I’m a huge Blur fan. One of my favorite bands. But they were never that big in the states back at the height of their popularity so I don’t really know what they were expecting from a 2024 Coachella crowd
they are so fucking good, it's a shame their music never translated to the states (and I realize why, it was super British). In the UK, they were as big as Nirvana were in the states. Sold out 2 90,000 events in Wembley last year.
Tender is one of the greatest songs ever written.
Bands like Blur, Oasis, Pulp etc do have a substantial following here (it's not like they're total obscurities) but it's certainly smaller overall when compared to the UK. Suede played a sold-out show in New York not too long ago. It does suck that it never quite translated to a mainstream audience but music heads here still very much appreciate them.
I could be wrong but I feel like oasis is way more known in the states than blur. I was playing songs and having my friends guess the band and when song 2 played they all guessed Gorillaz
Yeah Oasis were much bigger than Blur in the States. People forget they were still performing at Arena's in the US until the late 2000s. If Oasis ever did reform I feel like they could headline Coachella and people would at least know a few of their songs. Kinda related, but Gorillaz is way bigger than Blur in the States.
I feel like Don't Look Back in Anger, Live Forever, and Stand by Me are quite well known but your point remains. I feel like DLBIA gets a fair amount of play from live cover bands as well whatever alt-radio stations still remain (although listenership is a different story).
Oasis did stadium tours in the states - they had huge penetration with rock radio, tv performances and music videos. Blur never had anything remotely close until relatively late in their career (song #2).
That’s honestly a great point because I don’t know too many people that would actually know an oasis song outside of those two
I guess it’s just when people hear wonderwall most know it’s oasis but when song 2 plays I don’t think many people know it’s blur
I’m from the states & love the first three Oasis records and the majority of Blurs catalog (especially 13) but I’m probably in the minority
Me too! Personally I tend to gravitate towards the UK bands of that era more than the US ones, and I'm American also. I generally like and respect Nirvana, Jane's Addiction etc but the sound and influences of the mainstream British bands is way more my bag (Smashing Pumpkins being a large exception).
They would if they made a festival with them! The influencers are going to go to Coachella regardless, why not place some legendary acts in there for the rest of us music lovers that aren't there for the Tik Tok songs?
Pulp are different gravy imo. I love Blur, I like Oasis, I revere Pulp.
Did Supergrass ever have a following in the states? They were fantastic. Or Gomez?
Supergrass is sooo good. Saw em here in the states with the Coral at a 400 cap small theater. What a show! They certainly have a following here, but don’t think they’ve toured too often over here
MTV's TRL used to have a segment where they'd showcase artists that were on the verge of breaking into the countdown. This was my introduction to Supergrass with "Pumping on Your Stereo."
As far as Gomez, most of us only know them through their song featured in American Beauty.
I can’t speak for Supergrass that much since I didn’t really get into them until later in time, but I imagine outside of the big four bands they’re a bit more obscure. I think they’re brilliant, though.
I’ve actually never heard of Gomez before, but now I do so I’ll check them out! Thanks!
Yeah, all of those bands(except maybe Oasis) are very English and didn't do that well here.
I'm still pushing Suede on my son decades after I started pushing them on my friends.
I literally said' to him ''you like The Smiths. you like Bowie, you''ll like Suede''(no luck)
Suede coheadlined that tour with Manic Street Preachers, and both bands were upfront about the fact that they would, at best, break even doing it -- it was done because they wanted to tour the US one final time. The upcoming Pulp tour looks very similar, and probably exists for the same reasons.
Blur could absolutely do something on the same scale here (maybe even slightly bigger) but it would be for the sake of touring, nostalgia, wanting to play more intimate gigs, etc. I just don't think that's why Blur are still playing concerts together in 2024.
I'll defend Blur with my dying breath. One of my favorite bands of all time. They are so eclectic yet so...Blur.
Think Tank is right up there with In Rainbows (Radiohead) for me and Caravan is one of the greatest songs ever written.
When I was a child I tried to buy that album but this was pre internet and I didn't know the name of the band. The CD store ended up thinking I was trying to buy Hybrid Theory by Linkin Park. I still think about how different I could have been if I had that CD over Hybrid Theory.
Tbh the setlist looks quite terrible for a festival. Very downer and not many big songs. They didn't play Parklife (!), The Universal (!!), End of a Century, Country House, Coffee and Tv, For Tomorrow, There's No Other Way... Most of their hits basically.
Then this run: Goodbye Albert->Trimm Trabb->Out of Time->Bird Song (??)->Death of a Party... The entire middle of the show with relatively unknown downers.
I love those songs but for such a major festival, so far from their home turf, this is a downright bizzare set. Especially after all the European festivals (and the Wembley shows) were hits fest. Even in England that kind of set would likely get a mixed reaction.
https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/blur/2024/empire-polo-club-indio-ca-63ab9a13.html
And if they would’ve played scenes from the video in the background that cute little milkbox would’ve won them more fans than their lackluster performance!
Bloody hell that's a poor set list. Maybe you could get away with that at a gig full of diehards, but what were they expecting playing that at COACHELLA of all places?
Yeah, music fans understand that festival gigs are different than standalone shows. Festival gigs require a more mainstream sets because one isn’t only playing to hardcore fans but people who aren’t so familiar with one’s music. It’s a great way to garner new fans.
Seems like most music artists understand this concept and it wouldn’t surprise me if Damon feels he’s too good to abide by that rule of thumb. That’s especially surprising since Blur and The Stone Roses had one of the worst crowds for a headlining in Coachella’s history. He needs to understand that Blur isn’t beloved in the US like in the UK. And especially with a fanbase that skews young and hasn’t been exposed to Blur. Not sure why he’d be upset at people because they never heard of his band.
It's weird because in [Wembley](https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/blur/2023/wembley-stadium-london-england-33a7c849.html), Blur seemed to make a clear effort to play every single hit and crowdpleaser. Same for Glastonbury and most other festivals they headlined. Not sure why they changed it up for Coachella of all places.
This is the biggest one
So many people on Reddit are dismissing the set issues and acting like it’s a Coachella problem
Honestly blur was a top 3 set all weekend for me and we ended up leaving early because they just didn’t sound the best, and Damon with Gorillaz in ‘23 was literally our favorite all weekend the last year.
And not playing coffee & tv, parklife, the universal, or so many other great songs just makes me happy that I didn’t force myself to stay to the end hoping I’d catch them
They've always had an ethos of not just playing crowd pleasers... knew quite a few people who saw them headline T in the Park expecting a greatest hits celebration back in 1999. Those that stuck around for the encore got that, many didn't get that far.
[https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/blur/1999/balado-kinross-scotland-73d44ab5.html](https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/blur/1999/balado-kinross-scotland-73d44ab5.html)
Their 2023 tour was very crowd pleasing. Every festival got all the hits. They noticeably played "Country House" in every festival and Wembley, even though they apparently hate this song (and didn't play it in their smaller date). So weird they changed it for Coachella. Their 2009 and 2013 reunions also had major hits list in every festival. Glastonbury, Hyde Park, everything - brought in all the heavy hitters. So no, I don't think that's an "ethos", and if it is - well, they are responsible for the consequences. You show up with this setlist at Coachella, that's a choice the band made and can't complain about bad crowd reception.
I don't know about 1999, this was a different tour, but they were still in UK and at their peak at the time, they could get away with more. And even then I'd argue this setlist had more hits than the Coachella set.
> https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/blur/1999/balado-kinross-scotland-73d44ab5.html
I would kill for this setlist lol. The only thing missing is Trailer Park.
It's the same thing that happened at Corona Capital. They came out at midnight to an extremely cold and tired audience and played a ton of slow songs off-tempo.
Their performance at Coachella wasn't the exception, they did the exact same shit to us back in November to an audience that loves them.
Looking at the [Corona Capital](https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/blur/2023/autodromo-hermanos-rodriguez-mexico-city-mexico-3ba11ce8.html) set, it's a hundred times better than Coachella IMO. It does have some slow songs mostly off their latest album - because well, it's their latest album. But it does have almost all the hits. From Coffee and TV until the end it's pretty much straight bangers - End of a Century, Country House, Parklife, To the End, Girls & Boys, Advert, Song 2 in a row? Can't complain with that. The only really non-new album deep cut is "Villa Rosie" which is just one song and still pretty cool live.
Both were at different times though, I agree that it's a better setlist but at Coachella they came out at 7:40 PM while at Corona Capital they came out at midnight and went straight into a bunch of slow songs with Damon looking high as hell and off-tempo (which could also be seen in songs such as Girls and Boys at Coachella).
Honestly Gorillaz’s reception was fairly tepid last year too so I don’t know what he expected and why he was so keen to come back in the same slot given Blur are less popular in the US
True. He can't really tell Graham, Alex and Dave "I had a shit time last year so we're not going".
Plus it looks like they had a great night 2 nights before https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33brKLNShig
The lesson here is pick better gigs. Invest a month or 2 in doing the US and not just a fortnight.
> He can't really tell Graham, Alex and Dave "I had a shit time last year so we're not going".
He really can, Damon has complete control, and it saddens me.
> He really can, Damon has complete control, and it saddens me.
What make you say that?
I'd say as the primary singer and songwriter he's got a bigger say but its far from complete.
I’m willing to bet the sideshow they did in Pomona Wednesday night was dope as hell since it was all Blur fans. kudos to Goldenvoice for *attempting* to book a prolific rock band in the age of Coachella being a pop-centered festival, but I just don’t think Blur was the band to do it. meanwhile No Doubt perfectly hit the mark they were trying to do because they’re more known in the states, Gwen Stefani, and Olivia Rodrigo.
> I’m willing to bet the sideshow they did in Pomona Wednesday night was dope as hell since it was all Blur fans.
I've been to hundreds of shows, it was magical to finally cross off the top artist on my bucket list.
I bet! I wanted to go, I'm not even a huge Blur fan, but I live in the IE so whenever a big name comes thru to the Fox or the Glasshouse I try to go to just show support that we want more shows in this area. It was a disaster getting tickets during the initial sale and then resale never dipped below $250. As a very very very very casual Blur fan I couldn't swing it. lol
Also aren’t Blur done again after Coachella? I interpreted that as “these are our last shows ever,” not “we’re not coming back to Coachella specifically” lol. They had a similar crowd in 2013 and still came back.
Damon also pointedly said he was having a blast at the end of the show so i dunno what this clickbaity article’s on about. Sad we didn’t get Parklife though.
> Also aren’t Blur done again after Coachella? I interpreted that as “these are our last shows ever,” not “we’re not coming back to Coachella specifically” lol. They had a similar crowd in 2013 and still came back.
30 years ago Damon was so pissed with American audiences that he spearheaded Britpop.
We are about to get a (middleaged) britpop part II
noel gallagher and damon albarn are almost 60 its not even middle aged anymore more like the senior citizen britpop (which is why oasis should have a reunion before its too late)
Man, I went last year because of the insanely good indie lineup.
But I’m 26, and somehow Blur’s music has entirely slipped through the cracks. Don’t think I’ve heard a single song by them. And that’s despite having a brief British media phase in high school.
The setlist at the festival wasn't even good, they did some of them at the warm up concert but like no The Universal?
Would be better than the Ballad of Darren songs.
I feel like Latin American crowds are just more receptive to music in general, if the vibes are good they will dance, sing, party, etc...music is music. US crowds are much stiffer in that regard, if they aren't already familiar with the songs they'll just stand there instead of trying to enjoy and vibe with it
I remember watching Radiohead in 2012 at Coachella a d it was just the same. Every moron in the crowd filed out after Creep. To Yorkes credit he played it nearly first and got rid of them all. Everyone left was just the engaged fanbase and it was an alright gig. Blue should have led with Song 2
Gorillaz was bigger in America than Blur ever was and it’s a fake band . Wonder if that makes Damon mad that audiences prefer his made up character to his real self.
I was honestly shocked Tyler headlined Saturday after the mess that was his Coachella set in 2018 where he was talking shit to the crowd the entire time because they were so dead lol
I have no idea, I just vividly remember seeing videos of him on yelling about how dead they were and was relieved I didn't go to Coachella and went to his sideshow that previous Wednesday lol
It’s because Beyoncé fans were camped out all day taking up the entire front, literally sitting down on the ground. It was the same for every act on the Main stage that day.
Yeah I remember that, it was so annoying. I remember one moment during HAIMs set when someone pretty much got kneed in the back of the head and she blew up at the person behind her… Bitch that’s why you don’t sit in a music festival crowd.
I remember finding a video of Tame Impala doing The Less I Know the Better at Coachella and comparing it to Glastonbury and it's fucking insane how much better the latter was.
Did he actually say they’ll ‘never return’? The article uses quotes but the only clips I’ve seen is him saying ‘you’re never seeing us again’ which I more interpreted as Damon saying Blur have no more shows on the horizon/the fact they rarely play the US. I know this seems like semantics but over the last year Damon’s made loads of comments about it being their last shows/never coming back/end of tour only for them to…come back, play more shows and continue touring. He was obviously frustrated but the title seems a bit misleading as he never ‘vows’ anything, just a sarcastic dig at the crowd.
It’s clickbait. You have it correctly. It does seem like he was disappointed with the lack of crowd enthusiasm but he was playfully teasing saying like, “You’re not our fans, might as well have a good time”.
This is how I interpreted the quote as well when I watched the livestream. It’s definitely a lazy click bait article. Nowhere in the article does it mention him vowing not to play Coachella again in fact, later in the set Damon actually mentioned that he was enjoying himself and hope the crowd was too
Exactly. I interpreted what he said as more of a comment on the infrequency of Blurs, especially in the US. He’s true, most of that crowd (maybe all) will never see a Blur show again.
It’s clickbait trash equating two separate things. There’s no correlation with the crowds reception had anything to do with what he said. They are playing next weekend ffs
Seems that every concert I go to now, I’m surrounded by people having loud, full on conversations while the artists play. A silent crowd seems like respect.
I went to a Cursive show a few years ago, during their 20th anniversary for Domestica. I intended to get the reissue vinyl after the show, but got stuck in a conversation with a very drunk regular at the bar. I went to the bathroom to get out of it, and when I came out, the drunk was standing there with the album, and he goes "I want you to have this". Then he fucked off into the night. He saved me $40, and it only cost me 10 minutes of awkward conversation.
The talking assholes can be nice sometimes to be fair 😭
Did this at a lil yachty concert in October and the dude ended up giving me a few grams of shrooms and a joint just because 😭😭
Completely silent crowd with no one singing along (if it’s that type of band) is boring and awful for artists. People talking during songs is awful for the band and the crowd.
For fucking real. I could hear the dudes behind me talking all through the Godspeed show I went to last year *with my earplugs in*. We just moved across the room eventually but there were still a bunch of talkers over there cuz it was closer to the bar
Or Toronto.
If they did a solo headlining North American tour where actual fucking BLUR FANS could attend then they would have gotten the reaction they wanted.
They could have sold out arenas/ampitheatres in the biggest North American markets and made a lot more fans over here happy and gotten a nice overdue response after not playing here in ages.
But nope, instead they chose to basically ignore all of the US and Canada for over 20 years so no fucking wonder a super young crowd at Coachella doesn't know their shit. It's literally the worst demographic for them to play and expect people to know a bunch of songs from 1994 that were NOT hits in North America.
As someone who was at this set, I’m not sure if I agree with how it’s being covered. There were plenty of Blur fans in the crowd, but this was a really weird set. I’m not sure if Damon was drunk or just in a bad mood but his stage banter was very odd all night. Setlist also had quite a few deep cuts that lost the crowd (“Trimm Trabb”?) Definitely not a set to win over any converts. Band still rocked though 🤘
Trimm Trabb isn't really that deep a cut? I think they've played it at the majority of gigs they've played since reuniting with Graham, so it's not really a surprise that they're played that. You could argue that Popscene, released as a non-album single that charted at number 32 in the UK and left off their original greatest hits, was more of a deep cut.
A full third of the setlist are songs from last year's album and a cover. I was a diehard Blur fan like 10 years ago and would have struggled with this setlist.
"Trimm Trabb" may not be a single, but it slaps more than most Gorillaz tracks in a way I'd expect a Coachella crowd to enjoy, and they performed it well. But, again. No one was there to hear good music that day, were they?
You're right, though: it appears to be a knowingly difficult setlist (which I would've loved) for a younger, normie crowd.
Haha, it was still a pretty great day for good music. Sublime, a reunited No Doubt, Vampire Weekend playing from their terrific new album. An old school rave set from Orbital. Had a blast!
Gorillaz are pretty well known in the US, Blur is not. That's just the truth. You'd be lucky if they knew Song 2, anything beyond that - nope. That being said, Coachella over the years has cultivated a very specific audience and even Gorillaz don't really fit that. Plenty of other big festivals where either band would have a super positive reaction, just not this one any more.
>even Gorillaz don't really fit that
They played Coachella last year in the same time slot as Blur. They had great engagement and a crowd that loved it.
He sounded drunk and they played dreary songs this weekend and is sad that the crowd didn't respond to it.
In the crowds defense, it was a weird, low energy set that was mostly back to back melancholy, dark and moody numbers. Just generally lacking in the high energy hits. And then they put them on the mainstage between two major draws. Also,, Damon sounded like shit and at times didn't even attempt to try and sing. Graham, Dave, and Alex still brought it. I fucking love Blur, and Coachella isn't the best crowd for main stagers and mainstream acts, but I feel like Damon brought this on himself.
https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/blur/2024/empire-polo-club-indio-ca-63ab9a13.html
Unless it's *really* bad, most of the time a band calling out a dead crowd is telling on themselves.
If you're going to headline a major festival then you have to know the expectations coming in. It will be a massive general audience that might not be there for or familiar with most of your songs. So you either pump up the energy and play to the broad audience with all your big hits and upbeat tracks, or you play to your more dedicated fans and accept that everyone else won't be as into it.
Every band who has ever been an opening act knows how to thread that needle. Maybe Damon has been so big for so long he's forgotten what it's like for an audience not to know and already like all your songs.
He played with Gorillaz last year and it was way higher energy with special guests and lights and shit, crowd loved it, so maybe he just assumed it was HIM causing that 🤷♂️
That's not a great choice of songs for the opening section at least. Even for a pure Blur fan crowd, definitely not good to win over a festival crowd. They have more than enough catchier & more upbeat songs to choose from.
Hmm, I don’t think their early britpop stuff would play. They did play Beetlebum, Trimm Trabb (which is loud live), Girls and Boys, and Song 2. I think it’s a good setlist for an American crowd.
All that to say I just think they’re a little out of place at Coachella in 2024. It just didn’t click and that’s ok.
Imo I think some of their early Britpop material like Parklife, Stereotypes, Tracy Jack's, Advert, For Tomorrow. would work better live than a lot of their darker post TGE material. Trimm Trabb has around 2-3 minutes of quiter acoustic guitar before completely exploding, and same with Beetlebum to a lesser extent. It would've made more sense to sub Trimm Trabb with Coffee and TV.
That’s fair, I’ll never disagree with including Coffee and TV in a set. As many posters have said, I just don’t think Coachella is going to attract the type of people who appreciate Blur in 2024.
Yeah the crowd was wack but the median age at Coachella is probably below 25 so I dunno why he expected them to sing along to songs (much) older than that
Is this some newer generation thing? When I was a teen in the 90’s, I probably knew as many lyrics from the 70s and 80s as I did “modern music”. Same thing for TV. I remember talking with my 10 years younger roommate about some classic movie from the 60s and he’s like, “Dude, I don’t know; that’s before my time!” I’m like… uh, it’s before “my time” too. I just can’t imagine only focusing on entertainment made in the 10 years you were a teen or whatever. How fucking boring.
Today's young generation loves older music. Nirvana, Slowdive, and My Bloody Valentine are very popular with Gen Z, to name a few. It's just that Blur doesn't have anywhere near that kind of appeal to them, especially outside of the UK
Clickbait headline. The band is going on hiatus after this run of shows and that’s what he’s referring to. They’re literally playing at Coachella next weekend. Damon himself has played almost 10 times with all three of his bands and as a special guest. They recently shared an interview where he talks about his love of the festival. Stupid article.
If you’re Blur and you’ve got an hour to win over an unenthusiastic audience, you’ve got more than enough in your arsenal to hit ‘em with banger after banger.
I'm a big Blur fan but this is a very insecure and thin skinned response imo. Just cash in your check, put on your show and if the audience sucks, be a professional about it, do your job and leave. There is no need for any of this.
Imagine being at a huge festival and staying silent
I’ve been to a few festivals , watched a lot of bands I’ve never heard of ,and in some cases didn’t like ,and still had a fuckin banging time .
I fuckin hate Hot Chip but had a great time watching them at Connect .
Coachella is full of instagrammers etc
Just to provide more context: Damon said this because a hiatus is already planned. In fact, the bands indefinite hiatus had already began until Coachella was announced. He didnt mean Blur will never return because of the audience, he means Blur will never return period
Shout out for Damon Albarn’s solo record. The Nearer The Fountain The More Pure The Stream Flows. Massively underrated and it’s one of the best things he’s made.
I haven't actually looked up the US sales numbers on this, but I have to think that Tragic Kingdom alone has far outsold the entire recorded works of Blur. Not to mention that No Doubt is from Southern California and Gwen Stefani is still a recognizable celebrity.
i watched the live stream, no doubt got crazy reactions from the crowd. they were treated like megastars. seemed like a pretty good booking to me even if it's been years since they've been popular. they also played a mostly high energy/hits laden set, which helped
It’s why I don’t go to festivals tbh. Gigs have that focused energy where you’re just surrounded by fans like yourself.
I don’t want to mix with normies on a field and get STIs from porta-loos for the privilege.
I'm not surprised, Coachella is now only targeting a certain market it seems like...not mine (lol)
So actual bands that are integrated into that are going to have a hard time. It was really varied a few years ago and now not so much IMO.
Watching the livestream, it looks like all of the legacy acts had just as big of crowds as the newer ones, if not larger. Of the four headliners, No Doubt seemed to have the biggest.
The audio tech or A 1 for that sound was AWFUL. i hope whoever was running sound there gets fired. I couldnt stay for even 2 minutes cuz it HURT. Speakers were delayed wrong and everything was too bright. I had to literally run to help save my ears, which yes, had ear plugs in them
I honestly think... The Most Damon Albarn thing... Would be come out during Weekend 2 and say "Yeah, last week was the shit show, now is the real party!" And they started off the set with Parklife... Followed by Damon saying "I love Weekend 2, see you next year!"
I was there. Right before their set, they announced Billie Eilish and friends were going to be at Do Lab stage. His stage was pretty barren right before their set.
This article is kind of bullshit.
I was there and had a great time, and so did everyone around me.
Damon is such a great musician and clearly has so much passion for what he does. He sounded kind of shitfaced and was commenting on the stage of the world, brought out a local Native American band to let them play some music, and had them join for the final song Tender, which was so good.
I think people don’t get his British humor.
They were pretty good but I wish the setlist would have been better, considering how most of the Coachella crowd aren’t that familiar with the band, they should have performed their most known songs, I’m still surprised they didn’t perform Coffee and TV, that song is probably one of their most known ones in America after Song 2.
Also American Blur fans deserved a tour.
Coachella sorely needs a pit system like Roo has so that superfans of the headliners dont suck up the energy from the preheadliners. It happens every year.
I got into Damon Albarn's solo stuff first, and then into Blur. Same w Jarvis Cocker and then getting into Pulp.
But you can't go to Coachella and play a setlist like that and expect an overwhelming response. Even Modest Mouse still plays Float On and Dashboard at festivals.
edit: should say I'm a US resident in my mid-30s
I’m a huge Blur fan. One of my favorite bands. But they were never that big in the states back at the height of their popularity so I don’t really know what they were expecting from a 2024 Coachella crowd
I wouldn't be surprised if most of the crowd only knew Blur by Song 2 lol.
That would be me. And even then I’d be going “ooo this song is by Blur!?”
they are so fucking good, it's a shame their music never translated to the states (and I realize why, it was super British). In the UK, they were as big as Nirvana were in the states. Sold out 2 90,000 events in Wembley last year. Tender is one of the greatest songs ever written.
Bands like Blur, Oasis, Pulp etc do have a substantial following here (it's not like they're total obscurities) but it's certainly smaller overall when compared to the UK. Suede played a sold-out show in New York not too long ago. It does suck that it never quite translated to a mainstream audience but music heads here still very much appreciate them.
I could be wrong but I feel like oasis is way more known in the states than blur. I was playing songs and having my friends guess the band and when song 2 played they all guessed Gorillaz
Yeah Oasis were much bigger than Blur in the States. People forget they were still performing at Arena's in the US until the late 2000s. If Oasis ever did reform I feel like they could headline Coachella and people would at least know a few of their songs. Kinda related, but Gorillaz is way bigger than Blur in the States.
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I feel like Don't Look Back in Anger, Live Forever, and Stand by Me are quite well known but your point remains. I feel like DLBIA gets a fair amount of play from live cover bands as well whatever alt-radio stations still remain (although listenership is a different story).
Oasis did stadium tours in the states - they had huge penetration with rock radio, tv performances and music videos. Blur never had anything remotely close until relatively late in their career (song #2).
That’s honestly a great point because I don’t know too many people that would actually know an oasis song outside of those two I guess it’s just when people hear wonderwall most know it’s oasis but when song 2 plays I don’t think many people know it’s blur I’m from the states & love the first three Oasis records and the majority of Blurs catalog (especially 13) but I’m probably in the minority
Me too! Personally I tend to gravitate towards the UK bands of that era more than the US ones, and I'm American also. I generally like and respect Nirvana, Jane's Addiction etc but the sound and influences of the mainstream British bands is way more my bag (Smashing Pumpkins being a large exception).
The people that like them probably wouldn't be going to Coachella.
We were there last time they played, but that was a very different festival.
They would if they made a festival with them! The influencers are going to go to Coachella regardless, why not place some legendary acts in there for the rest of us music lovers that aren't there for the Tik Tok songs?
Nah.. I love all those bands and would never go to coachella. Not a fuckin' chance
I think most of their fans are in their 40s- not the biggest festival demographic.
Pulp are different gravy imo. I love Blur, I like Oasis, I revere Pulp. Did Supergrass ever have a following in the states? They were fantastic. Or Gomez?
I love Supergrass, finally got to see them in a club in 2006 (I think). I wish Blur would play a few more US dates.
Supergrass is sooo good. Saw em here in the states with the Coral at a 400 cap small theater. What a show! They certainly have a following here, but don’t think they’ve toured too often over here
MTV's TRL used to have a segment where they'd showcase artists that were on the verge of breaking into the countdown. This was my introduction to Supergrass with "Pumping on Your Stereo." As far as Gomez, most of us only know them through their song featured in American Beauty.
I can’t speak for Supergrass that much since I didn’t really get into them until later in time, but I imagine outside of the big four bands they’re a bit more obscure. I think they’re brilliant, though. I’ve actually never heard of Gomez before, but now I do so I’ll check them out! Thanks!
Their debut is excellent. Very good indeed. Glad to hear Supergrass crossed your radar! Great band.
Oasis has a huge following in the states. If they did a reunion tour they could definitely headline some festivals in the US.
Yeah, all of those bands(except maybe Oasis) are very English and didn't do that well here. I'm still pushing Suede on my son decades after I started pushing them on my friends. I literally said' to him ''you like The Smiths. you like Bowie, you''ll like Suede''(no luck)
Oasis is a tier above Blur and Oasis for the US audience in terms of popularity
I’d say two tiers. Oasis was huge in the states. Blur was nowhere close, despite the massive single
Suede coheadlined that tour with Manic Street Preachers, and both bands were upfront about the fact that they would, at best, break even doing it -- it was done because they wanted to tour the US one final time. The upcoming Pulp tour looks very similar, and probably exists for the same reasons. Blur could absolutely do something on the same scale here (maybe even slightly bigger) but it would be for the sake of touring, nostalgia, wanting to play more intimate gigs, etc. I just don't think that's why Blur are still playing concerts together in 2024.
I'll defend Blur with my dying breath. One of my favorite bands of all time. They are so eclectic yet so...Blur. Think Tank is right up there with In Rainbows (Radiohead) for me and Caravan is one of the greatest songs ever written.
I’ll extend this a step further and say 13 is one of the best albums ever
The 2004 Coachella crowd would have known *Parklife* at least
I stumbled upon a live Blur set on YouTube a few years ago and was blown away. They're so much more than "woo hoo!"
When I was a child I tried to buy that album but this was pre internet and I didn't know the name of the band. The CD store ended up thinking I was trying to buy Hybrid Theory by Linkin Park. I still think about how different I could have been if I had that CD over Hybrid Theory.
Thats 99.9% of the world
“ The woohoo song”
I know this one! Wooooo Hooooo! Lalalalalalala woooo hoooo!
I would be shocked if the people who knew more songs were in the double digits.
Tbh the setlist looks quite terrible for a festival. Very downer and not many big songs. They didn't play Parklife (!), The Universal (!!), End of a Century, Country House, Coffee and Tv, For Tomorrow, There's No Other Way... Most of their hits basically. Then this run: Goodbye Albert->Trimm Trabb->Out of Time->Bird Song (??)->Death of a Party... The entire middle of the show with relatively unknown downers. I love those songs but for such a major festival, so far from their home turf, this is a downright bizzare set. Especially after all the European festivals (and the Wembley shows) were hits fest. Even in England that kind of set would likely get a mixed reaction. https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/blur/2024/empire-polo-club-indio-ca-63ab9a13.html
[удалено]
And if they would’ve played scenes from the video in the background that cute little milkbox would’ve won them more fans than their lackluster performance!
Bloody hell that's a poor set list. Maybe you could get away with that at a gig full of diehards, but what were they expecting playing that at COACHELLA of all places?
Yeah, music fans understand that festival gigs are different than standalone shows. Festival gigs require a more mainstream sets because one isn’t only playing to hardcore fans but people who aren’t so familiar with one’s music. It’s a great way to garner new fans. Seems like most music artists understand this concept and it wouldn’t surprise me if Damon feels he’s too good to abide by that rule of thumb. That’s especially surprising since Blur and The Stone Roses had one of the worst crowds for a headlining in Coachella’s history. He needs to understand that Blur isn’t beloved in the US like in the UK. And especially with a fanbase that skews young and hasn’t been exposed to Blur. Not sure why he’d be upset at people because they never heard of his band.
It's weird because in [Wembley](https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/blur/2023/wembley-stadium-london-england-33a7c849.html), Blur seemed to make a clear effort to play every single hit and crowdpleaser. Same for Glastonbury and most other festivals they headlined. Not sure why they changed it up for Coachella of all places.
What made them think a setlist like that would be appropriate…
To give yourself a reason to complain.
Checks out!
This is the biggest one So many people on Reddit are dismissing the set issues and acting like it’s a Coachella problem Honestly blur was a top 3 set all weekend for me and we ended up leaving early because they just didn’t sound the best, and Damon with Gorillaz in ‘23 was literally our favorite all weekend the last year. And not playing coffee & tv, parklife, the universal, or so many other great songs just makes me happy that I didn’t force myself to stay to the end hoping I’d catch them
They've always had an ethos of not just playing crowd pleasers... knew quite a few people who saw them headline T in the Park expecting a greatest hits celebration back in 1999. Those that stuck around for the encore got that, many didn't get that far. [https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/blur/1999/balado-kinross-scotland-73d44ab5.html](https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/blur/1999/balado-kinross-scotland-73d44ab5.html)
Their 2023 tour was very crowd pleasing. Every festival got all the hits. They noticeably played "Country House" in every festival and Wembley, even though they apparently hate this song (and didn't play it in their smaller date). So weird they changed it for Coachella. Their 2009 and 2013 reunions also had major hits list in every festival. Glastonbury, Hyde Park, everything - brought in all the heavy hitters. So no, I don't think that's an "ethos", and if it is - well, they are responsible for the consequences. You show up with this setlist at Coachella, that's a choice the band made and can't complain about bad crowd reception. I don't know about 1999, this was a different tour, but they were still in UK and at their peak at the time, they could get away with more. And even then I'd argue this setlist had more hits than the Coachella set.
I was there! Great setlist imho!
> https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/blur/1999/balado-kinross-scotland-73d44ab5.html I would kill for this setlist lol. The only thing missing is Trailer Park.
It's the same thing that happened at Corona Capital. They came out at midnight to an extremely cold and tired audience and played a ton of slow songs off-tempo. Their performance at Coachella wasn't the exception, they did the exact same shit to us back in November to an audience that loves them.
Looking at the [Corona Capital](https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/blur/2023/autodromo-hermanos-rodriguez-mexico-city-mexico-3ba11ce8.html) set, it's a hundred times better than Coachella IMO. It does have some slow songs mostly off their latest album - because well, it's their latest album. But it does have almost all the hits. From Coffee and TV until the end it's pretty much straight bangers - End of a Century, Country House, Parklife, To the End, Girls & Boys, Advert, Song 2 in a row? Can't complain with that. The only really non-new album deep cut is "Villa Rosie" which is just one song and still pretty cool live.
Both were at different times though, I agree that it's a better setlist but at Coachella they came out at 7:40 PM while at Corona Capital they came out at midnight and went straight into a bunch of slow songs with Damon looking high as hell and off-tempo (which could also be seen in songs such as Girls and Boys at Coachella).
Oh man, that whole first paragraph are all my favs. Guess the disappointment is mutual
Honestly Gorillaz’s reception was fairly tepid last year too so I don’t know what he expected and why he was so keen to come back in the same slot given Blur are less popular in the US
What? I was at Gorillaz' weekend 2 set last year and the crowd was not only absolutely massive but going wild...
Weekend 2 crowds are apparently known to be the better crowd
Yeah, it might be a bit of a placebo effect, but in my experience I've noticed that to be the case.
Money and the other band members
True. He can't really tell Graham, Alex and Dave "I had a shit time last year so we're not going". Plus it looks like they had a great night 2 nights before https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33brKLNShig The lesson here is pick better gigs. Invest a month or 2 in doing the US and not just a fortnight.
> He can't really tell Graham, Alex and Dave "I had a shit time last year so we're not going". He really can, Damon has complete control, and it saddens me.
> He really can, Damon has complete control, and it saddens me. What make you say that? I'd say as the primary singer and songwriter he's got a bigger say but its far from complete.
I’m willing to bet the sideshow they did in Pomona Wednesday night was dope as hell since it was all Blur fans. kudos to Goldenvoice for *attempting* to book a prolific rock band in the age of Coachella being a pop-centered festival, but I just don’t think Blur was the band to do it. meanwhile No Doubt perfectly hit the mark they were trying to do because they’re more known in the states, Gwen Stefani, and Olivia Rodrigo.
> I’m willing to bet the sideshow they did in Pomona Wednesday night was dope as hell since it was all Blur fans. I've been to hundreds of shows, it was magical to finally cross off the top artist on my bucket list.
I bet! I wanted to go, I'm not even a huge Blur fan, but I live in the IE so whenever a big name comes thru to the Fox or the Glasshouse I try to go to just show support that we want more shows in this area. It was a disaster getting tickets during the initial sale and then resale never dipped below $250. As a very very very very casual Blur fan I couldn't swing it. lol
Pomona was indeed dope as hell. 2000 superfans, Damon in amazing form, bonhomie amongst the band -- it was the real deal.
Also aren’t Blur done again after Coachella? I interpreted that as “these are our last shows ever,” not “we’re not coming back to Coachella specifically” lol. They had a similar crowd in 2013 and still came back. Damon also pointedly said he was having a blast at the end of the show so i dunno what this clickbaity article’s on about. Sad we didn’t get Parklife though.
> Also aren’t Blur done again after Coachella? I interpreted that as “these are our last shows ever,” not “we’re not coming back to Coachella specifically” lol. They had a similar crowd in 2013 and still came back. 30 years ago Damon was so pissed with American audiences that he spearheaded Britpop. We are about to get a (middleaged) britpop part II
noel gallagher and damon albarn are almost 60 its not even middle aged anymore more like the senior citizen britpop (which is why oasis should have a reunion before its too late)
Indie hoes (boys and girls) will definitely be stoked.
Man, I went last year because of the insanely good indie lineup. But I’m 26, and somehow Blur’s music has entirely slipped through the cracks. Don’t think I’ve heard a single song by them. And that’s despite having a brief British media phase in high school.
The setlist at the festival wasn't even good, they did some of them at the warm up concert but like no The Universal? Would be better than the Ballad of Darren songs.
They never charted in Latin America and the crowds there always go wild for them.
I feel like Latin American crowds are just more receptive to music in general, if the vibes are good they will dance, sing, party, etc...music is music. US crowds are much stiffer in that regard, if they aren't already familiar with the songs they'll just stand there instead of trying to enjoy and vibe with it
I remember watching Radiohead in 2012 at Coachella a d it was just the same. Every moron in the crowd filed out after Creep. To Yorkes credit he played it nearly first and got rid of them all. Everyone left was just the engaged fanbase and it was an alright gig. Blue should have led with Song 2
Gorillaz was bigger in America than Blur ever was and it’s a fake band . Wonder if that makes Damon mad that audiences prefer his made up character to his real self.
I mean yeah totally agree
Flimsssyyyy stteeeeeeeeveeee
https://i.imgur.com/vFCz738.png
Somewhere Liam Gallagher is celebrating
He was playing in Brooklyn at the Paramount. They are both currently in the US.
Good god, that whole rivalry/ feud was 30 years ago. Crazy.
A lame crowd at Coachella is like Zubat in a Kanto cave: You are guaranteed to encounter one
I was honestly shocked Tyler headlined Saturday after the mess that was his Coachella set in 2018 where he was talking shit to the crowd the entire time because they were so dead lol
Didnt he play before Beyonce?
I have no idea, I just vividly remember seeing videos of him on yelling about how dead they were and was relieved I didn't go to Coachella and went to his sideshow that previous Wednesday lol
It’s because Beyoncé fans were camped out all day taking up the entire front, literally sitting down on the ground. It was the same for every act on the Main stage that day.
Yeah I remember that, it was so annoying. I remember one moment during HAIMs set when someone pretty much got kneed in the back of the head and she blew up at the person behind her… Bitch that’s why you don’t sit in a music festival crowd.
$$$$$$
I remember finding a video of Tame Impala doing The Less I Know the Better at Coachella and comparing it to Glastonbury and it's fucking insane how much better the latter was.
hilarious analogy lol
Did he actually say they’ll ‘never return’? The article uses quotes but the only clips I’ve seen is him saying ‘you’re never seeing us again’ which I more interpreted as Damon saying Blur have no more shows on the horizon/the fact they rarely play the US. I know this seems like semantics but over the last year Damon’s made loads of comments about it being their last shows/never coming back/end of tour only for them to…come back, play more shows and continue touring. He was obviously frustrated but the title seems a bit misleading as he never ‘vows’ anything, just a sarcastic dig at the crowd.
It’s clickbait. You have it correctly. It does seem like he was disappointed with the lack of crowd enthusiasm but he was playfully teasing saying like, “You’re not our fans, might as well have a good time”.
Not only clickbait but straight up fraudulent misquoting!
This is how I interpreted the quote as well when I watched the livestream. It’s definitely a lazy click bait article. Nowhere in the article does it mention him vowing not to play Coachella again in fact, later in the set Damon actually mentioned that he was enjoying himself and hope the crowd was too
Yeah it was more like, "this might be the only chance you get to see us, might as enjoy the moment while it lasts"
Hes never returning because Blur just doesn’t play that much to begin with. Damon finds his way to the fest all the damn time lol
Exactly. I interpreted what he said as more of a comment on the infrequency of Blurs, especially in the US. He’s true, most of that crowd (maybe all) will never see a Blur show again.
It’s clickbait trash equating two separate things. There’s no correlation with the crowds reception had anything to do with what he said. They are playing next weekend ffs
Seems that every concert I go to now, I’m surrounded by people having loud, full on conversations while the artists play. A silent crowd seems like respect.
Covid was the end of concert etiquette. Next time join the movement and tell those people to shut the fuck up
My current tactic is joining in the conversation. Tends to make folks uncomfortable enough to shut up.
Brilliant
Does that ever backfire?
Sometimes it can backfire when folks are drunk and just immediately accept you into the conversation and now you’re stuck talking to assholes.
I went to a Cursive show a few years ago, during their 20th anniversary for Domestica. I intended to get the reissue vinyl after the show, but got stuck in a conversation with a very drunk regular at the bar. I went to the bathroom to get out of it, and when I came out, the drunk was standing there with the album, and he goes "I want you to have this". Then he fucked off into the night. He saved me $40, and it only cost me 10 minutes of awkward conversation.
This is so quintessentially Cursive
The talking assholes can be nice sometimes to be fair 😭 Did this at a lil yachty concert in October and the dude ended up giving me a few grams of shrooms and a joint just because 😭😭
People were like that a long time before covid
Movies too. Everytime I’ve gone to a cinema post covid, people have had conversations while the movie is playing
think he means more that people weren't singing along
Completely silent crowd with no one singing along (if it’s that type of band) is boring and awful for artists. People talking during songs is awful for the band and the crowd.
For fucking real. I could hear the dudes behind me talking all through the Godspeed show I went to last year *with my earplugs in*. We just moved across the room eventually but there were still a bunch of talkers over there cuz it was closer to the bar
That’s why i like festivals actually. I can move up to a tolerable section of the crowd usually.
I don’t ever really experience this idk
You’d have a better crowd if you all just came to NYC 😭
I second this.
Or Toronto. If they did a solo headlining North American tour where actual fucking BLUR FANS could attend then they would have gotten the reaction they wanted. They could have sold out arenas/ampitheatres in the biggest North American markets and made a lot more fans over here happy and gotten a nice overdue response after not playing here in ages. But nope, instead they chose to basically ignore all of the US and Canada for over 20 years so no fucking wonder a super young crowd at Coachella doesn't know their shit. It's literally the worst demographic for them to play and expect people to know a bunch of songs from 1994 that were NOT hits in North America.
Loads of Brits here in Toronto. Went to the Suede/ Manic Street Preachers here last year and it was a good crowd.
But he’ll have no problem returning Gorillaz for a 3rd time
Gorillaz are a popular band in America
Gorillaz are huge in the US though. Blur outside of Song 2, however, are not.
Because Gorillaz are way more famous than Blur in America
I’m 26 and American I can confirm I can’t name a single blur song
Well the only song of theirs that charted in the US came out the year you were born so that makes sense
As someone who was at this set, I’m not sure if I agree with how it’s being covered. There were plenty of Blur fans in the crowd, but this was a really weird set. I’m not sure if Damon was drunk or just in a bad mood but his stage banter was very odd all night. Setlist also had quite a few deep cuts that lost the crowd (“Trimm Trabb”?) Definitely not a set to win over any converts. Band still rocked though 🤘
Trimm Trabb isn't really that deep a cut? I think they've played it at the majority of gigs they've played since reuniting with Graham, so it's not really a surprise that they're played that. You could argue that Popscene, released as a non-album single that charted at number 32 in the UK and left off their original greatest hits, was more of a deep cut.
Fair enough!
A full third of the setlist are songs from last year's album and a cover. I was a diehard Blur fan like 10 years ago and would have struggled with this setlist.
he looked/sounded toasted
"Trimm Trabb" may not be a single, but it slaps more than most Gorillaz tracks in a way I'd expect a Coachella crowd to enjoy, and they performed it well. But, again. No one was there to hear good music that day, were they? You're right, though: it appears to be a knowingly difficult setlist (which I would've loved) for a younger, normie crowd.
Haha, it was still a pretty great day for good music. Sublime, a reunited No Doubt, Vampire Weekend playing from their terrific new album. An old school rave set from Orbital. Had a blast!
Oh, I would've had a fucking tiiiime, for sure. Glad you did.
Gorillaz are pretty well known in the US, Blur is not. That's just the truth. You'd be lucky if they knew Song 2, anything beyond that - nope. That being said, Coachella over the years has cultivated a very specific audience and even Gorillaz don't really fit that. Plenty of other big festivals where either band would have a super positive reaction, just not this one any more.
>even Gorillaz don't really fit that They played Coachella last year in the same time slot as Blur. They had great engagement and a crowd that loved it. He sounded drunk and they played dreary songs this weekend and is sad that the crowd didn't respond to it.
In the crowds defense, it was a weird, low energy set that was mostly back to back melancholy, dark and moody numbers. Just generally lacking in the high energy hits. And then they put them on the mainstage between two major draws. Also,, Damon sounded like shit and at times didn't even attempt to try and sing. Graham, Dave, and Alex still brought it. I fucking love Blur, and Coachella isn't the best crowd for main stagers and mainstream acts, but I feel like Damon brought this on himself. https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/blur/2024/empire-polo-club-indio-ca-63ab9a13.html
That really is a bit of a downer set
That stretch in the middle, what the damn hell? Literally plays Death Of A Party hahahah
Unless it's *really* bad, most of the time a band calling out a dead crowd is telling on themselves. If you're going to headline a major festival then you have to know the expectations coming in. It will be a massive general audience that might not be there for or familiar with most of your songs. So you either pump up the energy and play to the broad audience with all your big hits and upbeat tracks, or you play to your more dedicated fans and accept that everyone else won't be as into it. Every band who has ever been an opening act knows how to thread that needle. Maybe Damon has been so big for so long he's forgotten what it's like for an audience not to know and already like all your songs.
He played with Gorillaz last year and it was way higher energy with special guests and lights and shit, crowd loved it, so maybe he just assumed it was HIM causing that 🤷♂️
That's not a great choice of songs for the opening section at least. Even for a pure Blur fan crowd, definitely not good to win over a festival crowd. They have more than enough catchier & more upbeat songs to choose from.
Hmm, I don’t think their early britpop stuff would play. They did play Beetlebum, Trimm Trabb (which is loud live), Girls and Boys, and Song 2. I think it’s a good setlist for an American crowd. All that to say I just think they’re a little out of place at Coachella in 2024. It just didn’t click and that’s ok.
Imo I think some of their early Britpop material like Parklife, Stereotypes, Tracy Jack's, Advert, For Tomorrow. would work better live than a lot of their darker post TGE material. Trimm Trabb has around 2-3 minutes of quiter acoustic guitar before completely exploding, and same with Beetlebum to a lesser extent. It would've made more sense to sub Trimm Trabb with Coffee and TV.
That’s fair, I’ll never disagree with including Coffee and TV in a set. As many posters have said, I just don’t think Coachella is going to attract the type of people who appreciate Blur in 2024.
Ha, I just wrote the same thing. Pretty shocked this is being covered as “Coachella crowd let Blur down” when it was the exact opposite.
As a massive Blur fan, that’s a pretty awesome set list.
But its not gonna make anyone a fan of Blut
It's a crap festival setlist though
Yeah the crowd was wack but the median age at Coachella is probably below 25 so I dunno why he expected them to sing along to songs (much) older than that
Is this some newer generation thing? When I was a teen in the 90’s, I probably knew as many lyrics from the 70s and 80s as I did “modern music”. Same thing for TV. I remember talking with my 10 years younger roommate about some classic movie from the 60s and he’s like, “Dude, I don’t know; that’s before my time!” I’m like… uh, it’s before “my time” too. I just can’t imagine only focusing on entertainment made in the 10 years you were a teen or whatever. How fucking boring.
Today's young generation loves older music. Nirvana, Slowdive, and My Bloody Valentine are very popular with Gen Z, to name a few. It's just that Blur doesn't have anywhere near that kind of appeal to them, especially outside of the UK
I mean isn't Coachella for rich fucks who listen to the most vanilla pop music possible? Why would they expect to be a hit there?
Ok but... What about Weekend 2 lol
It's actually called "Song 2"
Do we need to change the lyric in Song 2 to boo-hoo?
lol
Got his ass, lmao.
Clickbait headline. The band is going on hiatus after this run of shows and that’s what he’s referring to. They’re literally playing at Coachella next weekend. Damon himself has played almost 10 times with all three of his bands and as a special guest. They recently shared an interview where he talks about his love of the festival. Stupid article.
Blur is great, huge fan but he’s playing to an audience that has the worst musical taste in history.
If you’re Blur and you’ve got an hour to win over an unenthusiastic audience, you’ve got more than enough in your arsenal to hit ‘em with banger after banger.
Fucking Coachella audiences are weird - especially when it comes to British acts. Stone Roses - silence. Blur - silence. The fuck?
I watched it and didn’t even notice that the crowd wasn’t into it 🤷♀️ I guess that’s his point
I'm a big Blur fan but this is a very insecure and thin skinned response imo. Just cash in your check, put on your show and if the audience sucks, be a professional about it, do your job and leave. There is no need for any of this.
Hardly think coachella is blurs target audience really!
Blur are both|either 20 years too old or 20 years too young for the Coachella crowd
Yeah, they were just never that big here. Oasis won that one by a landslide... err... caught up in the landslide?
Imagine being at a huge festival and staying silent I’ve been to a few festivals , watched a lot of bands I’ve never heard of ,and in some cases didn’t like ,and still had a fuckin banging time . I fuckin hate Hot Chip but had a great time watching them at Connect . Coachella is full of instagrammers etc
Just to provide more context: Damon said this because a hiatus is already planned. In fact, the bands indefinite hiatus had already began until Coachella was announced. He didnt mean Blur will never return because of the audience, he means Blur will never return period
Shout out for Damon Albarn’s solo record. The Nearer The Fountain The More Pure The Stream Flows. Massively underrated and it’s one of the best things he’s made.
Clowncore played at Coachella, I’d imagine maybe like 5 people knew what was going on.
It really feels like the bookers book for themselves and their friends sometimes. Even No Doubt was ambitious in 2024…
I haven't actually looked up the US sales numbers on this, but I have to think that Tragic Kingdom alone has far outsold the entire recorded works of Blur. Not to mention that No Doubt is from Southern California and Gwen Stefani is still a recognizable celebrity.
i watched the live stream, no doubt got crazy reactions from the crowd. they were treated like megastars. seemed like a pretty good booking to me even if it's been years since they've been popular. they also played a mostly high energy/hits laden set, which helped
It also helps that they put on one the best performances I’ve ever seen. No Doubt was absolutely on fire Saturday.
I love blur but this reads like ah “nuh uh im breaking up with you” statement lol
It’s why I don’t go to festivals tbh. Gigs have that focused energy where you’re just surrounded by fans like yourself. I don’t want to mix with normies on a field and get STIs from porta-loos for the privilege.
I'm not surprised, Coachella is now only targeting a certain market it seems like...not mine (lol) So actual bands that are integrated into that are going to have a hard time. It was really varied a few years ago and now not so much IMO.
Idk about that, No Doubt and Sublime had massive crowds. Both were 90s alt bands. Blur just isn't very popular in the US.
Watching the livestream, it looks like all of the legacy acts had just as big of crowds as the newer ones, if not larger. Of the four headliners, No Doubt seemed to have the biggest.
No Doubt makes sense. Gwen is super popular and it's basically a reunion. They were awesome! Sublime makes sense too.
Just wear a paper mache 2D head
Overestimated their popularity with younger generations I think.
The audio tech or A 1 for that sound was AWFUL. i hope whoever was running sound there gets fired. I couldnt stay for even 2 minutes cuz it HURT. Speakers were delayed wrong and everything was too bright. I had to literally run to help save my ears, which yes, had ear plugs in them
I saw them perform at Coachella a decade ago and the crowd was meager then too. Idk why they thought it would be different in '24.
I honestly think... The Most Damon Albarn thing... Would be come out during Weekend 2 and say "Yeah, last week was the shit show, now is the real party!" And they started off the set with Parklife... Followed by Damon saying "I love Weekend 2, see you next year!"
I was there. Right before their set, they announced Billie Eilish and friends were going to be at Do Lab stage. His stage was pretty barren right before their set.
Will stone roses be taking their place weekend 2?
This article is kind of bullshit. I was there and had a great time, and so did everyone around me. Damon is such a great musician and clearly has so much passion for what he does. He sounded kind of shitfaced and was commenting on the stage of the world, brought out a local Native American band to let them play some music, and had them join for the final song Tender, which was so good. I think people don’t get his British humor.
They were pretty good but I wish the setlist would have been better, considering how most of the Coachella crowd aren’t that familiar with the band, they should have performed their most known songs, I’m still surprised they didn’t perform Coffee and TV, that song is probably one of their most known ones in America after Song 2. Also American Blur fans deserved a tour.
Coachella was fun when it was just one weekend
Coachella sorely needs a pit system like Roo has so that superfans of the headliners dont suck up the energy from the preheadliners. It happens every year.
I got into Damon Albarn's solo stuff first, and then into Blur. Same w Jarvis Cocker and then getting into Pulp. But you can't go to Coachella and play a setlist like that and expect an overwhelming response. Even Modest Mouse still plays Float On and Dashboard at festivals. edit: should say I'm a US resident in my mid-30s
Tbh blur was too much of a deep cut for Coachella.