Blur and Coachella was never going to work – they should have known after 2013

Irrespective of how Coachella, arguably the biggest festival in the United States, is perceived by those across the pond, the silence Blur was met with during Girls and Boys should be no surprise. They were met with little more than a faint jolt of energy for their experience in the sub-headliners lot and the real shock is the reaction to the experience, not the experience itself. Blur and the troupe of British bands building favour Stateside has always been a muddy experience and the Damon Albarn-fronted group should know better than to react in this manner. It will prove either heroic or brutish for Albarn to curse the audience and say: “You’ll never see us again.” They will not – more because this is likely the last we see of Blur in general – but the sentiment is all the same. 

Vitriol like this after a second appearance at the festival on the reunion circuit is a strange reaction. Blur has already suffered the Coachella silence, where influencers peddle their time at the festival to garner engagement from those who wish they could be there but did not chance a remortgage of their home to get there. With Lana Del Rey and a Billie Eilish collaboration deserving of the spotlight the day before Blur hit the stage, the American duo was never at risk of losing out on the headlines from a band that failed to break America. This is no knock on Blur, whose sold-out Wembley double bill was one of the finest gigs of 2023, but a reality check for a band who tried and failed.  

Do the slightest dig on YouTube and find their Coachella 2013 performance. Much the same reaction for Girls and Boys. A deathly quiet washed over the audience who were equally unphased by a performance from The Stone Roses the weekend before this Blur appearance. They are a long way from Hyde Park, and it marks one of many moments in the post-heyday trajectory for the band. Girls and Boys was just as silently received thirteen years ago as it was this weekend. All which has changed is this sense of passing time. Blur is not irrelevant but crowds in America are more invested in other artists. There is no harm in this, but it does damage those deeply connected to the Blur reunion. 

One of their latest songs, St. Charles Square, summarises the event nicely. “I fucked up,” that they did. Blur was never the shoo-in for Coachella. Neither was a defiant Pulp in 2012 when Jarvis Cocker flipped the crowd off and remained unbothered by their lacklustre response. Ian Brown and company had much the same experience with The Stone Roses. This is not Glastonbury. Breakout groups like The Last Dinner Party have more success on these stages not just because of their contemporary interest but because the stage size is smaller, the crowd is more engaged with hearing them because they are sought out on another part of the festival, not slapped on before Tyler, the Creator.  

Reaction or not there were better ways for Blur to manage the fallout which comes from an unresponsive audience. It is not the setlist or the band in bad form as they rattle out the likes of Song 2 and Beetlebum but an audience who could not care less for their presence. But their lack of interest is not because they are the next generation – the idea of old music being of no interest to young audiences is as archaic an idea as the dinosaurs who rattle out such a comment. Those on Twitter rallying against a generation in the crowd who grew up on Eminem and in the post-2000s bubble have no idea what they are talking about.  

Generational factors will always play a slight part in who or what is headlining a festival. But take a look at the UK and have such an argument washed up. It is why Liam Gallagher is headlining Leedsfest. How LCD Soundsystem is performing in a sub-headliner slot, the same deal Blur received at Coachella, in the upcoming Glastonbury lineup. Relevant artists releasing music are appealing to a new generation – from Foo Fighters to The Strokes – both bands from the turn of the century still releasing material. It is not special to have grown up at the time of Blur’s heyday, much as it is not special to hear them now for those who were there to hear the usual American draw. 

Instead, Albarn has lashed out the same way fans of the nostalgia tour do when someone insists their work is not the best, by swearing and blaming a cultural divide. The fact Blur found themselves slotted into a festival of contemporary artists should be no surprise, yet it serves as a shock to the system of those who remember them only for Parklife. Blur is a contemporary group. They released The Ballad of Darren last year to much fanfare from the very groups admonished by the parties decrying a lack of musical knowledge in a generation born after the release of their self-titled record. Damage control is now underway. Dave Rowntree took to Twitter and wrote: “Coachella audiences relax into a show and enjoy it in their own way. Always have, always will.” Their reaction was phantom-like silence.  

An almost eerie example of how an audience is a crucial instrument in the best live shows. Just take a trip through footage of Blur in their warmup shows. It is a different experience entirely. Some may find justification in flipping this on America, pointing to other parts of the world that warmly received Blur and their like over the last few years. When the best of touring comes to mind it is never the American circuit which is praised to the heavens. Even when it is, it is those same legacy acts our generation is unaware of who receives the most praise. The Bob Dylan performances of Rough and Rowdy Ways and the festival performances found at Coachella are praised for the person on stage, irrespective of quality. Blur are the people on stage an audience does not care for – and it is not as simple as right or wrong – just a mark of respect between audience and artist. A lack of it, in this instance.