SHOW: The Factory, Milan, Italy November 10, 1994

Here is a good show from the European tour of 1994, the famous "blackout" show where Blur lost power onstage after the opening string of numbers! A unique event...enjoy!

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=25ESHM44

SHOW: Essex University Dancehall, Colchester, England April 27, 1991

Here's an early show, from 1991, in Damon, Graham, and Dave's hometown. The sound quality is not great but it's acceptable for a 20 year old audience tape. The show is a gem, though. Enjoy!

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=NVTDJAGX

TOUR REVIEW: 1991: The First American Tour

In 1991, Blur made their first trip to America and undertook a short US tour to promote Leisure and the modest success of There's No Other Way. The little jaunt consisted of four known dates, with more likely in between November 1st and 10th. The known tour dates are below:

October 1991:

28th - Lee's Palace, Toronto, Canada
Unknown date (somewhere between the 29th and 31st) - Unknown Venue, Boston, Massachusetts

November 1991:

1st - Marquee, New York City, New York
10th - Metro, Chicago, Illinois
14th - KROQ Noontime Free Concert, Roxy Theatre, Los Angeles, California
14th - Roxy Theatre, Los Angeles, California

The available recordings are highlighted, and it is not known at this time if any others exist.

The set lists for the two shows (which were considerably different) are:

November 10, 1991:

Popscene
Fool
High Cool
Bad Day
Oily Water
Bang
Slow Down
Turn It Up
She's So High
Wear Me Down
There's No Other Way
Come Together
Day Upon Day
Explain

November 14, 1991:

Popscene
High Cool
Bad Day
Bang
Slow Down
She's So High
Wear Me Down
There's No Other Way
I'm All Over
Come Together
Explain

As you can see, in addition to the material from Leisure, some new songs were played (Oily Water, Turn It Up, Popscene), and the second show has a rare live version of I'm All Over. Both of these are very nice to listen to (the Los Angeles show can already be found on BLAAP HERE, while I will try to get the Chicago show up soon).

What makes 1991 an interesting year in the history of Blur is that, not only were they on the rise in the UK with their debut album and the success of There's No Other Way, but they were starting to gain momentum in the USA. Sadly, this was to come to a screeching halt in both countries in 1992 with the poor chart performance of Popscene, conflicts with their record company in the UK (Food Records), the ineptitude of their US record company (SBK). And perhaps the two biggest factors that hardened and sharpened Blur's resolve in late 1992: their escalating drinking, and the disastrous US tour of 1992 (for more on this, go HERE). But at this point in 1991, the sky seemed to be the limit for the ascendant Blur. And you can feel that coming through in these performances...hopefully more information on the other tour dates will come to light, as well as some new recordings to analyze this period in their history.

And as always, if you have any additional recordings or know someone who does, please contact me privately.

SHOW: Bowery Ballroom, New York City, New York March 16, 2003

One of only a few warm-up shows Blur played before Think Tank was released, this is the only one available. It's an interesting show for two reasons: the band is surprised the crowd knows the songs before the album was out, and Alex couldn't make it to the USA due to visa issues, so Chris Traynor fills in on bass! A weird gig, but an enjoyable one...hope you like it!

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=WH8U3B8B

SHOW: Monash University, Melbourne, Australia November 1, 1997

Here is one of only two known recordings from Blur's sole Australian tour in 1997. This is an excellent quality soundboard recording, and the show is one of the best from 1997. Enjoy this one, and turn it up loud!!

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=8Q01RJPH

TOUR REVIEW: Fall European Tour of 1994

During the insanely busy year of 1994, Blur played all over the world from April until the end of November. Starting right after their Fall US Tour and being immediately followed by their Japanese tour in November, they did some heavy touring in Europe during October and November, including a whole host of dates in France. The tour dates are below (and the available recordings are in bold font):

October 1994:

9th - The Loft, Berlin, Germany
10th - Kantine, Cologne, Germany
11th - Batschkapp, Frankfurt, Germany
12th - Tilt, Munich, Germany
13th - Markthalle, Hamburg, Germany
19th - La Leiterie, Strasbourg, France
20th - Le Montjoye, Besancon, France
21st - Salle Bois d L'Aulne, Marseilles, France
22nd - La Krakaota, Bordeaux, France
24th - Exo, Rouen, France
25th - Bataclan, Paris, France
26th - Transborder, Lyon, France
27th - Zig Zag, Orleans, France
28th - Art Rock Festival, St. Brieuc, France
30th - Zeleste II, Barcelona, Spain
31st - Paradiso, Amsterdam, Holland

November 1994:

1st - Christiana, Copenhagen, Denmark
2nd - Sentrum Scene, Oslo, Norway
3rd – Palladium, Stockholm, Sweden
5th - Gothenburg, Sweden
6th - Lund, Sweden
9th - Geneva, Switzerland
10th - The Factory, Milan, Italy
11th - Rimini, Italy
12th - Florence, Italy
13th - Florence, Italy

Of the available recordings, the Paris, Copenhagen, and Oslo ones are uncirculated although I am working on getting copies of them. The general set list for the tour is below:

Lot 105
Sunday Sunday
Jubilee
Tracy Jacks
Magic America
End Of A Century
Coping
Chemical World
There's No Other Way
To The End
Advert
Supa Shoppa
Parklife
Girls & Boys
Mr. Robinson's Quango
Bank Holiday
This Is A Low

As you can see, nothing too surprising, as it draws heavily from Parklife and Modern Life is Rubbish, with only a single nod to Leisure. They were also at this time previewing Mr. Robinson's Quango from the forthcoming Great Escape album (they had started playing it earlier in 1994) and would throw in a short instrumental version of Ernold Same as well, from time to time.

While these shows were generally solid, you can definitely hear the fatigue come through. This is especially true as the concerts go on...they tend to start out well, get sluggish by the middle, and then mostly recover by the end. It's understandable, as by this time they'd been on the road a solid 6 months and still had a considerable Japanese jaunt planned for a week after this tour ended. However, the Japanese shows were some of their best, most frenzied of the tour (and of their career...read about them HERE).

All in all, while the recordings from this tour don't contain Blur's best shows, they're solid and worth checking out, despite the lack of surprises in the set lists or performances. If anyone was at any of these shows (and even if you weren't), share some feedback in the comments section!

And of course, if you have any recordings from this tour (or any others), please contact me privately.

SHOW: Luna Park Stadium, Buenos Aires, Argentina November 27, 1999

Here is a GREAT sounding concert from Blur's mini-tour of Latin and South America (for more info on it, go HERE). This includes rare post-1997 versions of Country House, Stereotypes, and On Your Own...a great show. Enjoy!

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=4QTFV7WS

BLACK BOOK now available at international Amazon sites!

JUST TO LET ALL THE UK BLUR FANS KNOW:

Black Book is *FINALLY* available on Amazon.co.uk, for 12 quid:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Black-Book-Live-History-Blur/dp/1449530389/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1270745522&sr=8-1

I know some of you have contacted me saying you wanted a copy but didn't want to buy if from the US Amazon...well, now you can get it from the UK!

It is also available from Amazon.fr (France), Amazon.de (Germany), Amazon.ca (Canada), and Amazon.jp (Japan)

SHOW: Laugardalshöllin, Reykjavik, Iceland August 31, 1997

Here is Blur's 1997 show in Iceland, to accompany the preceding article. Compare and contrast this concert with the 1996 show. Still, enjoyable and worth having. Enjoy!

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=KCWMK4WX

SHOW: Laugardalshöllin, Reykjavik, Iceland September 8, 1996

Here is Blur's show from Iceland in 1996, to accompany the preceding article. Enjoy this rare and excellent Blur concert!

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=IKTCHXTZ

CONCERT REVIEWS: Blur in Iceland (and beyond)

In 1996, after finishing off their touring obligations with some festival appearances in the summer (see THIS POST) and debuting a couple of new songs (Song 2, Chinese Bombs), Blur retreated into the studio to continue working on their musical reinvention. During this time Damon became enamored with the country of Iceland, so much so that he invested in a pub there and invited the band up for some recording. During this period, in the fall of 1996, Blur played a one-off show, on September 8, 1996 (the poster is courtesy Bjorn Halldorsson)



The concert was held at the Laugardalsholl in Reykjavik, Iceland on September 8, 1996 and the set list was:

Stereotypes
Tracy Jacks
Charmless Man
It Could Be You
Jubilee
End Of A Century
Beetlebum
Look Inside America
She's So High
Popscene
Globe Alone
Bank Holiday
Supa Shoppa
This Is A Low
Sing
Girls & Boys
Country House
To The End
For Tomorrow
There's No Other Way
Song 2
Parklife
The Universal

That is a great set list! First, they start off with Stereotypes, which is very unusual. The set includes rare (for 1996) performances of Sing, For Tomorrow, and the last Country House for a while. PLUS, two new songs were debuted: the very first live performances of Beetlebum and Look Inside America. Song 2 was also played (Chinese Bombs, debuted during the summer, is absent). Beetlebum sounds tentative but fully formed, although it's the first time Damon ever played guitar onstage and he warns the crowd beforehand! Look Inside America again sounds timid but complete, while Song 2 has slightly different lyrics than the versions from the summer of 1996, but is closer to the final version. A great concert. The anonymity Iceland offered, far from the roving eyes of the UK media, as well as the welcoming nature of the people that Blur found there, let them stretch out both in the studio and onstage to be more daring, and the results, again both on record and stage, were staggering.

This 1996 adventure stands in stark contrast with the show Blur played in Iceland at the same venue in 1997, on August 31, 1997 (poster courtesy of Bjorn again):



It was part of Blur's mini-tour of Iceland, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands, and is a much more somber, sloppy concert, supposedly because they found out Princess Diana had died that day. They took to the stage angry, sad, and very, very drunk. The set list was:

Beetlebum
M.O.R.
Movin' On
Stereotypes
Badhead
Country Sad Ballad Man
She's So High
To The End
Popscene
Chinese Bombs
Advert
Coping
Girls & Boys
Death Of A Party
The Universal
Theme From Retro
On Your Own
Parklife
Country House
I'm Just A Killer For Your Love
Song 2

Only the songs in bold font are available on recording. Bjorn and I are working on getting the complete show. Country House was played (surprisingly, it made a brief comeback in August 1997, as evidenced on the available V97 recording, which you can also download HERE). Overall, the band sound subdued, depressed, and bored, as if they want to get the concert over with and get off stage as quickly as possible. Still, it's a fascinating listen, and mediocre Blur is still better than no Blur at all!

The following posts will be the recordings of these two shows for your enjoyment. Please leave feedback!

Something nice coming up...

...just as I promised last week. I am working on a post about Blur's shows in Iceland in 1996 and 1997. I am finally going to get really cracking on it, thanks to my friend Bjorn from Iceland who has kindly supplied some excellent photos and memorabilia to go along with the post (I'll also include the recordings). Bear with me as I work on it (sadly, this isn't my full time job...I need to support my family somehow!) but I hope it'll be worth the wait!

Follow BLAAP and Black Book on Facebook!

For anyone on Facebook, you can follow Black Book and this site HERE

So if you haven't yet, pop on over to Facebook and become a fan to keep up with any updates about the book and the site!

An improvement...

I've gone through and labeled all of the show downloads by year, so now if you want to see what's available, you can just go to the righthand side of the page and click on the year (1990 through 2009) and it will take you to the shows. Why didn't I think of this sooner?

Feedback!

No, not the kind that comes from Graham's guitar, although that's great, too. But I love getting feedback from all of you who frequent this site, and new visitors, too! Please leave comments with suggestions, critiques, comments, Blur memories, anything! That's how interesting discussions start, and it helps me to make this a better site for everyone!

Cheers!

SHOW: La Luna, Portland, Oregon June 17, 1997

Here's Blur's show from Portland during their second US tour of 1997 in June. A great show with a great set list.

Enjoy!

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=TKUBX0MT