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March 20, 2013

First look: Blur at Vive Latino Festival Mexico (Pictures)

Blur played Mexico City's Vive Latino Festival on March 16th 2013. According to many fans who went to watch the band live, the show was an exceptional one - the "best Blur had ever sounded".

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Damon Albarn - Looking young and hip at Vive Latino 2013

Damon waving a Mexican percussion instrument - "Almost hitting his face" said a fan

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Blur drummer Dave Rowntree also did an exclusive 15-minute interview with Radio Ibero (Ibero 90.0 FM) about the 2013 shows. The drummer sounded positive and high in spirits, exclaiming that the show had a "packed audience, jumping up and down. That's why we do this really, it's lovely. You can see it was the real fans, everybody from the front to the back knew all the words, it was just lovely."

He also mused on Blur's current popularity high. "We got more famous by releasing less music", Dave said.

"Last time we weren't selling tickets out in 10 minutes, we weren't playing big festivals. Mystique as been growing around us."

"We became way better known and more popular for doing nothing. I can't explain it."

- Dave Rowntree, 2013 Tour

He seems to be ambiguous about a new Blur album. "It was all really good fun" he said, when asked to describe the 2013 gigs. "This is an extension to that. We did a few shows leading up to [Hyde Park] and we thought it really wasn't possible to do something in London. So why not do some wider touring, for the longer-suffering fans around the world who hasn't seen us in a decade". So it seems this tour is merely to please the wider fans, but not to make a new album.

So why now? Dave said it was a "logical progression" to "try things out" this time, and that previous tours didn't satisfy the global demands of Blur fans. They have recorded some things, but there seems to be no plans to release more future songs so far.

Listen to the audio recording of the excellent interview below.

Dave Rowntree [Entrevista] by Ibero909fm on Mixcloud

Watch Blur at Vive Latino 2013

Blur: Vive Latino Mexico City - Setlist:

Popscene
There's No Other Way
Girls & Boys
Tracy Jacks
Beetlebum
Out of Time
Trimm Trabb
Caramel
Coffee & TV
Tender
Country House
Parklife
Song 2
Advert
End of a Century
This Is a Low

Encore :
Under The Westway
For Tomorrow
The Universal

For more pictures, check out this album on Facebook. Visit this gallery of professional shots HERE.

March 18, 2013

A 10 Year Wait - Blur El Plaza Condesa Mexico gig Review

Review: Blur – El Plaza Condesa Mexico Gig

Written by Guillermo Torres

Every Blur fan knows that before the first big gig at every tour, a warm-up show is going to be played… and that is the case for this specific show.

The Plaza Condesa is small venue located in the most “cultural-artistic-hipster” neighborhood in Mexico City: La Condesa. The place used to be a movie theater back in the 1960’s, so it has a 1,900 people capacity. Almost two years ago, it was refurbished for concert purposes, and by the end of last year hosted bands such as M83, Morrissey, Underworld, Dead Can Dance and Marillion. However, never had there been a show where tickets were sold out in less than five minutes, like it happened with the Blur warm-up show on the evening of March 15^th 2013.

The expectations were really high- you may imagine how it felt to wait 10 years to have your favorite band back in town playing a live concert. There were people who queued more than nine hours before the doors opened, and scalpers were everywhere, asking for up to £400 per ticket (when the original cost was £42).

So the show started with the non-album single “Popscene”. Can you imagine how crazy the crowd got? Everyone were screaming and jumping, and the sounds were close to perfect! Then Blur played “There’s No Other Way”, “Girls & Boys” and ”Tracy Jacks”…My first thought were: these guys sound just like they did the last time I saw them- you got it, ten years ago! But a few minutes later, I realized I was wrong; their sound that night was the best I had ever heard.

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Thank You - Graham Coxon 2013

“Jubilee”, “Beetlebum” and “Out Of Time” were up next. These songs were emotional, raw, and I was crying by then. I do believe that Blur and the rest of the band were also surprised and amazed at the level of response from the people. “Trimm Trabb”, “Caramel” and the other hits were played next. And then came one of the most chorused songs of the night: “Coffee and TV”…

“Tender” was a really emotional moment in the show, but the three songs “Country House”, “Parklife” (with no Phil Daniels) and “Song 2” were enough to put everyone’s spirits to the top. “Advert”, “End Of The Century” and “This Is A Low" were the last ones from the main gig set list.

The moment of the night, without a doubt, was when Blur performed “Under The Westway”. By this time, we all knew that we were close to the end. “For Tomorrow” and “The Universal” were the songs that closed the show.

Great Band + Great Venue = One the greatest gigs I’ve ever attend!

I can’t wait to the see them at Coachella again!

Guillermo Torres

(@ElPincheTorres on Twitter)

Pictures by Geraldine

(@arreborriquito on Twitter)

March 15^th 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 now!

Blur Tour 2013 - Full dates and rundown HERE

March 17, 2013

First Blur Concert 2013: El Plaza Condesa - Gallery

PICTURES, fan photos, drawings and fan photography, as well as official images have emerged after Blur played their first concert of 2013 in Mexico City on March 15th 2013. The warm up gig was held in El Plaza Condesa, where Blur played a conventional set-list of their biggest hits, including 'The Universal', 'Song 2', 'Advert', 'Country House', 'Beetlebum', 'Caramel' and new single 'Under The Westway'.

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Brilliant picture by fan @malfi

El Plaza Condesa Mexico 2013 Setlist:

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Popscene
There's No Other Way
Girls & Boys
Tracy Jacks
Jubilee
Beetlebum
Out of Time
Trimm Trabb
Caramel
Coffee and TV
Tender
Country House
Parklife
Song 2
Advert
End of a Century
This is a Low
Under the Westway
For Tomorrow
The Universal

Watch: Clips of songs played at the gig.

This page on the Blur forums has links to the rest of the videos from the entire gig, available on Youtube.

A must-see gallery of professional photos of the gig yesterday via the Blur Fans Facebook Page.

Check out the gallery of Instagram pictures below (Note: it's long, image-heavy, keep scrolling). Our top four picks by @vaalx, @dadis and @gavilangavilan:

Read a review of the gig (non-English) HERE. Don't forget to follow the twitter hashtag #BlurMX for more live tweets from the second Mexico show at the Vive Latino Festival. Live tweets can be found here.

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

Stay tuned for more videos, audio and mp3s of the World Tour as it happens!

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

Blur confirmed for Mexico HERE

Blur Europe Tour News HERE

Order the new Blur: Parklife (Live at Hyde Park CD / DVD) HERE

SUBSCRIBE NOW!

March 16, 2013

First Blur Concert of 2013- Mexico El Plaza Condesa (pictures)

Blur played their first ever concert of 2013 and took the stage on March 15th 2013 in Mexico's El Plaza Condesa. The band announced this exclusive warm-up gig to be held in Mexico City just one day before their big main concert at the city's Vive Latino Festival (March 16th). With singer Morrissey dropping out of tomorrow's Vive Latino Festival, Blur are set to be the biggest name of the day.

Pictures on the fanpage Blur Mexico showcased Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James and Dave Rowntree with fans at the airport before the gig. The group are seen signing autographs, walking through the terminal and posing for photos with fans who lined up to greet them. Scroll down for some photos from Twitter and Instagram users who posted about the show.

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Credits to LizzyBerry

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@Faberocker via Twitter

Credited to @cuauchenko via Instagram

Credited to @argehuntley via instagram

Blur looked excited and cheerful as they kickstart their massive 2013 world tour. It seems like a great start and if all goes well, perhaps a new album will follow. Read about Blur's stint at Mexico's Vive Latino Festival for tomorrow here.

Don't forget to follow the twitter hashtag #BlurMX for more live tweets from the show tonight. Live tweets can be found here.

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

Stay tuned for more videos, audio and mp3s of the World Tour as it happens!

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