Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
Blur – which also includes guitarist Graham Coxon and drummer Dave Rowntree – is not as abrasive as Oasis’ Noel Gallagher, whose wish that Albarn and James contract AIDS and die was blown up to front-page news in England. Gallagher downplayed the statement, saying the quote was taken out of context and that Blur was OK. Damon Albarn’s not buying it.
Blur has always been a band that mainstream America just didnt get. Maybe it was vocalist Damon Albarn’s exaggerated accent or the quintessential British characters he likes to write about, but it seemed that Blur’s fate was to play to a small group of Anglophiles who adored them. That should change with their self-titled record, which was released last week. At their sold-out show at the Riviera Theatre Saturday night, the four-man group (supplemented by a keyboardist and a two-man horn section) went top heavy on cuts from Blur, which is the most accessible of their five albums. They gave their fans a deliriously fun 1-hour 40-minute set that had music, style and showmanship.