-play­-the­-hits affair for the most part. While new tracks dominated the opening third of the show, punctuated with a crowd­-pleasing There s No Other Way , the meat of the evening was decidedly old school. Despite band members having seemingly managed to stave off the middle­-age spread resident bassist and gentleman farmer, Alex James, in particular looking youthful and (admittedly, slightly disappointingly) cigarette­-free ­- the band itself has grown beyond its lean foursome to include a horn section and group of backing gospel singers. Their presence added weight though, especially on the always rousing Tender which cumulated with an outro in which Albarn denounced hometown blow­hard, Donald Trump, as a chump. Albarn had commented in an interview earlier in the week that he had hoped to persuade Mike Myers to perform the spoken­-word component of Parklife , preferably in character as Austin Powers. For reasons unknown, Myers refused ­- perhaps he was busy filming The Love Guru 2 . Instead, Albarn invited several young fans up on stage to give their very best Phil Daniels impression, with one young lady nailing it, cockney accent and all. It was however hard to shake a slight sense of sour grapes from the front­man, not helped by Fred Armisen having cameoed at the Los Angeles show earlier that week. While Blur may have been newcomers to The Garden, their biggest American hit, Song 2 , was anything but. A staple of Knicks games for well over a decade, it made a memorable live debut, drawing the biggest cheer of the night. The band concluded their set with an outstanding rendition of arguably their best song, This is a Low . It was not the first time I had heard it live they played it at their 2004 New York show, but that was during the Coxton-free years, and his soaring guitar solo only underscored what was previously missing (though it should also be worth noting that a drunken Damon Albarn fell off the stage at that show in front of David Bowie, no less which is perhaps the epitome of rock & roll). The band returned with a four song encore. American audiences by their nature lack some of the drunken, rambunctious personality that makes Girls & Boys such a live treat in the UK, but the excitable fans in the General Admission area gave it their best shot. The overblown but always welcome theatrics of The Universal brought the evening to a close, with Albarn proclaiming New York to be his favorite American city to stop by. A quarter of a century into their career, Blur remain a talented outfit who manage to play the sometimes dangerous nostalgia game while remaining relevant. Now that they ve gotten MSG out of their system though, here s to hoping that they play some smaller venues next time.

BLUR is awesome live, was so happy to be able to finally see them again after almost 20 years. Unforgettable evening.

I came down from Boston to see these guys. The material, musicianship, sound quality, stage presence were great! I thought I'd never get to see Blur in the States but they not only delivered, they gave a great show as if it was the only one during their world tour that mattered. I initially wasn't happy about seeing them at MSG but it turned out to be a an excellent experience.

I jumped at the opportunity to purchase these Blur tickets the minute I saw they were available. I was a bit young for there previous shows and tour so I was going to take advantage of this moment

I came in from Ohio for this show, and I was not disappointed! Not only did Blur play songs from their new album, The Magic Whip, they played many of their best songs from throughout their discography! The seats were good, and the sound was excellent. It wasn't too loud, and we could still hear everything perfectly! If Blur comes back to the states and I can get to their show, I would happily attend again!

I've been waiting a long time to see Blur and they did not disappoint. A great mix of their hits, tracks from their new album, and a few deep album cuts. Damon Albarn is a great frontman and singer, and Graham Coxon is amazing on guitar. Opener Courtney Barnett blew me away though. She ripped through eight songs and seemed on the verge of shredding her vocal chords by the last song. She was giving it everything; an incredible performer. I'd see her again in a heartbeat.

The sound was very bad unfortunately Good choice of songs Band is very generous

Definitely one of the best shows I've ever seen: high energy, great crowd, all the hits plus plenty of material from Magic Whip. Felt like a historic event to see them at a sold out Garden show.

A nice show at MSG. They went on right at 9pm which is not always a ny thing to do for the fashionably late. Good set list. Surprised at the number of empty seats though.

I couldn't have asked for a better show!! The band was tight, and grooved deep. Damon's voice was beautiful. They rocked out, chilled out and mostly had fun. It was sincerely one of the best shows I've been to.

Amazing! Beautiful! Lots of funny moments & interaction with the crowd! Very much entertaining! It was a dream of mine to see them live <333 And they sounded f'n awesome!!! x love them & their music <3 I'll never forget that day :D

but I did. and I saw them at the Hollywood Bowl. I waited 20 years for this and it was well worth it. unbelievable.

Excellent show. I drove down to Hollywood from Seattle. The opening act was very good, I'm going to be checking her out. They played several songs that surprised me, in a good way. Damon talked to the audience which was neat!

The combination of all the best old songs contrasted with the great new material. The concert showcased the continuing growth and ingenuity of a brilliant artist, Damon Albarn and one of the best British bands-ever.

Last time i saw Blur was in 1999, and this was definitely a long time coming, and they didn't disappoint. Their catalogue is so vast, i didn't hear everything i wanted, but they sure played what i wanted! They're energized, still youthful, played great songs like There's no other way, For Towmorrow, The universal, End of a Century, Beetlebum, BOYS & GIRLS!!

I saw Gorillaz at Gibson Amphitheatre in 2010, then Blur in Coachella 2013. But this performance by far was incredibly spectacular in comparison.

This show was an absolute party. Los Angeles showed up big time for these legends, and the boys delivered. Damon was all smiles, all evening. Coxon and the band were tight as ever. Fred Armisen doing "Parklike" was the icing. I'm hoping they come back, because I'll be there, but they could easily expand their US tour to more cities.

After years of trying to finally crack America, Blur played their first big venue gig in L.A. and they stepped up. Their sound translated perfectly to the size and scale of the Bowl. The sound was fantastic. Damon Albarn is one of the most talented frontmen of his generation and Coxon one of the best guitarists.

Blur were incredible. Graham Coxon's guitar playing was the most amazing thing I've ever heard. Alex's bass line was to die for. Dave was a badass on drums. And Damon was amazing, on key the whole time, and just...THEY WERE AMAZING. Best band I've ever seen live.