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Blur live at the Royal Court,
Liverpool
24 November 2003
Reviewed by
Liverpool Echo
 IN a certain light, Blur singer Damon Albarn
looks like Jonny Wilkinson. They're both heroes, not
because of their blond good looks and saleable image.
Deep down, they're stand up, stand-offish
kind of guys, dedicated to their profession. Awkward
little fellas. They've had some terrible hits and come
back for more.
In rock'n'roll you're sometimes mocked for
trying too hard and Blur have always tried very, very
hard.
Here, the singer was barracked from near the
front row, slagged off by someone happy to fork out £20
just to give the one-time Mockney wide-boy some advice on
getting home after the gig. Albarn bridled for a bit,
smirked, shrugged and got on with the game.
Albarn's lost his pal, guitarist Graham
Coxon, to musical differences and Britpop's been
consigned to the dustbin. Instead, Albarn took off to
Morocco and Mali to discover world music and came back
with an edge that would do justice to the stripped-down
noise of today's white rockers.
This sold-out tour is heavy on their latest
and perhaps most inventive album, Think Tank. Ambulance
and Good Song are clever and fun at the same time.
Brothers and Sisters gives the band's bluesey-funk
backing singers something to do.
Song 2 is great grunge and
File On You is outrageous white noise.
 Smash hits Parklife and Country House are
left in the trailer but Boys and Girls is delivered full
pelt to give some of the screaming girls (and boys) a
party gift.
Bassist Alex James, pin-up of the Parklife
era, is happy now to lope around the edges and give
Albarn centre stage.
Albarn has bags of charisma but lacks the
natural touch. He tried a walkabout in the front rows but
an ever-present giant of a minder got in the way.
A studious attitude doesn't always go down
too well with Liverpool crowds, who like their musical
geniuses down to earth. Blur simply let their music do
the talking.
By the end Albarn had sharpened his
punchlines to perfection.
"I used to know a Scouse postie in
south London," to wild cheers. "He was a
miserable git." Wild laughter. "I quite liked
him really."
David
Booth
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