24/06/09
When Blur announced that they were to play the modestly sized Wolverhampton Civic Hall, few who had followed the band were surprised.
The Midlands have long been a favourite hotspot of the band, with Damon Albarn announcing mid-gig that they had made a point of playing the Civic as they, ‘put simply, always play Wolverhampton’. So, beginning with ‘She’s So High’ the band tore through a mammoth set pulling out all the stops with the gig exuding high energy from start to finish. Albarn held the crowd in his palm throughout, even throwing himself into the pit at the front a few times; suddenly it was 1995 all over again.
Yet, though the band played no new material this gig was not an indulgence in the past. Indeed, what really shone through was the way the songs appear to have not dated a jot, showing the strength of the band’s material. The group appeared in high spirits throughout and the relationship between Albarn and Coxon really was a treat to behold, with Coxon attempting a backwards roll at one moment and Albarn hyping himself up with the strident urgency of a fighter about to enter the ring. In all aspects the gig was a truly a knockout, with the fans present receiving the band as returning heroes and in the knowledge that they were privy to a unique view of a group on the top of their game.
Luke Baylis.
