Graham Coxon
Bowery Ballroom
September 24

Graham Coxon is the forgotten man.  The Blur guitarist has released EIGHT solo albums, and all anyone ever wants to talk about is what Damon Albarn’s doing with whichever Damon Albarn side project is goings on at the moment (and for good reason).  But Graham is no slouch.  Sure, I only really know one of those solo albums (the first one), but after getting super-Super-SUPER into his latest and definitely his GREATEST – the soundtrack to the Netflix show The End Of The F***ing World – I was wrapped up in only one Blur side project for the last 2 months – the Graham Coxon-Graham Coxon side project!

Treated to 25 ditties, including two Blur songs, and two covers, Graham and his sharp guitar (and some fantastic sounding pre-recorded backing audio) enraptured the crowd from start to finish.  His motions and emotions on stage were filled with obvious nervousness and timidness.  This, from a guy who’s probably played every kind of giant festival stage imaginable, but I guess he’s used to disappearing into the background, while Damon sucked all the attention upfront.  But shyness aside, his charm and smile won the night and us all

Graham, once forgotten, now, unforgettable

Setlist – R U Lonely? / Latte / Way Up High (Ram John Holder cover) / Falling / All Over Me / That Someone Ain’t You / Alright / Don’t Believe Anything I Say / Flights to the Sea (Lovely Rain) / Angry Me / Saturday Night / It’s All Blue / She Left the Light On / Roaming Star / Can’t Find My Way Home (Blind Faith cover) / Miss America (Blur song) / All The Rage / Brave The Storm / Walking All Day

Encore – In The Morning / You’re So Great (Blur song) / There’s Something in the Way That You Cry / See A Better Day / Sorrow’s Army

Blur
Madison Square Garden
October 23rd

The above pic is all you need to know about how much Blur enjoyed playing Madison Square Garden for the first time ever!!!

The pic below is all you need to know about how me and the crew enjoyed RAWKING out to Blur playing Madison Square Garden for the first time ever*!!!!!

*although Damon played MSG before with Gorillaz

https://instagram.com/p/9NE7pehWAb/

Setlist – Go Out / There’s No Other Way / Lonesome Street / Badhead / End of a Century / Ghost Ship / Coffee & TV / Out of Time / Country Sad Ballad Man / Beetlebum / Thought I Was a Spaceman / Trimm Trabb / Tender / Parklife / Song 2 / To the End / This Is a Low

Encore – Stereotypes / Girls & Boys / For Tomorrow / The Universal

https://instagram.com/p/9OzIlsG300/

–

so where does the show rank?  probably the 2nd best Blur show I’ve seen, right behind the 2009 Hyde Park gig, and ahead of the Bowery show, which was really a 1/2 a Blur show (no Rowntree, and Graham wasn’t in the band)  

What about Damon shows?  Too hard to compare, juss ultra blessed he makes many kinds of musics and tours these musics in whatever form they is in

perv-iously on Damon shows…

Grahamer Rodeo – Damon @ Irving

Where’s North From Here? - Gorillaz @ MSG

Hyde & Seek – Blur @ Hyde Park

Thighs By Thighswest Day 2- The Good, The Bad & The Queen @ Webster Hall

Shaun Ryder Cup My Balls of Noodles – Gorillaz @ The Apollo Part 2

Things To Dee And So* – Gorillaz @ The Apollo Part 1

Damon Albarn
Irving Plaza
June 8th

No, that is not a picture of Damon Albarn and two dudes with their mouths gaping open – it’s Uncle Grambo, yours drooly and Grahamorama, reunited like Wu Tang, but with no double LP, but the world was still excited.  Actually the world didn’t really know or really care, but I did.  It’s not often that I get to be in the company of these extra ordinary gentlemen, and on top of that, gettin to pound whatever Miller Fortunes are is, with background music provided by my favorite living artist born post 1960 – Mr Albarn.  The show?  Damn good stuff – including tracks from his not so hot solo album + choice non-Blur project cuts (see set list below) – but what really made the show a show of shows was being with the Bros Graham, and showing them how much I loved them.  I almost humped their thighs to pieces.  Afterwards, we craved Dairy Queen, but it was closed, so instead we all took a rookie spin on a CitiBike bike, and forever changed our thighs/lives

Setlist - Lonely Press Play / Everyday Robots / Tomorrow Comes Today (Gorillaz) / Hostiles / Slow Country (Gorillaz) / Kids With Guns (Gorillaz) / Three Changes (The Good, The Bad & The Queen) / You and Me / Photographs (You Are Taking Now) / Poison (Rocket Juice & The Moon song) / El Mañana (Gorillaz) / Kingdom of Doom (The Good, The Bad & The Queen) / The History of a Cheating Heart / Out of Time (Blur) / All Your Life (Blur) 

Encore - Last Living Souls (Gorillaz) / Clint Eastwood with Vic Mensa (Gorillaz) / Mr Tembo / Heavy Seas of Love

Peace The Forks Out

to

Blur vs Oasis

August 14, 1995 – March 23, 2013

 

 +

huge-o jackass

van cliburnin’ no mo

no more days at a time

silent child actor + second-unit director of ALL THREE Indiana Jones movies!!!

Paul Bearer!!!

board to death

jump shot kind Bud

inspiration for crazed Natural stalker lady

bag lady

Pol Pot’s brother-in-law

a doolittler

no

no longer tempted and he too and no mo miracles for this guy

some TV western shooter dude

some actor with crazy hair & glasses

Hitler plotter

bottomed out

he went home at Woodstock

&

Reems-y and his dreamy mustache

look familiar????

OF COURSE IT DOES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

from stock image to Blur’s very first album cover!!!!

[hat tip to the Feeney]