AUDIO: Blur live at Asia-World Arena, Hong Kong, May 6, 2013

Here's a link to Blur's Hong Kong show from last week (link courtesy of Dom on the Blur forums). 

Enjoy!

http://www.4shared.com/zip/irmmYw-2/blur_hong_kong_06-may-2013.html

New Album from Hong Kong?

The big news from this week is that onstage in Hong Kong, Damon told the crowd that since their Japanese and Tapei gigs got cancelled, they may spend the free week recording a new album. See the video in this article for the actual quote:

http://www.nme.com/news/blur--2/70142

Or if you just want to see the video:

What do you think? Are you getting your hopes up, or being a bit cynical and skeptical (like me) that this is just Damon saying another thing that ends up not happening? What do you think? Either way, it's made for some interesting debate!

AUDIO: Blur live at Coachella Festival, Indio, CA April 12, 2013

Here's Blur's headlining set from last night's Coachella Festival, freshly recorded. A rather subdued set to an awful crowd, but the guys give it their best. Link below, let me know what you think or if there are any problems with the download. (the link will be only be active for 2 weeks so grab it ASAP!).

Download link HERE

Enjoy!

But Because it *is* April Fool's Day...

Tokyo Rocks Festival Cancelled

The Tokyo Rocks Festival in Japan that Blur was due to appear at in May has been cancelled...

http://louderthanwar.com/tokyo-rocks-2013-cancelled/

This is unfortunate for the band's Japanese fans, who are known as being amongst the most rabid and fanatical of all of their fans, especially judging from multiple bootleg recordings and videos of shows. They also seem to bring the best and wildest side of Blur out, so this is really too bad.

It's still unclear why this was cancelled...what do you think? Any ideas or info why?

(And NO, this is not an April Fool's post! I posted this same news item on my Facebook and Twitter pages yesterday...this is legit!)

Set List From Last Night

The first gig of 2013 was last night, and as expected (but still disappointing), it was the same set as last year (apart from bringing There's No Other Way back and dropping The Puritan)

1. Popscene
2. There's No Other Way
3. Girls & Boys
4. Tracy Jacks
5. Jubilee
6. Beetlebum
7. Out of Time
8. Trimm Trabb
9. Caramel
10. Coffee & TV
11. Tender
12. Country House
13. Parklife
14. Song 2
15. Advert
16. End of a Century
17. This Is a Low
18. Encore:
18. Under The Westway
19. For Tomorrow
20. The Universal 
     
    How do you feel about this? Pleased? Disappointed?

It Starts Today!

The first Blur concert of the year kicks off today in Mexico at El Plaza Condesa, followed by the first festival of the year tomorrow (also in Mexico).

Keep checking here for up-to-the-date info: set lists, photos, etc, and feel free to share your own info!

Updated tour itinerary

More blur dates!

More dates have been announced, including these 2…

So Far, Unanimous Praise for Black Book (2nd Edition)!

I've been truly humbled and flattered by the response to my newest book, Black Book: The Live History of Blur (2nd Edition). I'd like to share the feedback I've gotten, not only as a (small) feather in my cap (I can't resist!), but also to hopefully persuade anyone sitting on the fence that this book is worth getting if you're a Blur fan, BritPop fan, music fan, or whatever.

Some of the reviews for the book since it's release in December 2012:

"Got it tonight. Absolutely brilliant! I've been listening to the CDs and reading about the concerts - using the book like a mega set of liner notes. There are some priceless rareties here for sure, but the selections made are better because the author truly knows what he's talking talking about. I've got a stack of live CDs from hunting around Record fairs in the 90s, and this book is going to give them a new lease of life! Thank you"

"Got mine on Saturday. A joy to read. A real labour of love isn't it? It's great that there is a book like this out there. Well done"

"Got it in the mail today. Read a few entries and I'm really impressed. The concert reviews are super in-depth. Thanks for your hard work!"

"Just got mine from Amazon UK, and it's coming with me on a business trip next week so I'll have plenty time to get into it on the flight! It looks great Drew!"

"I loved it! Real page-turner. Great insight to B-Roads was a bonus."

"Mine arrived yesterday and it's awesome!"

"Mine arrived this morning, had a quick glance and it looks very purty you should be very proud"

"Got mine this morning, just about to go through it. Thanks so much, looks great!"

"I am completely stunned by the amount of information in this book and the scene-by-scene review of B-Roads is wonderful. Thank you for giving us a glimpse into the great mystery! This book is an ABSOLUTE MUST HAVE for hardcore Blur fans. Such a great read and research tool. Thank you so much for your effort, it's greatly appreciated!"   

And so far, all 5-Star reviews on Amazon:

Amazon.co.uk reviews
Amazon.com reviews

So if you've got the book, I'd love to hear your feedback, good or bad (and if it's good, I'd appreciate it if you reviewed it on Amazon, your website, anywhere...and share the link, please!).

And if you don't have the book yet, isn't this enough to make you want to go out and get it? :-) 

 

The Dust Has Settled and Black Book 2 is Available Worldwide

The book is available worldwide on Amazon websites and all of the pre-order packages were shipped out a week or so ago and are beginning to arrive. So far the response to the book has been 100% positive and I hope it continues to be and that everyone is enjoying it!

Now to take a break from writing and very soon get back to maintaining this page on a regular basis!

Burned, Baby, Burned

All finished! Here's the stack of the compilation CDs done and waiting for the books to arrive and then they'll be shipped out.