May 19, 2013

The Much-Anticipated Performance- Review: Blur live in Indonesia

The Much-Anticipated Performance: A Big Sound Festival 2013 Review
Written by Anisa Menur Maulani 

Exactly a year ago, my friend Cinita and I were sitting on the floor of my living room, watching the No Distance Left To Run DVD on a lazy Sunday. Look at all those happy faces, we said. They got to see the Blur gentlemen live, standing only a few meters away from them. When are we going to have the chance to do that?

Funnily enough, the answer came in February 2013, when entertainment and MICE giant Dyandra Entertinment and music promoter Sound Rhythm announced that Blur will headline the Big Sound Festival 2013 on May 15th 2013 in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Days seem to be fleeting, as we got closer to the night when our dream comes true. We have applied for a leave at work, and find ourselves unable to concentrate at anything. Then it finally happened. Twitter exploded with the news that the gentlemen had arrived, and there were photos swarming around of Damon smoking at the airport, Graham and Dave talking to their fans, and Alex doing a door-stop interview with the press.

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May 15th finally arrived and we were finally queuing in line in front of Lapangan D Senayan, where the concert will be held. Noted that Blur was not the only one performing at the event; their show was preceded by Van-She, Tegan and Sara, and The Temper Trap.

I could not speak much of Van-She’s performance, as I am not into their kind of music and thus was not interested in seeing them. But was Tegan and Sara and The Temper Trap were great; their songs were enjoyable, and the audiences seemed to be having a good time listening to them. These are the bands that are worthy of opening up an act as legendary as Blur, and the emotions that they built reached its peak just when the main show is about to begin.

My, how my hands shook and my stomach turned when they darkened the lights on stage and played Theme For Retro.

Then people began to scream “They were on the right side of the stage!”, and shadows moved onto the stage. Last thing we know, people were pushing themselves into front of the stage, and Girls and Boys was heard, closely followed by Popscene.

The atmosphere was crazy. Everyone was screaming; even guys in their twenties screamed like junior high school girls. We were dancing and jumping madly, and smartphones are all up in the air, because no one would want to miss anything.


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The situation calmed down a bit with Out of Time, only to then explode again as Damon jumped down from the stage during Country House. He ran up along the fence, greeting the maddening fans. He ended up perched on one corner as audiences grabbed his hands, trying to get a touch of the charismatic frontman (Someone was lucky enough to have his/her hat being taken by him). He also managed to shower us with water whenever he got close to the audience.

The encore started with their new single Under The Westway, which was my personal favourite that night. The encore was filled with mid-tempo songs like For Tomorrow and The Universal, and some people felt that show was much too short. Adding one or two more songs perhaps will be appropriate.

There were also complaints on the sound system, as there is a moment when Graham seemed to be struggling with his guitar. At some point during Parklife I was not able to hear any sound of the guitar; but thankfully it was only a minor glitch that did not hamper the whole show.



The Blur gentlemen did not talk much. Damon greeted us a couple of times, but there were not many things that he said. However, I find that “Tonight, you inspired me” was the most touching thing he said during the night. It feels great if he was able to feel our excitement for having waited to see them for up to 20 years. 


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The show ended with the much-anticipated Song 2, which I believe was the soundtrack of everyone who lived through the 1990s. We jumped, we head-banged, we scream, we cried. The guys left the stage but we knew that we would keep this moment in our heart for as long as we lived.

It is wonderful to finally being given the chance to see Blur performing in your home country, and I congratulate Chile for being the latest addition in their tour!

Anisa Menur Maulani 
(@animenur on Twitter)
Images by Fariz Adnan 
(@andstage on Flickr)
May 15th 2013  

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


May 17, 2013

Gig spotlight: Blur at Big Sound Festival Indonesia 2013 (Videos and Pictures)

Blur played a concert in Jakarta, Indonesia on May 15th 2013 as part of their phenomenal world tour this year, where they headlined one of Indonesia's biggest music festivals- Big Sound Festival 2013. Images of Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James and Dave Rowntree in Indonesia, at the gig, with fans, at the airport and playing pingpong backstage at the concert have surfaced. 

Here's a first look at the Jakarta gig: 

Blur in Indonesia - Photo gallery 

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Setlist: Blur at Big Sound Festival, Jakarta Indonesia 2013


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  • Girls and Boys
  • Popscene
  • There's No Other Way
  • Badhead
  • Beetlebum
  • Out of Time
  • Caramel
  • Coffee & TV
  • Tender
  • Country House
  • Parklife
  • End of a Century
  • Death of a Party
  • This is a Low
  • Westway
  • For Tomorrow
  • The Universal
  • Song 2

Watch the concert (videos)











Blur interview for Kompas TV Indonesia - May 15th 2013



For more images of Big Sound Fest di Jakarta, visit this gallery.

Stay tuned for a review and more exclusive photographs of the show.

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

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February 16, 2013

Blur confirms Indonesia to be added to 2013 Tour

Announced on Blur's official Facebook page in the early hours of 16th February is good news for Blur fans in Indonesia - Blur is confirmed to play the BigSoundFest in Jakarta, Indonesia on May 15th 2013. This is the latest country and tour date to be added to their massive world tour in 2013, and a positive sign that something big is happening for the band this year.


BigSoundFest will be taking place in sporting area Senayan Field in Jakarta. The festival is managed by company Dyandra Entertainment, who promises more news on the Blur gig will be released soon. 

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Many more artists, including Canadian duo Teagan & Sara, will be playing the Indonesian music festival this May.

Tickets will be available for sale on Thursday 21 Feb 12:00pm. For more updates by the festival's promoters, follow  and  on Twitter. 

Stay tuned for more details about ticketing and the festival, which is set to be announced within the next few days.

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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