Blur 2013

panama

Off topic slightly here I know but just wondering does anyone know any of the St. John's ambulance guys who were on duty last night?
One of them found and handed in a phone belonging to a friend of mind and he wanted to thank him if possible.

No idea how he'd find that out so thought I'd throw it up here and see if anyone knows anyone or has a contact etc?

Cheers

Timmyctc

Loved that gig.
No sound problems where we were (4 rows from the front in the centre ) Just want to gloat that when Damon jumped on the railing for Country House he acknowledged my Tattoo (of Milky the Carton on my chest) and thumbsed me up. So I'm a happy man. One pet peeve. Hate people who spend such an effort staying in the pit especially up the front and don't sing along or clap or cheer.

They have every right to do that obviously, but it annoys me that there are definitely great fans further back who'd kill to be up there.

Saruwatari

Fantastic gig, first (and possible last) time I've seen the lads but a night I'll never forget.

Didn't even think twice about the drink situation, opted for a bottle of water and ice-cream from the vendor near the jacks (sound chap that rounded the two to a fiver for me) instead.
Crowd was a bit crap now. Might've just been my bad luck though, I was surrounded by knobheads turned the other way chatting with their mates and the most ignorant jackass I've ever met at a gig; He was this Dub chap in his forties with his girlfriend, and he literally did nothing but whinge the entire night.
Damon talking during songs? 'Ah boring ****e would ye just play the music'. Someone brush past em? Give em the stare of death.
The best part was when his girlfriend tapped me on the shoulder and asked if I could maybe move out of his way. Keep in mind I was maybe four people away from the pit gate, I couldn't afford an arm to scratch my arse never mind move out of some moany gimp's way.
And then he'd rattle on about the equipment being used trying to come off as some well-informed / cultured head, it was a pretty sad spectacle altogether. I feel bad for his girlfriend, she was dancing away all night and he stood there with his arms folded sinking gradually into the earth.

Anyways, reckon it's a tie between Caramel / Coffee & TV for song of the night for me.


Also, don't suppose anyone pickjed up a Milky carton they're not using? I had to absolutely leg it moment the gig finished for fear of missing the last bus and didn't even get to swing by the merch stall (where they were supposedly giving him out for free...)

panda100

Miguel_Sanchez wrote: »

Some people in front standing with their backs to the stage for about the first 6 or so songs. Don't quite understand what they have to say to their friends that's so important it's causing them to ignore the band they paid money to see but there you go.

Do you think a lot of people go to these gigs just to say they were there and put it up on facebook?

I bumped into a good few people from college, who are definitely not Blur fans. Couldn't believe the amount of people around me just standing around talking with their backs to the stage when the absolute anthem 'There's no other way' came on.

soundmangar

I bumped into a good few people from college, who are definitely not Blur fans. Couldn't believe the amount of people around me just standing around talking with their backs to the stage when the absolute anthem 'There's no other way' came on.[/quote]

I experienced this as well, hard to fathom. I don't think the really low volume helped either, it was like background music where I was for the first 5 songs

ghostdancer

lots of people know a few Blur singles, and go along for the "evening out" and a few drinks. when anything other than a famous single is on, they get bored and talk to their mates. same thing at other big gigs like Springsteen mentioned earlier. not really much else to it than that....

blastman

Saruwatari wrote: »

Also, don't suppose anyone pickjed up a Milky carton they're not using? I had to absolutely leg it moment the gig finished for fear of missing the last bus and didn't even get to swing by the merch stall (where they were supposedly giving him out for free...)

Not free exactly, but if you bought a t-shirt you got one thrown in with it.

CdeC

panda100 wrote: »

Do you think a lot of people go to these gigs just to say they were there and put it up on facebook?

I bumped into a good few people from college, who are definitely not Blur fans. Couldn't believe the amount of people around me just standing around talking with their backs to the stage when the absolute anthem 'There's no other way' came on.

Yeah, we were just to the left of the sound stage and some of the quieter songs you couldn't hear. I wouldn't be the biggest blur fan but I still like them and wanted to see and hear them. People standing there talking about ****e, full blown conversations.
I reckon people really go and are not that interested in the music, there more there for the atmosphere and booze. Same at festivals. I know a lot of people that go who really don't listen to music past whats played on todayfm.

Bohsman1890

I've been to some poorly organised gigs in my time but that was a SHAMBLES!! Got in just before 6ish got to the bar with no hassle and was given a choice of 3 brands of dishwater! I opted for the becks to be on the safe side, came back maybe an hour later to find the bar queue cutting through the queue for the jacks!! Decided to grin and bear it and jumped in at the back, finally got to the top after what seemed like an eternity to be met by the stewards who to be fair to them were doing there best in a poxy situation and keeping there cool despite all the s***e they were taking, got into the bar and this was the biggest kick in the b****cks, the bar staff were laughing and joking with each other like they hadnt a care in the world!! The only saving grace was of course blur! They absoloutly smashed it! Parklife brought me back to my knacker drinking mid teens the apperance of Phil Daniels was a treat and song 2 to my late teen angst and to hear a couple of suprises was defo worth all the stress!! I hope they come back to these shores real soon albeit in a proper sized venue! Exiting was a free for all how nobody was hurt at the arch ill never know!
Blur you made my summer!!
POD get your s**t together!!

PaulieG

What a brilliant gig! Absolutely loved it. I thought Damon Albarn was in exceptional form and really seemed to be enjoying himself. He also looks great. Of course Alex James spent a lot of time looking down at his bass with a fag stuck to his lip, but that's what he does. Definitely noticed the sound go a little weird on at least two occasions but not enough to spoil the show in any way.
I love the classics but I also think Under The Westway is one of their best ever. Surprisingly a lot of people around me had clearly never heard of it. The only downer is God only knows when I'll get to see Blur live again.
P.S. Timmyctc, I think I might copy your tattoo.

gaius c

Why on earth were they letting people stand next to the barriers where the bar queue was? They were getting jostled by people in the queue trying to get past them and there were no stewards telling them "guys there's a whole arena here to stand around and chat with your mates. You can't stay here because you're in the way".

Stewarding was appalling. There was an enormous crush at the Inchicore end as the people coming through on the grass cut the people on the path off and they had no option but to shove their way out. Until one guard turned up and called 6-7 other guards, it was chaos. There were no event marshalls or stewards to be seen at all!

Even leaving the arena itself was difficult. We were just behind the pit and where the speakers were blocked exit from the area and hundreds of people were being funneled into a gap 4-5 metres wide.

All you need is one person to slip/trip and it'll become bedlam very quickly.

Oasis_Dublin

Third time seeing Blur playing since 2009. A few minor gripes however.
1. The setlist - I know they haven't recorded a new album yet, but surely they could play something a bit different in terms of their back catalogue; it's the same setlist (more or less) as Oxegen or The Olympic gig. At least them Oasis boys had the pretence of a new album (which was usually "as good as, if not better, than Definitely Maybe!) when they played Dublin.
2. Support - I know I touched on this months ago, but the support was absolutely woeful. For 62.50, you expect a lot better than that.
3. T-Shirt price - not the band's fault, fine, but 30 quid for a t-shirt?! Are you taking the piss? Just your bog standard t-shirt with 'Blur' on it, or one with an Irish date in which the venue was incorrectly printed. I know they are a mainstream band, hellbent on taking every cent that they can from the punter, but give us some credit.
4. Set Length - you could put up with all the other failings if the setlist was longer, but a little over 90 minutes of actual music is circa 30 minutes short of what we should expect for that price of a ticket.
5. Milky - Why weren't they selling these on their own?!?! They could have sold thousands!!!

Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy the show, I just think they could have given it so much more in terms of the actual occasion.

Dr. Bre

had a great time at Blur... one thing i cant understand is having a bar in one place. why cant they have smaller bar sizes spread out in 4/5 different locations (front,back, 2 at the middle on either sides)

OhHiMark

Oasis_Dublin wrote: »

Third time seeing Blur playing since 2009. A few minor gripes however.
1. The setlist - I know they haven't recorded a new album yet, but surely they could play something a bit different in terms of their back catalogue; it's the same setlist (more or less) as Oxegen or The Olympic gig. At least them Oasis boys had the pretence of a new album (which was usually "as good as, if not better, than Definitely Maybe!) when they played Dublin.
2. Support - I know I touched on this months ago, but the support was absolutely woeful. For 62.50, you expect a lot better than that.
3. T-Shirt price - not the band's fault, fine, but 30 quid for a t-shirt?! Are you taking the piss? Just your bog standard t-shirt with 'Blur' on it, or one with an Irish date in which the venue was incorrectly printed. I know they are a mainstream band, hellbent on taking every cent that they can from the punter, but give us some credit.
4. Set Length - you could put up with all the other failings if the setlist was longer, but a little over 90 minutes of actual music is circa 30 minutes short of what we should expect for that price of a ticket.
5. Milky - Why weren't they selling these on their own?!?! They could have sold thousands!!!

Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy the show, I just think they could have given it so much more in terms of the actual occasion.

You're absolutely wrong about the support. Well Bat for Lashes anyway, I didn't see the Strypes. Bat For Lashes was fantastic.

PTH2009

OASIS OR BLUR

Dr. Bre

PTH2009 wrote: »

OASIS OR BLUR

saw plenty of people with oasis tops ha

threein99

PTH2009 wrote: »

OASIS OR BLUR

Both

Oasis_Dublin

OhHiMark wrote: »

You're absolutely wrong about the support. Well Bat for Lashes anyway, I didn't see the Strypes. Bat For Lashes was fantastic.

"You're absolutely wrong about the support... except, er, I didn't actually see half the support." :rolleyes:

We can agree to disagree on Bat for Lashes.

panama

Oasis_Dublin wrote: »

Third time seeing Blur playing since 2009. A few minor gripes however.
1. The setlist - I know they haven't recorded a new album yet, but surely they could play something a bit different in terms of their back catalogue; it's the same setlist (more or less) as Oxegen or The Olympic gig. At least them Oasis boys had the pretence of a new album (which was usually "as good as, if not better, than Definitely Maybe!) when they played Dublin.
2. Support - I know I touched on this months ago, but the support was absolutely woeful. For 62.50, you expect a lot better than that.
3. T-Shirt price - not the band's fault, fine, but 30 quid for a t-shirt?! Are you taking the piss? Just your bog standard t-shirt with 'Blur' on it, or one with an Irish date in which the venue was incorrectly printed. I know they are a mainstream band, hellbent on taking every cent that they can from the punter, but give us some credit.
4. Set Length - you could put up with all the other failings if the setlist was longer, but a little over 90 minutes of actual music is circa 30 minutes short of what we should expect for that price of a ticket.
5. Milky - Why weren't they selling these on their own?!?! They could have sold thousands!!!

Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy the show, I just think they could have given it so much more in terms of the actual occasion.

The set was excellent. Just because they might have played the same set before is hardly worth criticising.

Bat for Lashes are fantastic. It's your loss if you don't appreciate them. Most people felt they were great support.

T-shirts - rip-offs but you've been to blur before you could have picked one up cheaper then. Or just not buy one at kilmainham. Simple.

The set length could have been longer if there wasn't a curfew in place.
They fitted in a hell of a lot and put in a superb performance on the night.

OhHiMark

Oasis_Dublin wrote: »

"You're absolutely wrong about the support... except, er, I didn't actually see half the support." :rolleyes:

We can agree to disagree on Bat for Lashes.

Thanks for qualifying my statement for me but if you tried reading what I said you'll see that I already did that myself.

rockey4215

Hey, can anyone tell me what Damon was singing at the end of Tender? Couldn't hear it due to the low sound/inane conversation happening around me.

Regarding the gig, I spent the first half being incredibly frustrated by how uninterested the crowd seemed to be. Had to move twice, ended up at the barrier in front of the PA system. Was still chatting going on, so I responded by getting incredibly into the gig, at certain points (particularly To The End) singing aggressively loudly (heard one of the talkers remark "I think he thinks he's in the band". I smiled at her). And I guess the cliche of faking it til you make it is true, because I ended up having a fantastic time.

Fancy That

Thought the setlist was super considering they only had an hour and a half, although I was disappointed that they did not play charmless man! Great performance tho!

horseburger

It would be my guess that if Blur had intended to play longer, they would have done so.

I would think that it is very unlikely that they cut their set short or played faster to get through more songs.

If they had intended playing a full two hours their set could have commenced at 8.30 or 8.45, although it may have meant that The Strypes would have had a shorter set, and Bat For Lashes come on earlier?

Anyway, I would imagine that they played the length of show they intended to play, that if they planned a longer set, the scheduling of the bands would have been arranged accordingly.

I think the Leonard Cohen gigs in the Royal Hospital Kilmainham in 2008 and 2012 ended after 11pm, so for that reason I wouldn't imagine they had to end at 10.40 due to curfew.

Leaving the venue from the pit area on the right hand side was fine, I took about 10 -15 minutes to get out to the Luas at Heuston Station. I didn't notice any of the problems that were detailed earlier in this discussion by people who left the venue from other exits.

I thought it was a great gig!

Miguel_Sanchez

Leonard Cohen did not play until after 11 in 2008 definitely. Having said that he finished up a few minutes beforehand so I imagine Blur could have played until ten to five to if they really wanted to. I posted a stagetimes sign earlier in this thread and I think it said strict curfew 11 (on my phone so can't check it back). As far as I know that's the cut off point for one-off gigs in the venue.

Oasis_Dublin

OhHiMark wrote: »

Thanks for qualifying my statement for me but if you tried reading what I said you'll see that I already did that myself.

I just wanted to emphasise how bizarre it was. You're welcome though, no bother.

Oasis_Dublin

panama wrote: »

The set was excellent. Just because they might have played the same set before is hardly worth criticising.

I think it IS worth criticisng them. But then, hey, I've seen them a lot more than most people. Therefore, I'm entitled to my opinion.

As I said, very enjoyable show. It just smacks of laziness that they couldn't be arsed to throw in something a little different.

panama wrote: »

Bat for Lashes are fantastic. It's your loss if you don't appreciate them. Most people felt they were great support.

Most people?! Is that why the pit was empty and the cues for the bar were around the corner for her set?! She was a bad support act. Most people felt the same (see, I can generalise too!).

panama wrote: »

T-shirts - rip-offs but you've been to blur before you could have picked one up cheaper then. Or just not buy one at kilmainham. Simple.

Simple! Christ, I really hate the ilk of people who engage in putting "simple" at the end of sentences like that.

Anyway, I didn't buy a t-shirt. Apart from misspelling 'Irish Museum of Modern Art', they were a rip off. It was a list of gripes, not stuff I moaned about but then did anyway.

panama wrote: »

The set length could have been longer if there wasn't a curfew in place.
They fitted in a hell of a lot and put in a superb performance on the night.

Again, I never called into question the calibre of the songs they actually performed (I'm starting to think you didn't actually read what I originally wrote). It could have been longer though. And, as mad as it sounds, they probably could have gone past the curfew by a few minutes. Like some form of "rock and/or roll" band, if you will.

SIMPLE :eek: :eek: :eek: :rolleyes: :mad: :cool:

Furious-Red

Blur kinda remind me of Rage Against The Machine after the reunion , basically playing similar sets everytime due to no new album . Still would have liked to have gone to the gig but wasnt that big of a fan to pay that price

HandsomeDivil

Oasis_Dublin wrote: »

I think it IS worth criticisng them. But then, hey, I've seen them a lot more than most people. Therefore, I'm entitled to my opinion.

As I said, very enjoyable show. It just smacks of laziness that they couldn't be arsed to throw in something a little different.

It was the first time they played Young and Lovely on this tour. Many were surprised (myself included) that they played To The End. Out of Time is one of my favourite Blur songs but my friends were complaining that they never played Sunday Sunday or No Distance Left To Run. The way I see it, you're never gonna win no matter what songs you play. I can completely understand how you would want to see different songs having seen Blur before. But I believe most people were seeing Blur for the first time on Thursday and it's difficult to strike a balance between mixing up the setlist and playing the classics that everyone wants to hear.

horseburger

When Lenny Kravitz played Marlay Park in 2008, he played about 90 minutes and finished near enough to 11pm I think.

He spoke of needing to end then because of a curfew, which I considered to be nonsense.

I think he played the length of show he intended to play!:)

Alanis Morissette supported but I can't recall the length of her set,

but when you take into account shows like Roger Waters, Bruce Springsteen, or Leonard Cohen, if they intend playing longer than 90 minutes, the main headline band starts earlier, or has no support act at all.

The fact that there were two support acts for Blur suggests to me they did not cut their set due to a curfew and if they had a longer set to play, there'd only have been one support slot.

It's the same in indoor venues like Whelans, I find that if the main band doesn't come on till 9.20-9.30, they'll usually play about 90 minutes, and if their set is longer they'll start earlier.

Just conducted some retrospective research and I had forgotten that The Script also played at that Lenny Kravitz gig, with Alanis Morissette!:)

http://www.thescriptmusic.com/ie/live/archive/ie/2008-08-19

so that confirms for me that there wouldn't have been two supports if he'd a longer set planned.

Toast

A curfew exists but in reality it was probably a case of sticking to the old saying of leave the crowd wanting more. I didn't see them a IMMA but saw them at Primavera where there was definitely not a curfew (bands played after them) and you guys got two extra songs according to setlist.fm .