Blur woo-hoos frenzied fans at Palladium

Thursday, October 9, 1997

Blur woo-hoos frenzied fans at Palladium

MUSIC:

By Mike Prevatt

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

Blur returned to Los Angeles on Wednesday, six months after both
their exciting Palace appearance and the release of their fifth,
self-titled album. Don’t think for a second they were going through
the motions on this second tour leg.

Since last March, Blur has gone from being the
Britpop-band-Oasis-hates to the Woo-Hoo band. Their explosive
single, "Song 2," (you know, the one with the "woo-hoo!" chorus)
has become one of the biggest alternative rock hits of the year.
MTV have played the video almost as much as they’ve played episodes
of "Road Rules." And they’ve managed to sell damn near half a
million copies of "Blur," which is at least three times more
successful than all their other albums put together.

So, now in October, it’s time to test their new material and
popularity in the live show setting. Blur passed with flying
colors… and flying fans, as well.

Blur’s highly energetic performance at the Hollywood Palladium
on Tuesday showed why they are one of the best live bands
performing today, anywhere. Thanks to a faster tempo and
hyper-kinetic leadman Damon Albarn, the British quartet had fans
jumping, stage-diving, moshing, singing and screaming all
throughout their enjoyably frantic yet consistent show.

Not to say that the entire show was a tireless bouncefest.
Performances of such Blur classics as "The Universal" and "This is
a Low," among a couple others, overwhelmed the sweaty bunch of
hooligans below the stage with their passionate presentations.

But the majority of the hour-and-a-half show displayed the
blasting pop styles Blur specializes in. From old favorites
("There’s No Other Way, "Slowdown"), to newer ones ("Movin’ On,"
"Chinese Bombs"), Albarn and crew spewed out one little firecracker
after another. Old fans shrieked at songs rarely played anymore
(like "Chemical World" and "Advert"). New fans stormed the stage at
the new radio hit, "M.O.R."

And it wasn’t just the band’s unlimited energy that kept the
fans high-strung all through the show. The P.A. at the Palladium
blasted Blur’s music as loud as those ear-splitting ones at the
Whiskey and the Roxy. A light show, which included strobes and
quick-fire, multi-colored beams, complimented the music
wonderfully. And of course, the music quality was in top form, save
a few unexpected tempo changes.

Albarn stole the show, though. He climbed the speakers on the
sides of the stage. He jumped about like an aerobics instructor on
speed. And he climbed into the crowd on a few occasions, where he
lost most of his shirts to the ravenous masses below. With security
propping him up in front of the audience, who in turn pulled his
every appendage towards them, Albarn looked like a puppet thrashing
about uncontrollably. Under the barrage of lights, it was a sight
to see.

Blur played quite a few songs from their 1994 British hit album,
"Parklife," including "Badhead" and "Bank Holiday." The crowd
screamed at the first couple of notes of the title track, and
continued to sing along at the top of their lungs, "Parklife!!" And
of course, chaos ensued during one of the show’s biggest
highlights, the boomin’ "Girls and Boys."

But in the end, the fans got what, well, most of them really
came for. Within five beats of their hit, "Song 2," the entire
crowd jumped up and let out a scream that drowned out the noisy
sound system. For two minutes, the Palladium shook under the mosh
pits and ecstatic cries of "woo-hoo!!"

After thrilling performances in January of 1996 at the Wiltern
Theater, and last March at the Palace, Blur’s show on Wednesday
proved that they are one of the most charismatic and spirited live
acts around. For a pop band, though, they sure put on the ultimate
of rock and roll shows. It’s refreshing to see someone still knows
how.

Hot ska-punk-whatever band Smashmouth opened with a relatively
boring and uninspiring set, which was a shame given this crowd’s
energy capacity. They received a few whoops and hurrahs for their
more popular songs, "Walking on the Sun" and "Why Can’t We Be
Friends?"

Virgin

Blur: (l-r) Dave Rowntree, Graham Coxon, Damon Albarn and Alex
James.