May 23, 2013

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

Hit after hit followed, and slowly the audience got lost in a Blur-coma. The sounds of Blur filled the World Expo, and the night became a haze of ‘Coffee and TV’, ‘Tender’
, ‘Country House’, ‘Parklife’ (no Phil Daniels, thank goodness), ‘End of a Century’, ‘Death of a Party’ and ‘This is A Low’

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

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

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

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

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


Blur Setlist - Hong Kong May 6th 2013
‘Girls and Boys’
‘Popscene’
‘There’s No Other Way’
‘Badhead’
‘Beetlebum’
‘Out of Time’
‘Trimm Trabb’
‘Caramel’
‘Coffee and TV’
‘Tender’
‘Country House’
‘Parklife’
‘End of a Century’
‘Death of a Party’
‘This is A Low’
ENCORE: 
‘Under the Westway’
‘For Tomorrow’
‘The Universal’
‘Song 2’ 

Went to a Blur concert in 2013? Have a picture for us to feature? Write a review for us and get published. Contact us! Blur Tour 2013 - Full dates and rundown  HERE

Rate this Review:


May 15, 2013

Blur recorded a new demo tape in Hong Kong

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

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

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

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New Blur demo (Facebook.com/zenegeist

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

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

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

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

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

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

Is the demo tape real?
  

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

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



Blur Tour 2013 - Full dates and rundown  HERE
Blur @ Coachella- video and image gallery HERE 
Damon Albarn- "We are going to try to record a new album" HERE
Blur Europe Tour News  HERE
Order the new Blur: Parklife (Live at Hyde Park CD / DVD) HERE

SUBSCRIBE NOW!

If you missed old news, visit the NEWS ARCHIVE to read about past news!

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


May 6, 2013

Blur Live 2013 - Hong Kong Live Stream

Blur will be playing Hong Kong for the first time in 20 years in less than 7 hours - and the excitement is building up. Spatially, Hong Kong is an extremely small and dense city, but information travels fast. Hype has bee building up for this special gig for more than a month since the announcement of Blur live in Hong Kong, and it's only getting bigger.

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@daverowntree on Instagram tweeted this picture of Hong Kong's Soho area last night 

A few lucky fans even met the Blur boys at the Hong Kong airport last night when they arrived in the vibrant city at 12:00a.m midnight, May 4th 2013.

#BlurHongKong - Live gallery

There is a new Blur feature on the Blur official website - the Blur Live 2013 section will feature all the fans' images, videos and media, and will be updated immediately after the show for all to see. If you're going to see them tonight and have a smartphone, remember to tag #blurhongkong for a chance to be featured on the official Blur website gallery.

The 'Blur Live' galleries on the website also gathered media from Blur at Coachella and the Vive Latino Festival, where they played for their first few months on tour. Check them out to re-live the experience and to see exciting new fan pictures.

BlurBalls will be heading to watch Blur live in Hong Kong tonight at the Asia World Expo. We'll be taking lots of pictures and doing an exclusive review after the show. 

Tweet us @danomind to say hello if you're at the Hong Kong show! Blur follows us, you should too!


Live Instagram Gallery #Blurhongkong


Blur Tour 2013 - Full dates and rundown  HERE
Blur @ Coachella- video and image gallery HERE 
Blur confirmed for Mexico HERE
Blur Europe Tour News  HERE
Order the new Blur: Parklife (Live at Hyde Park CD / DVD) HERE

SUBSCRIBE NOW!

If you missed old news, visit the NEWS ARCHIVE to read about past news!

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


March 27, 2013

Blur Live in Hong Kong - Buy Tickets Now

Tickets are now available for the Blur: Live in Hong Kong 2013 concert to be held on 6th May 2013 at 8:00pm, Asia World Arena (promoted by Midas Promotions).

Tickets cost HKD $680-$880 depending on the category of seating (marked, free standing, wheelchair/ disabled). Tickets are on sale from 25 February 2013 at HK Ticketing’s Venue Box Offices, K11 Select and Tom Lee Music Stores.  

Blur Live in Hong Kong 2013
Date:     Monday, 6 May 2013
Time:     8pm 
Venue:     AsiaWorld-Arena
Tickets:    HK$880 / HK$680 Standing and Seated
HK$480 Seated Only
    Available from 25 February 2013 through HK Ticketing, K11 Select and Tom Lee Music Stores
Ticketing hotline:    31 288 288
On-line ticketing:    www.hkticketing.com
HK Ticketing applies a customer service fee to all tickets purchased via its network. This fee is additional to the face value of the ticket and is payable upon purchase of tickets.
Blur official website: http://www.blur.co.uk/ 

Some more information below:


  • *Each person can purchase maximum 10 tickets per transaction on the 1st public on sale day.
  • Age Limit for Standing Zone: Restricted to Age 12 or above with Height Limit 140 cm
  • Age Limit for Riser Seating: Age 6
  • Admit One Only
  • NO Replacement for any loss of Standing tickets. 
  • To avoid delays in entering the venue and to ensure an enjoyable experience, all ticket purchasers are recommended to pick up their tickets at any HK Ticketing's outlets prior to the show day.
  • Smoking, outside food & beverage is prohibited in AsiaWorld-Expo.
  • Unauthorized photography, filming and recording is prohibited in the performance venue. All cameras and AV recorders are strictly prohibited. A bag search may be conducted.

  • How to get there - transportation services to the venue:



  • Special Airport Express Fare at Hong Kong Station/Kowloon Station ↔ AsiaWorld-Expo ($52 for Same-day Return)
  • Point-to-point Express Bus Route X1 - Express transit at MTR Tung Chung Station
  • Direct A-route Buses to AsiaWorld-Expo

  • The 90-minute show will be the first time Blur has ever played in Hong Kong. Frontman Damon Albarn, however, has visited the city several times as part of his Gorillaz-stint in the past few years.

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    Fans from Hong Kong are making a buzz on popular local discussion forum 香港討論區 discuss.hk ("香港既Britpop迷等左十幾年先等到Blur來香港!"). Local news paper Apple Daily also reported about the gig:


    樂迷周一撲飛

    早前Blur宣佈於5月9日到台北演出,令不少港迷嘆息,幸而樂隊已鐵定5月6日舉行香港騷,此站更成為樂隊亞洲巡迴首站。香港主辦商昨日凌晨正式宣佈Blur香港演唱會詳情後,消息隨即受到網民瘋傳兼洗版。
    有本地網民昨日留言表示消息令人難以置信,也有人稱Blur首次舉行香港騷是2013年的音樂大事,樂迷紛紛計劃組團朝聖。一般網民對樂隊最貴的880元香港門票,比起英國樂隊The Stone Roses的香港門票更便宜而感到滿意。不少香港樂迷昨日紛表示準備下周一門票開售時撲飛,還有網民不怕重蹈Lady GaGa港騷炒燶飛事件,並揚言:「今次一定要掃飛,實唔怕放唔出!」

    Purchase your Blur: Live in Hong Kong 2013 tickets via HK Ticketing now!


    February 9, 2013

    Blur to play in Hong Kong - 2013

    It has just been confirmed that Blur are going to head to Hong Kong, China to play a concert in May 6th 2013 (Monday) from 8pm - 11pm for a three-hour gig (including support)

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    The news came after heavy rumours that Blur are deciding on a date in China, around the time the band are heading to Japan to play in the Tokyo Rocks festival the following week.

    Being a small city on the coasts of China, Hong Kong do not hosts large-scaled music festivals, hence this is the first time Blur has announced a non-festival gig. The one-time live concert will be held in the AsiaWorld Expo Arena, Chek Lap Kok, where bands such as Gorillaz have previously played.

    For many Blur fans, this will be great news just in time for the Chinese New Year holidays.

    Ticketing information will be announced shortly on www.hkticketing.com - stay tuned for updates. Update: You can purchase tickets HERE.

    Check out our Blur World Tour page for all the dates in a convenient table.

    Blur Tour 2013 - Full dates and rundown  HERE
    Blur confirmed for Mexico HERE
    Blur Europe Tour News  HERE
    Order the new Blur: Parklife (Live at Hyde Park CD / DVD) HERE

    SUBSCRIBE NOW!

    If you missed old news, visit the NEWS ARCHIVE to read about past news!

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


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