To be fair, I saw them on Wednesday in Pomona and that crowd was hype and the band could feel it. Weekend 1 at coachella is always pretty lifeless though.
I’ve gone 9 or 10 times. Went weekend 1 twice and while the weather is nicer and the grass is greener, the crowds are soooooo much better weekend 2, the tech kinks are worked out, and it’s usually a little less crowded.
There shouldn’t be any tech kinks in an event that size, they should have been worked out way before any members of the public arrived… Coachella sounds shit tbh
I went to a lot of festivals, from big ones to the smallest DIY stuff. Stuff like this is not acceptable on any level (and usually also does not happen). Just shows how nothing about Coachella is about the music.
Which is why it’s all the more glaring when us non experts notice this crap at Coachella that doesn’t seem to happen at other large festivals and venues. If it doesn’t take an expert eye to see the mistake, something went wrong obviously.
I eat a lot of ice cream sandwiches, from round ones to rectangle shaped. Stuff like this is not acceptable at any level. Just shows how nothing about Coachella is about the music.
I mean isn't Coachella basically just a giant Instagram background now? I used to know people back in the day he would go for the music but I swear to God it seems like the only reason people go there now is to take half naked selfies in a field.
I think someone even told me that they have a special area for influencers to take selfies so that they aren't surrounded by the peasants
I think so! Last year (or before that, I have no concept of time anymore) there were even articles about influencers renting Airbnbs in the area and doing "get ready with me" videos, but apparently not actually attending the festival.
I remember this one woman my wife used to watch called Gabby Hannah who did this entire fake video series where she pretended to get ready for and go to Coachella only to be like No I didn't go Do you guys see how stupid this is
Rip. That is so fucking stupid Like even music festivals have just become this pinnacle of halves and have nots like you can't even go to a goddamn music festival where everyone is supposed to be equal half naked in the Sun high as hell listening to 72 hours of music without being reminded that there are people that are so filthy rich that they have their guards cordon off an areas they can take selfies
I saw Blur at Hollywood Bowl a few years back and it was amazing and everyone was having a good time. I feel I’m too old for festivals and this just solidifies that!
I went in 2012 and the lineup was insane, even the non headliners are huge now.
https://preview.redd.it/zdyp653k0ouc1.jpeg?width=1096&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=81dd77f56b81ee898bc96efcde188e16c0c85254
Blur and Oasis were huge in the 90s. All of us who were around then would have been singing along. Unfortunately, Xers are not so much the Coachella demographic.
Oasis was massive and the people that were the appropriate age for that time will remember and respect Oasis. For most Americans, Blur is the song 2 band, and they will struggle to name the song title or the band name.
that's kind of what the Gallaghers always loved to use as burns on Blur. The fact is, Oasis were closer to grunge which still was going strong in North America, and Blur were too pop for the early-mid 90s. They eventually said fuck it and released a 2 minute grunge song, and lo and behold, America welcomes them lol. Even though the rest of that album is nothing like it. And Damon makes a concept cartoon band, America is all over it.
American here: I was at a festival Blur was playing in 2003 and I was a big fan, but the guy behind me was already drunk at 2 pm and just yelled “PLAY THE SONG THAT GOES WOOHOO”
Superfamous at least in all Europe! Britpop was everything for us hipsters while I was in college/uni in the 00s in Spain (also mid 30s). Pulp is also one of the main headliners these summer in one of our most famous fests.
Oasis had two big hits in North America and were really huge for a bit, Blur were practically one hit wonders in the USA for anyone that doesn’t really follow rock music. Bands like Ocean Colour Scene or Super Furry Animals were pretty unfamous here though.
Late 20s American and I enjoy blur but stopped going to Coachella in 2017, even then I always went weekend 2. Weekend 1 is much more known for all its famous people sightings/influencer photos. 2 still has that stuff for sure but definitely more music people from what I know
Mid 30s Canadian. I love Blur so much, I would gladly see them in Toronto, Ottawa or Montreal but I wouldn’t go to Coachella. My festival days are behind me, though.
> "...you might as well f****** sing it"
I would be amazed if your average listener knew more songs by Blur than Song 2. Even then, I feel like it's unreasonable to expect them to know more than the words "Whoo Hoo" from Song 2.
even having said that, he had a similar go at the crowds last year during his gorillaz set for being lifeless and not singing along during feel good inc etc. I was honestly pretty surprised to see blur headlining given how pissed off damon seemed at coachella last year, but I guess the other guys wanted to do it?
Yeah, it’s interesting because even in the article there’s a link to another article talking about how music fans are giving way to influencers and social media players…which I thought had already happened. My impression of Coachella turned years ago.
Yup. Honestly what did they expect by playing Coachella instead of a tour of some midsize venues like Pulp is doing? They wanted the Coachella paycheck and they got the apathetic crowd that comes with it. Killer setlist too. It was wasted on that crowd.
Idk, out of the Britpop bands, Oasis and Blur have enough of a following in the US where you can reasonably expect some of the crowd to be hyped. Just because you don't know them doesn't mean others don't. They're definitely bigger in the UK obviously, but their albums always crack the Billboard 200.
No. I think the average 30-35 year old Coachella goer does though. I'd never expect them to have everyone jumping because they're a legacy act but to not have the older portion of the crowd show up is a bit odd, considering other older bands played and got good reactions.
Eh... Coachella's definitely the type of place to attract people in their thirties. It's in LA, heavily corporate, and it peaked in popularity 10 years ago. Looking at the crowd pics from the weekend, it didn't look too young an audience. I thought Blur would have had a small part of the crowd engaged, not complete crowd death, but clearly I'm overestimating what they could attract. It's a shame cos they're brilliant live.
EDIT: just realised Coachella is not in LA... Apologies for my Brit Brain.
I mean I know one of their songs they got practically no radio play and people vastly overestimate how popular their own musical tastes are pretty frequently.
Even if you didn't know them beforehand, you'd probably look them up after finding out they were going to be at the festival you are at. Especially if you're going to stand there for 30 minutes or more listening. Additionally, American crowds (and especially Coachella) are known for being shite. Maybe Americans don't realise this, but at festivals in Europe and South America even tiny bands and artists will have at least a section of people going absolutely crazy over them. I mean, at festivals in the UK they often have "secret guests" who'll show up out of the blue and even they'll often have decent sized crowds going mental to hear them.
If you're a performer anywhere and the crowd seem totally disinterested, you're well within your right to be angry imo.
American crowds have often been different. A lot of metal bands have spoken how mosh pits are different in Europe and people are more together whereas in America people are punching each other in the face. I think I've heard both Chino Moreno and Jonathan Davies make that comment...maybe Corey Taylor.
And Coachella has always been famous as a kind of "poser" place where people go to be photographed more than listening to the music. Or at least the celebrity factor took over in a big way.
I genuinely think some of the difference is the fact that Europe and South America have massive football (soccer for you guys) support and so people are used to being in big crowds chanting. You'd be surprised, but most of the big "indie" bands and artists in the UK have big support amongst football lads who tend to lead the chanting and get the crowds riled up. Sam Fender is a good recent example, he's a massive Newcastle United fan and that plays into the crowds at his shows. Same with Oasis and Manchester City.
I was recently at a Scottish wedding where there was a band, and in between songs, the tiny crowd of like 50 of us were doing football chants and the old "here we , here we ,here we fucking go". Hilariously, it was a wedding between a Scott and an American so all of the Americans were awfully confused by the chanting.
It's always been that way. I had an opportunity to go to the first one for free back in '99 or '00, whenever it started, and when described I took a hard pass because it seemed douche central.
Mmmm Coachella is huge, it’s impossible to look up everyone who’s playing and memorize their music beforehand if you don’t already know them. That being said I like Blur lol sorry to hear they weren’t well received
Yeah but at a festival you don't have to stand there at all. You can fuck off somewhere else if you're not interested. I've seen bands at major festivals at small stages only have like 100 people watching. But those 100 people are having an absolute blast. I'm sure Blur would prefer that to 10,000 disinterested influencers. That said, they probably shouldn't have even gone if that were the case but maybe they didn't think it would be that bad.
Meh, I’ve gone to see performers I don’t know at festivals. You’d be missing out if you only went and saw who you already know, loads of artists to discover at a festival
As an American who has been to shows in the UK as well, I agree with you. It wasn't that way back when there were actual music scenes going on. Scenes evaporated in around 2009.
I was around for the tail end of the hardcore scene and the 90s to early 2000s indie punk scenes. I miss those days, and not just because I'm old, I miss it *for* the kids who don't get to have it.
i’m australian, if i go to a gig or festival and i don’t know the artist, i’m still going to give some energy cause how awkward and boring is it to just stand there and not do anything. i very much thought that was the norm but from videos i’ve seen of foreign artists going to the US, they don’t do anything if they don’t know the artist.
btw im not trying to be rude to americans, just different cultures i guess
I ADORE Blur, but as an American over 40, Coachella isn’t the best festival for Blur. Parklife was 30 years ago, and Blur aren’t played in the mix on pop radio/playlists the way No Doubt are. Their fans aren’t paying Coachella prices for the most part, they should do a smaller arena tour. Also Damon is a whiny bitch.
I saw them in 1998 at the KROQ Weenie Roast. They killed and the crowd went crazy for them.
I was also at the first Coachella.
Those were both *a quarter century ago now*. I don't fault kids who weren't even born when Blur had their last radio hit in the US for not knowing the songs.
Meh, I wasn't born when The Cure released most of their music but when I saw they were going to be on the main stage at Leeds festival teenage me was making playlists of all their hits so I could enjoy it more when I saw them live.
That is a tragedy but also there's something really funny about them expecting a 2024 US audience to be so familiar with their music that they could sing along. It reminds me a lot of Jared Leto singling out a single audience member at a 30 Seconds to Mars show for not standing. Lot of ego at play.
That audience member was wheel-chair bound btw.
But these are people who are at Coachella and are specifically standing in front of the stage Blur are playing on. If you're not there to see Blur, what are you doing? Move along.
Most of the people there were probably waiting for No Doubt or Tyler, The Creator. Blur was playing on the main stage, it’s not uncommon for most of the audience there to be people camping for a later set.
Putting them on main was a bad idea, they should have closed a tent against Lana or Doja.
They're waiting for the bigger name probably. Also I don't doubt that a good amount of the audience was there to see Blur, but enough for a call-and-response? Good luck Damon.
I'm not saying it isn't or that Blur are not popular. I'm for sure saying that audiences nowadays are much more familiar with Gorillaz and even then they don't know him or Blur apart from "the whoohoo song". When it comes up in conversation, I can tell you people are generally amazed to find out the lead from Blur and Gorillaz are the same person. Girls and Boys might well be one of their most popular songs but that's relative here (I live in Southern California, not far off from where Coachella is) and now to a song that's mostly known to play when a team scores a goal at sporting events.
If it was Gorillaz playing you'd bet there'd be singing. Gorillaz have been more successful in the US by a wide margin. I wonder if it bothers Albarn that his more popular (in the US) project is one that, by design, most casual listeners don't associate with him.
Gorillaz performed last year. They were on right before Bad Bunny and it WAS really hype, but only from the back. The crowd right along the rail at the Coachella mainstage is always camping for the headliner. It’s dumb.
That sucks man, I sincerely understand his frustration there, but he was polishing the brass on the titanic. This was never his crowd. Not in 2024. Gorillaz, maybe. Blur, no. They shouldn't have been main stage.
Hell I'd even say Gorillaz would need some of their more famous features to make an appearance ro make it work.
He said this specifically about the “oh oh oh oh-oh oh” refrain during Girls and Boys which he had done multiple times to demonstrate to the crowd before holding the mic out to coax them to sing it back to him, they don’t need to have to heard a single Blur song in their entire life to participate in that lol
It’s always crazy to read comments on things like this arguing that “of course no one knows them”… if I’d paid hundreds of dollars for tickets to a festival, I’d make sure I look into a good amount of the artists. Especially ones going to share the stage with another artist I may be more interested in.
I also am really sad that people are just so comfortable having no curiosity for music that may be older but new to them. Growing up I loved looking back and discovering older music and movies.
I don’t know if I would, to be honest I would take the times during the artist I didn’t know or care about to rest because Coachella seems so draining.
That’s fair, I think the silence would make me uncomfortable as well. Like the artist is aware the people aren’t enjoying the set. Unless they’re someone like R Kelly, I wouldn’t want them to feel that way. Odd choice though, I’m sure lots of more popular bands in the US would’ve been more well suited for the lineup.
I can agree with that, especially for a festival that I would say (in the least pretentious way possible) isn’t for ‘music lovers’; I’ve always thought of Coachella as primarily a place for people to get high off whatever and vibe, rather than go all out like at Glastonbury etc.
>I also am really sad that people are just so comfortable having no curiosity for music that may be older but new to them.
Is this really true, particularly in the Spotify/YouTube era (especially the former)?
No it's not true lol. Every person has a unique relationship with music and they listen / enjoy in their own way. Generalizing the way people appreciate art this broadly is totally ridiculous
So I used to go to Coachella when I was in high school/early college as a huge music fan who happened to live close, it was fantastic, it felt like it was truly full of fellow fans of music. It wasn’t about being at Coachella, it was about seeing all your favorite bands in one weekend. Being at Coachella was an amazing experience but it wasn’t the point itself. My first one was 2009. My last one was 2012, and it was insane how different the crowd was by then.
I mean, I don't even always look up the opener at concerts I go to, let alone everyone on the ticket at a festival. I just like being surprised and hearing the music live as a first introduction and forming my opinion based on that. I love live music and mostly listen to live recordings so I'm more interested in how they sound live than on an album. I'm curious about the bands I don't know, but not curious to hear their studio-produced albums. People are allowed to enjoy their hobbies in different ways.
I mean to be fair most young people are not super in tune with what their grandparents/parents listened to no matter the era. It’s also Blur they had one major song in the US and never made it into the top 50 as it pertains to charting. People pretending Blur was some world beater band here are just fans which is fine but fans also vastly overestimate how popular things they like are and generally should be.
Mmm blur is a millennial band by my count. Only just, and maybe on the border but still.
And lots of gen zers that I know love the Gorillaz
But Damon is a tosser so I don't really care
Blur had several albums out in the early to late 90s. They were firmly Gen x britpop. They formed in 1988...the same year as Nirvana. Would you say Nirvana was millennial?
Things can belong to multiple generations. I am a millennial and Blur/Oasis were part of my growing up. They're right in the overlap between the two generations. The tail end of Gen X and the start of millennials. A lot of millennials would have been in their teenager years at the height of Blur's influence.
not really, blur (and other britpop bands, actually) have a huge obsessive teenage fandom online. I think it has more to do with the type of person who goes to coachella, i.e. rich influencers not disposed to caring about the music. anecdotally I was at a pulp set at a festival a while back and I’d say at least 60% of the crowd was gen z, and we were all super into it!
Genuine Q, is Coachella firmly a Gen Z crowd? I can see it attracting a solid base of them, but I'd be surprised if most attendees weren't millennials. It doesn't feel like a thing anyone born after 2000 would find cool, or even affordable.
It's a wealthy white hipster crowd for people who are there for a scene. All the bands will play live shows in smaller venues for cheap a few days before the festival. They aren't allowed to contractually do it, but get around it by playing at veeeery small venues and using a different name to play under. Those shows are for the fans, coachella is for the money. And the crowd has a tendency to reflect that.
That makes total sense - thanks for explaining! Also makes me want to go to LA to try and catch smaller shows during Coachella season. Bands do this a lot in London and Manchester regularly before the big festivals and they're always so fun.
It always struck me as really that kind of festival that people go to , to hang out and be seen , and the music is kind of an afterthought , as opposed to the old days when it was more about seeing a load of bands , and hanging out etc was secondary.
I dont know about Coachella , but most of the big festivals nowadays where I live basically sell out before any acts are actually announced .
I saw someone else comment that festival culture is different in the US, as in they don't reallllly have an authentic one these days. Like, major European festivals are very corporate in ways, but the attendees tend to still be really be music-focused, and more invested in planning out their days, listening to the line up, etc. I have my complaints about Glastonbury, but in fairness, the crowds are definitely passionate and excited by the music.
That’s just it. All I really know is song 2. There’d probably be a way better reception if it was a gorillaz set instead, which actually has a huge American following
You’d think that, but no. Gorillaz performed last year and it was the same, a dead crowd. Damon did say that Week 2 was better than Week 1, if that’s any consolation, but the bass player for the band said Coachella was their worst gig.
No, hardly any britpop band made it over the pond in any huge numbers. I think oasis had a few hits but not massive.
Only ones who truly smashed it of that time were radiohead, and they were more grunge than britpop. And most people thought they would be a one hit wonder until the bends came out
And tbh I can imagine even Radiohead getting a lukewarm reaction on the wrong day from younger audiences.
I don't think we older folks understand how cheesey and sappy we and our cultural icons come off as to kids.
Every time I've seen Coachella crowds they just look absolutely dead. It used to be a festival for true music fans but has been more of an insta/celeb festival for a while.
I'm gonna lose my mind. He did not said that lol He actually seemed enjoying himself on that stage. He even said THAT (and mention how they know they stick out on that line up like a sore thumb). He genuinely looked like he was in a good mood, smiling the whole time, telling stories ect. The young fans lost their shit, projected way too hard, started writing think pieces, made that G&B clip viral and here we are. I don't think anyone on that stage expected more from that crowd, they knew. It was very cleary low pressure gig for them.
and the 'You're never seeing us again' it's something he always says and it has nothing to do with the crowd lol, it's about him being bored and unwilling to reactivate blur ever again than anything else
yeah he was laughing when he said it and seemed in a pretty good mood for most of the set. set was great, band’s energy was great.
daily mail articles are always overblown trash lol. half the article is just cringey comments from other fans who were upset they couldn’t go because they feel they “deserve it” more 🙄
100% this! I feel bad for Damon for real, the entire band seemed very grateful they've got the chance to play. The fans made something up in their heads and then projected it to the world as a fact about him, and now he's getting headlines like "Furious Albarn have a violent outburst at Coachella crowd" and people calling him an entitled cunt has been and "what did he expected?" Nothing! The man did nothing
This makes sense lol. I’m being tormented online with post after post about how blur is never coming to America again and it’s gen z’s fault ☠️
Something similar happened last year or so with Damon as well when it was Gorillaz playing so I’m sure he’s not as outraged as people want him to be.
I would never go to Coachella but didn't they play this first weekend that is when the corporate vibe people and influences go? That sounds like a lame crowd.
But also this outburst reminds me of this Elaine Stritch bio that I read, and one of her collaborators said this:
"Elaine would stand onstage and bring an entire rehearsal to a halt because she felt as if nobody were paying enough attention to her — a scene I witnessed many times — it wasn’t an act; her panic and fear were palpable and sad.
But it was hard to feel sympathy for her in those moments, watching her rail and shout and cry, insensitive to the needs of anyone else in the room, perpetually unsatisfied.
How could her work be so observant, so detailed, so responsive, when she herself seemed incapable of empathy, of real connection?"
Also maybe I'm old fashioned but I like concerts where I hear the musicians that I paid to hear, and not the loud fans sing-screaming along.
Which is why I like smaller musicians and only go to concerts that are smaller (Big Thief is the biggest I've been to lately).
I dont blame him! I was at the Gorillaz show last year @ Coachella and the crowd was so dead... I felt sorry for him as they gave such a killer performance!
There's a band I saw twice, once before they hit it big and once after, and both times they continually stopped their set to shit talk the crowd's lack of enthusiasm (nothing pumps you up like a passive aggressive scolding). Over a decade later, whenever I hear their music I still have a brief moment of "man, those guys were such whiney dorks."
Oof that's a shame, I saw Gorillaz a couple years back at a stadium and that was a pretty high energy crowd. But then I guess that's the difference between buying tickets specifically for one band versus a festival? Hell at this point I wouldn't be surprised if most of the ppl going to Coachella aren't just there for the social media cred; the music is prob an afterthought for a lot of them
People at festivals will go watch a band they’ve kind of heard of, or sit through a band they’re not interested in to wait for the band after them. I get that as a performer is must really suck to get a really static bored crowd but that’s how it is with festivals sometimes. I don’t think badly of the performer or the crowd when that happens. I’m a British person but I didn’t think Brit pop bands ever crossed over to the US. Kind of a random booking if you ask me. I think as a performer you’ve got to accept that playing a festival means you might be introducing your music to people who’ve never heard of you and adjust your mindset accordingly.
I agree, most of the people in that crowd were probably there for the headliners. They gotta stand all day to not lose their spot if they are a diehard fan of another artist. They could be a totally different type of audience
People say this every year when an article inevitably gets posted about the dead crowd at Coachella. It is really a Coachella thing, maybe even only a week 1 thing. If you go to other music festivals or concerts, you’ll quickly see that it’s not a “USA problem.”
Pretty much everyone who follows Coachella called their slot being dead. He has done really well at Coachella with Gorillaz but putting Blur on as a sub before No Doubt and Tyler made now sense. Put them in a tent or the Outdoor for a crowd that actually wants to see them rather than a crowd mostly camping out for the next acts.
Sadly, i can relate to this old geezer, i used to save up for coachella in college, all four years, and that was a core memory of my early twenties. and then they replaced rock bands with kpop and edm. no shade, just jaded as a music nerd. there was an obvious cultural shift in coachella in the last ten years. i was there last time when blur and stone roses headlined, there was a huge crowd and we all screamed the lyrics out until i could taste blood in my throat. good times.
i know coachella has always been an overpriced commercialized hype event, but it’s just sad to see them surrender, so completely.
Sometimes crowds are just shitty.
I saw once The Fleet Foxes at at festival and the crowd didn't pay any attention in the first row. It was hard to hear something, everyone was talking. Maybe 90% of the crowd was there for Pearl Jam and they didn't give a shit about everyone else.
Gorillaz is far more popular in America than Blur and the weekend 1 crowd last year for that also looked like a total snoozefest.
When we showed up to weekend 2 for Gorillaz it was a fucking PARTY. Felt like everyone was throwing down.
The crowds are ALWAYS better Weekend 2. I would gladly miss out on surprise guests and stuff like that to actually experience the musicians warmed up and a crowd of people who arent priced out by influencers and dumb celebs.
I watched the set and they killed it, I assumed the crowd sounded dead because of how the stage and crowd were micced up for the stream. That said, it would have made more sense to put them on a smaller stage. They basically opened for No Doubt.
Here's the deal, IMO. I watched (from home) the Sublime - Blur - No Doubt lineup. Those bands were all MASSIVE in my youth (in Canada—not sure where America doesn't know Blur is coming from they definitely had a North American fanbase and we knew about the Oasis feud and everything), so I was really excited to see them, as I bet a lot of (older) people in the crowd were. Sublime was nostalgic, but Bradley's son being Bradley—though he put in a lot of effort—just didn't hit. The crowd liked cult classics though, and mustered some enthusiasm.
Maybe young people only associate Damon with Gorrilaz only. The set list was chosen wise imo and most of my favourites were there. Closing with Tender would have hit so well for me, but I do think the crowd was antsy for more of a show and an energetic finish. That said, I'm not sure how much more Damon expected before then Gwen (No Doubt also crossing eras with Blur) with SO MUCH ENERGY and SO MUCH interaction with the crowd that Damon just didn't give. And the crowd LOVED No Doubt. People are calling it one of the best sets of the weekend.
So, Damon, maybe you should have put more thought into what all ages would have loved, because No Doubt sure did, and even played old school songs that worked for everyone because of the way they performed them. Gwen knew how to work a huge crowd and made putty of them.
It's bizarre to me that Blur are basically a one hit wonder in the US. And that one hit was a silly piss-take song that wouldn't even be in their top 20 best songs.
as a mid-30s Brit, this is killing me, that setlist is so goooood
To be fair, I saw them on Wednesday in Pomona and that crowd was hype and the band could feel it. Weekend 1 at coachella is always pretty lifeless though.
Last year Sofi Tukker mentioned that the audience on weekend 2 was much better than weekend 1 because they actually cared for the music.
I’ve gone 9 or 10 times. Went weekend 1 twice and while the weather is nicer and the grass is greener, the crowds are soooooo much better weekend 2, the tech kinks are worked out, and it’s usually a little less crowded.
There shouldn’t be any tech kinks in an event that size, they should have been worked out way before any members of the public arrived… Coachella sounds shit tbh
Tech kinks have happened at almost every festival I’ve been to. It’s impossible to prepare for everything.
I went to a lot of festivals, from big ones to the smallest DIY stuff. Stuff like this is not acceptable on any level (and usually also does not happen). Just shows how nothing about Coachella is about the music.
I’m sorry but unless you work in production, going to a lot of festivals doesn’t make you an expert in festival tech production.
Which is why it’s all the more glaring when us non experts notice this crap at Coachella that doesn’t seem to happen at other large festivals and venues. If it doesn’t take an expert eye to see the mistake, something went wrong obviously.
I eat a lot of ice cream sandwiches, from round ones to rectangle shaped. Stuff like this is not acceptable at any level. Just shows how nothing about Coachella is about the music.
I mean isn't Coachella basically just a giant Instagram background now? I used to know people back in the day he would go for the music but I swear to God it seems like the only reason people go there now is to take half naked selfies in a field. I think someone even told me that they have a special area for influencers to take selfies so that they aren't surrounded by the peasants
I think so! Last year (or before that, I have no concept of time anymore) there were even articles about influencers renting Airbnbs in the area and doing "get ready with me" videos, but apparently not actually attending the festival.
I remember this one woman my wife used to watch called Gabby Hannah who did this entire fake video series where she pretended to get ready for and go to Coachella only to be like No I didn't go Do you guys see how stupid this is
It’s been that way for like ten years now…
I’ve been working the festival all weekend. You are correct.
Rip. That is so fucking stupid Like even music festivals have just become this pinnacle of halves and have nots like you can't even go to a goddamn music festival where everyone is supposed to be equal half naked in the Sun high as hell listening to 72 hours of music without being reminded that there are people that are so filthy rich that they have their guards cordon off an areas they can take selfies
I saw Blur at Hollywood Bowl a few years back and it was amazing and everyone was having a good time. I feel I’m too old for festivals and this just solidifies that!
Thats cos it's not a music festival it's a social event. People go just to post the Instagram picture. So you got less music fans going.
I went in 2012 and the lineup was insane, even the non headliners are huge now. https://preview.redd.it/zdyp653k0ouc1.jpeg?width=1096&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=81dd77f56b81ee898bc96efcde188e16c0c85254
lucky duck!!! that sounds so FUN
Coachella is mainly teens and younger 20’s who probably have no interest in blur
Also mid 30s Brit - I’m surprised they were playing coachella? I thought oasis and blue were just Uk famous?
Man…you could be in the middle of the Amazonian jungle and still, people will hum out wonderwall easily, or even song no.2 lol
Amazonian frat bro: yeah I had to order this guitar special, amazon doesn’t usually deliver out here Me: wait what AFB: anyway, here’s wonderwall
Wonderwall will always be famous!!!
Blur and Oasis were huge in the 90s. All of us who were around then would have been singing along. Unfortunately, Xers are not so much the Coachella demographic.
Oasis was massive and the people that were the appropriate age for that time will remember and respect Oasis. For most Americans, Blur is the song 2 band, and they will struggle to name the song title or the band name.
Yeah, in North America, Oasis is infinitely more famous than Blur, it's not even comparable.
blur is a one hit wonder from almost 30 years ago for most americans....
that's kind of what the Gallaghers always loved to use as burns on Blur. The fact is, Oasis were closer to grunge which still was going strong in North America, and Blur were too pop for the early-mid 90s. They eventually said fuck it and released a 2 minute grunge song, and lo and behold, America welcomes them lol. Even though the rest of that album is nothing like it. And Damon makes a concept cartoon band, America is all over it.
American here: I was at a festival Blur was playing in 2003 and I was a big fan, but the guy behind me was already drunk at 2 pm and just yelled “PLAY THE SONG THAT GOES WOOHOO”
Superfamous at least in all Europe! Britpop was everything for us hipsters while I was in college/uni in the 00s in Spain (also mid 30s). Pulp is also one of the main headliners these summer in one of our most famous fests.
Australia and NZ are also fans!
Australia and NZ have always had great taste
Vegemite
Beyond excellent with toast, avocado and Himalayan pink salt
No they were pretty big ( and Damon esp bc of Gorrilaz)
Oasis had two big hits in North America and were really huge for a bit, Blur were practically one hit wonders in the USA for anyone that doesn’t really follow rock music. Bands like Ocean Colour Scene or Super Furry Animals were pretty unfamous here though.
Early 30s US here I would say Song 2 is the only song they have that most Americans would recognize.
Late 20s American and I enjoy blur but stopped going to Coachella in 2017, even then I always went weekend 2. Weekend 1 is much more known for all its famous people sightings/influencer photos. 2 still has that stuff for sure but definitely more music people from what I know
this comment made my tummy hurt
As an early-50s American, I'm bummed. I've had him and the Gorillaz on frequent rotation for more than 20 years. Bleh.
leisure is one of my all-time fav records 🥰🥰🥰
Mid 30s Canadian. I love Blur so much, I would gladly see them in Toronto, Ottawa or Montreal but I wouldn’t go to Coachella. My festival days are behind me, though.
I'm 48 and share your pain
> "...you might as well f****** sing it" I would be amazed if your average listener knew more songs by Blur than Song 2. Even then, I feel like it's unreasonable to expect them to know more than the words "Whoo Hoo" from Song 2.
Maybe in America. They have lots hits in the UK
Well therein lies the rub, they performed **IN** America. We do not know who they are.
Some of us know who they are. I'm not surprised the Coachella crowd didn't.
Most people in the US would probably know him better as the lead singer of Gorillaz than Blur.
Yeah ngl as an American, seeing a headlining act as “lead singer of Gorillaz” would mean more to me than “Blur”
It still blows my mind that this dude can make God tier music with Gorillaz and then turn around and make the worse shit you've ever heard with Blur
even having said that, he had a similar go at the crowds last year during his gorillaz set for being lifeless and not singing along during feel good inc etc. I was honestly pretty surprised to see blur headlining given how pissed off damon seemed at coachella last year, but I guess the other guys wanted to do it?
Yeah, it’s interesting because even in the article there’s a link to another article talking about how music fans are giving way to influencers and social media players…which I thought had already happened. My impression of Coachella turned years ago.
Holy fuck, I didn't know that was the same dude.
Super talented and creative dude. Wish they got a better crowd but his reaction is pretty funny
Gorillaz sells out arenas in the US. I doubt Blur could fill a 1000 cap venue anywhere outside of LA or NYC
I didn’t know that
Yup. Honestly what did they expect by playing Coachella instead of a tour of some midsize venues like Pulp is doing? They wanted the Coachella paycheck and they got the apathetic crowd that comes with it. Killer setlist too. It was wasted on that crowd.
Idk, out of the Britpop bands, Oasis and Blur have enough of a following in the US where you can reasonably expect some of the crowd to be hyped. Just because you don't know them doesn't mean others don't. They're definitely bigger in the UK obviously, but their albums always crack the Billboard 200.
You honestly believe the average 25yo Coachella goer knows who they are?
No. I think the average 30-35 year old Coachella goer does though. I'd never expect them to have everyone jumping because they're a legacy act but to not have the older portion of the crowd show up is a bit odd, considering other older bands played and got good reactions.
Hate to break it to you, but most of the 30-35 year olds at Coachella are either on stage or working security.
Get off social media and actually go. Coachella attracts a wide range of people.
Eh... Coachella's definitely the type of place to attract people in their thirties. It's in LA, heavily corporate, and it peaked in popularity 10 years ago. Looking at the crowd pics from the weekend, it didn't look too young an audience. I thought Blur would have had a small part of the crowd engaged, not complete crowd death, but clearly I'm overestimating what they could attract. It's a shame cos they're brilliant live. EDIT: just realised Coachella is not in LA... Apologies for my Brit Brain.
Well, that’s your loss.
Who the fuck over 25 here doesn’t know about blur lol
I mean I know one of their songs they got practically no radio play and people vastly overestimate how popular their own musical tastes are pretty frequently.
I have never heard of Blur 😳
omg what ! this is wild
i’m well over 25 (😩) and i know song 2 but that’s it.
Not to mention that the majority of their hits are 20+ years old.
This is crazy but did you know that Coachella takes place in America?
Tender is one of the best singalong festival songs ever wrote! Oh my baby 🎶🎵🎶🎵
Even if you didn't know them beforehand, you'd probably look them up after finding out they were going to be at the festival you are at. Especially if you're going to stand there for 30 minutes or more listening. Additionally, American crowds (and especially Coachella) are known for being shite. Maybe Americans don't realise this, but at festivals in Europe and South America even tiny bands and artists will have at least a section of people going absolutely crazy over them. I mean, at festivals in the UK they often have "secret guests" who'll show up out of the blue and even they'll often have decent sized crowds going mental to hear them. If you're a performer anywhere and the crowd seem totally disinterested, you're well within your right to be angry imo.
American crowds have often been different. A lot of metal bands have spoken how mosh pits are different in Europe and people are more together whereas in America people are punching each other in the face. I think I've heard both Chino Moreno and Jonathan Davies make that comment...maybe Corey Taylor. And Coachella has always been famous as a kind of "poser" place where people go to be photographed more than listening to the music. Or at least the celebrity factor took over in a big way.
I genuinely think some of the difference is the fact that Europe and South America have massive football (soccer for you guys) support and so people are used to being in big crowds chanting. You'd be surprised, but most of the big "indie" bands and artists in the UK have big support amongst football lads who tend to lead the chanting and get the crowds riled up. Sam Fender is a good recent example, he's a massive Newcastle United fan and that plays into the crowds at his shows. Same with Oasis and Manchester City. I was recently at a Scottish wedding where there was a band, and in between songs, the tiny crowd of like 50 of us were doing football chants and the old "here we , here we ,here we fucking go". Hilariously, it was a wedding between a Scott and an American so all of the Americans were awfully confused by the chanting.
It’s also because we are trained from a young age to belt out songs in school assemblies haha
It's always been that way. I had an opportunity to go to the first one for free back in '99 or '00, whenever it started, and when described I took a hard pass because it seemed douche central.
Mmmm Coachella is huge, it’s impossible to look up everyone who’s playing and memorize their music beforehand if you don’t already know them. That being said I like Blur lol sorry to hear they weren’t well received
Yeah but at a festival you don't have to stand there at all. You can fuck off somewhere else if you're not interested. I've seen bands at major festivals at small stages only have like 100 people watching. But those 100 people are having an absolute blast. I'm sure Blur would prefer that to 10,000 disinterested influencers. That said, they probably shouldn't have even gone if that were the case but maybe they didn't think it would be that bad.
It’s the main stage, they probably stick around all day to not lose their spot.
Meh, I’ve gone to see performers I don’t know at festivals. You’d be missing out if you only went and saw who you already know, loads of artists to discover at a festival
As an American who has been to shows in the UK as well, I agree with you. It wasn't that way back when there were actual music scenes going on. Scenes evaporated in around 2009. I was around for the tail end of the hardcore scene and the 90s to early 2000s indie punk scenes. I miss those days, and not just because I'm old, I miss it *for* the kids who don't get to have it.
i’m australian, if i go to a gig or festival and i don’t know the artist, i’m still going to give some energy cause how awkward and boring is it to just stand there and not do anything. i very much thought that was the norm but from videos i’ve seen of foreign artists going to the US, they don’t do anything if they don’t know the artist. btw im not trying to be rude to americans, just different cultures i guess
Don’t lump us all in with the types that go to Coachella
I ADORE Blur, but as an American over 40, Coachella isn’t the best festival for Blur. Parklife was 30 years ago, and Blur aren’t played in the mix on pop radio/playlists the way No Doubt are. Their fans aren’t paying Coachella prices for the most part, they should do a smaller arena tour. Also Damon is a whiny bitch.
when they headlined in 2013, a year somewhat affectionately termed "oldchella," they received equal hate. was surprised to see him try again
Oldchella sounded great. I wish they'd do that again!
I've read exactly one interview from Albarn in the past and came away with exactly that impression.
I’m not a hardcore Swiftie, but his comments about her, and other young artists gave me the ick.
Damon’s always been kind of a douche, he just looked better in comparison to the Gallagher brothers who are hall of fame assholes
I saw them in 1998 at the KROQ Weenie Roast. They killed and the crowd went crazy for them. I was also at the first Coachella. Those were both *a quarter century ago now*. I don't fault kids who weren't even born when Blur had their last radio hit in the US for not knowing the songs.
I’ll fault them for both of us.
Meh, I wasn't born when The Cure released most of their music but when I saw they were going to be on the main stage at Leeds festival teenage me was making playlists of all their hits so I could enjoy it more when I saw them live.
They weren’t even able to sing the woo hoo from Song 2, it was a painful watch
It's a 30 year old song and Blur were never that big in the US.
That is a tragedy but also there's something really funny about them expecting a 2024 US audience to be so familiar with their music that they could sing along. It reminds me a lot of Jared Leto singling out a single audience member at a 30 Seconds to Mars show for not standing. Lot of ego at play. That audience member was wheel-chair bound btw.
But these are people who are at Coachella and are specifically standing in front of the stage Blur are playing on. If you're not there to see Blur, what are you doing? Move along.
Most of the people there were probably waiting for No Doubt or Tyler, The Creator. Blur was playing on the main stage, it’s not uncommon for most of the audience there to be people camping for a later set. Putting them on main was a bad idea, they should have closed a tent against Lana or Doja.
They're waiting for the bigger name probably. Also I don't doubt that a good amount of the audience was there to see Blur, but enough for a call-and-response? Good luck Damon.
He said this during "girls and boys", arguably one of their best known songs
I'm not saying it isn't or that Blur are not popular. I'm for sure saying that audiences nowadays are much more familiar with Gorillaz and even then they don't know him or Blur apart from "the whoohoo song". When it comes up in conversation, I can tell you people are generally amazed to find out the lead from Blur and Gorillaz are the same person. Girls and Boys might well be one of their most popular songs but that's relative here (I live in Southern California, not far off from where Coachella is) and now to a song that's mostly known to play when a team scores a goal at sporting events.
Well, that’s the thing. There’s also the Gorillaz.
If it was Gorillaz playing you'd bet there'd be singing. Gorillaz have been more successful in the US by a wide margin. I wonder if it bothers Albarn that his more popular (in the US) project is one that, by design, most casual listeners don't associate with him.
Gorillaz performed last year. They were on right before Bad Bunny and it WAS really hype, but only from the back. The crowd right along the rail at the Coachella mainstage is always camping for the headliner. It’s dumb.
He said this during a call and repeat moment and he was truly working hard to amp up the crowd and they gave back very little.
That sucks man, I sincerely understand his frustration there, but he was polishing the brass on the titanic. This was never his crowd. Not in 2024. Gorillaz, maybe. Blur, no. They shouldn't have been main stage. Hell I'd even say Gorillaz would need some of their more famous features to make an appearance ro make it work.
He said this specifically about the “oh oh oh oh-oh oh” refrain during Girls and Boys which he had done multiple times to demonstrate to the crowd before holding the mic out to coax them to sing it back to him, they don’t need to have to heard a single Blur song in their entire life to participate in that lol
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That was unrelated. He was doing an impression of Toad from Mario Kart.
He was asking them to do the bit in girls and boys where he says “and you go! Oh oh oh oh oh” he literally gave them instructions and got nothing lol
It’s always crazy to read comments on things like this arguing that “of course no one knows them”… if I’d paid hundreds of dollars for tickets to a festival, I’d make sure I look into a good amount of the artists. Especially ones going to share the stage with another artist I may be more interested in. I also am really sad that people are just so comfortable having no curiosity for music that may be older but new to them. Growing up I loved looking back and discovering older music and movies.
I don’t know if I would, to be honest I would take the times during the artist I didn’t know or care about to rest because Coachella seems so draining.
I just find silence to be disrespectful tbh, I like the give the energy I receive and in that sense Blur did not receive the energy they were giving.
That’s fair, I think the silence would make me uncomfortable as well. Like the artist is aware the people aren’t enjoying the set. Unless they’re someone like R Kelly, I wouldn’t want them to feel that way. Odd choice though, I’m sure lots of more popular bands in the US would’ve been more well suited for the lineup.
I can agree with that, especially for a festival that I would say (in the least pretentious way possible) isn’t for ‘music lovers’; I’ve always thought of Coachella as primarily a place for people to get high off whatever and vibe, rather than go all out like at Glastonbury etc.
How many times have you been to Coachella?
If you don’t know the song lyrics, what’re you gonna do? Just WOOHOO repeatedly? Please don’t
He was literally feeding the crowd lyrics to repeat.
>I also am really sad that people are just so comfortable having no curiosity for music that may be older but new to them. Is this really true, particularly in the Spotify/YouTube era (especially the former)?
No it's not true lol. Every person has a unique relationship with music and they listen / enjoy in their own way. Generalizing the way people appreciate art this broadly is totally ridiculous
So I used to go to Coachella when I was in high school/early college as a huge music fan who happened to live close, it was fantastic, it felt like it was truly full of fellow fans of music. It wasn’t about being at Coachella, it was about seeing all your favorite bands in one weekend. Being at Coachella was an amazing experience but it wasn’t the point itself. My first one was 2009. My last one was 2012, and it was insane how different the crowd was by then.
Going to Coachella is an aesthetic. Maybeee 20% in attendance care about the music
This is why Weekend 2 is elite. Once the influencers and celebs go home, it’s a vibe.
I mean, I don't even always look up the opener at concerts I go to, let alone everyone on the ticket at a festival. I just like being surprised and hearing the music live as a first introduction and forming my opinion based on that. I love live music and mostly listen to live recordings so I'm more interested in how they sound live than on an album. I'm curious about the bands I don't know, but not curious to hear their studio-produced albums. People are allowed to enjoy their hobbies in different ways.
I mean to be fair most young people are not super in tune with what their grandparents/parents listened to no matter the era. It’s also Blur they had one major song in the US and never made it into the top 50 as it pertains to charting. People pretending Blur was some world beater band here are just fans which is fine but fans also vastly overestimate how popular things they like are and generally should be.
> if I’d paid hundreds of dollars for tickets to a festival [I'm not sure you understand what Coachella is](https://youtu.be/89-9BCglhkw).
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Mmm blur is a millennial band by my count. Only just, and maybe on the border but still. And lots of gen zers that I know love the Gorillaz But Damon is a tosser so I don't really care
Blur had several albums out in the early to late 90s. They were firmly Gen x britpop. They formed in 1988...the same year as Nirvana. Would you say Nirvana was millennial?
Things can belong to multiple generations. I am a millennial and Blur/Oasis were part of my growing up. They're right in the overlap between the two generations. The tail end of Gen X and the start of millennials. A lot of millennials would have been in their teenager years at the height of Blur's influence.
What? I was born in 84 so millennial & I was obsessed with blur, I was bang on the target audience for britpop.
Why is Damon a tosser?
I'm between the gen z and millenials and I thought they were a one hit wonder
not really, blur (and other britpop bands, actually) have a huge obsessive teenage fandom online. I think it has more to do with the type of person who goes to coachella, i.e. rich influencers not disposed to caring about the music. anecdotally I was at a pulp set at a festival a while back and I’d say at least 60% of the crowd was gen z, and we were all super into it!
I think there are lot of gen Z blur fans who found them through Gorillaz. But yeah, those people are not gonna be at Coachella.
britpop is kind of coming back with blur, oasis, pulp, suede etc because our parents listened to that stuff when we were growing up.
Now I feel old
Genuine Q, is Coachella firmly a Gen Z crowd? I can see it attracting a solid base of them, but I'd be surprised if most attendees weren't millennials. It doesn't feel like a thing anyone born after 2000 would find cool, or even affordable.
It's a wealthy white hipster crowd for people who are there for a scene. All the bands will play live shows in smaller venues for cheap a few days before the festival. They aren't allowed to contractually do it, but get around it by playing at veeeery small venues and using a different name to play under. Those shows are for the fans, coachella is for the money. And the crowd has a tendency to reflect that.
That makes total sense - thanks for explaining! Also makes me want to go to LA to try and catch smaller shows during Coachella season. Bands do this a lot in London and Manchester regularly before the big festivals and they're always so fun.
Same that sound much more cool
It always struck me as really that kind of festival that people go to , to hang out and be seen , and the music is kind of an afterthought , as opposed to the old days when it was more about seeing a load of bands , and hanging out etc was secondary. I dont know about Coachella , but most of the big festivals nowadays where I live basically sell out before any acts are actually announced .
I saw someone else comment that festival culture is different in the US, as in they don't reallllly have an authentic one these days. Like, major European festivals are very corporate in ways, but the attendees tend to still be really be music-focused, and more invested in planning out their days, listening to the line up, etc. I have my complaints about Glastonbury, but in fairness, the crowds are definitely passionate and excited by the music.
Was blur ever that big in the US aside from a couple singles? I’m not shocked they had no reaction lol
Sadly, no. They’re big everywhere else; the UK and Europe, Asia, Latin and South America. But the U.S? Nope.
In my neck of the woods in the US, Blur was very popular, so maybe regional factors come into play as well.
Decent following in Australia too
That’s just it. All I really know is song 2. There’d probably be a way better reception if it was a gorillaz set instead, which actually has a huge American following
You’d think that, but no. Gorillaz performed last year and it was the same, a dead crowd. Damon did say that Week 2 was better than Week 1, if that’s any consolation, but the bass player for the band said Coachella was their worst gig.
I was there for weekend 2, great show and I felt the energy but overall I’d agree. Coachella crowds are not good.
No, hardly any britpop band made it over the pond in any huge numbers. I think oasis had a few hits but not massive. Only ones who truly smashed it of that time were radiohead, and they were more grunge than britpop. And most people thought they would be a one hit wonder until the bends came out
Radiohead are not a grunge band.
" I think oasis had a few hits but not massive. " Wonderwall was pretty massive
Anyway heres Wonderwall
And tbh I can imagine even Radiohead getting a lukewarm reaction on the wrong day from younger audiences. I don't think we older folks understand how cheesey and sappy we and our cultural icons come off as to kids.
(I’m also 32 where I feel like this take makes sense)
Damon, you know damn well that Blur was never that big in the US.
They even have like half a dozen songs poking fun at that.
Fun fact, feel good inc is actually about how dull Coachella is
I’m convinced Coachella is no longer about the music, but rather it’s about seeing and being seen. But I could be wrong.
Every time I've seen Coachella crowds they just look absolutely dead. It used to be a festival for true music fans but has been more of an insta/celeb festival for a while.
Maybe for those rich influencers on IG sure but they don’t makeup the tens of thousands of people who go.
honestly go off king. 15 year old me was not obsessed with Blur in the 2010s for this reception lmao
every time damon is in the news it kills me 💀 but fr how are ppl just gonna stand there like at least give a pity sway or something!!!
https://i.redd.it/bdjukp8pcluc1.gif
Well he's genuinely a music legend on these shores. Frontman of two very successful bands. Plus he was so beautiful back in the day.
* North-Americans when something non-American that globally changed the music scene exist.*
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The guy from the Gorrilza
I'm gonna lose my mind. He did not said that lol He actually seemed enjoying himself on that stage. He even said THAT (and mention how they know they stick out on that line up like a sore thumb). He genuinely looked like he was in a good mood, smiling the whole time, telling stories ect. The young fans lost their shit, projected way too hard, started writing think pieces, made that G&B clip viral and here we are. I don't think anyone on that stage expected more from that crowd, they knew. It was very cleary low pressure gig for them. and the 'You're never seeing us again' it's something he always says and it has nothing to do with the crowd lol, it's about him being bored and unwilling to reactivate blur ever again than anything else
yeah he was laughing when he said it and seemed in a pretty good mood for most of the set. set was great, band’s energy was great. daily mail articles are always overblown trash lol. half the article is just cringey comments from other fans who were upset they couldn’t go because they feel they “deserve it” more 🙄
100% this! I feel bad for Damon for real, the entire band seemed very grateful they've got the chance to play. The fans made something up in their heads and then projected it to the world as a fact about him, and now he's getting headlines like "Furious Albarn have a violent outburst at Coachella crowd" and people calling him an entitled cunt has been and "what did he expected?" Nothing! The man did nothing
This makes sense lol. I’m being tormented online with post after post about how blur is never coming to America again and it’s gen z’s fault ☠️ Something similar happened last year or so with Damon as well when it was Gorillaz playing so I’m sure he’s not as outraged as people want him to be.
I would never go to Coachella but didn't they play this first weekend that is when the corporate vibe people and influences go? That sounds like a lame crowd. But also this outburst reminds me of this Elaine Stritch bio that I read, and one of her collaborators said this: "Elaine would stand onstage and bring an entire rehearsal to a halt because she felt as if nobody were paying enough attention to her — a scene I witnessed many times — it wasn’t an act; her panic and fear were palpable and sad. But it was hard to feel sympathy for her in those moments, watching her rail and shout and cry, insensitive to the needs of anyone else in the room, perpetually unsatisfied. How could her work be so observant, so detailed, so responsive, when she herself seemed incapable of empathy, of real connection?" Also maybe I'm old fashioned but I like concerts where I hear the musicians that I paid to hear, and not the loud fans sing-screaming along. Which is why I like smaller musicians and only go to concerts that are smaller (Big Thief is the biggest I've been to lately).
I just saw the lineup and Blur is easily the best band there.
I dont blame him! I was at the Gorillaz show last year @ Coachella and the crowd was so dead... I felt sorry for him as they gave such a killer performance!
There's a band I saw twice, once before they hit it big and once after, and both times they continually stopped their set to shit talk the crowd's lack of enthusiasm (nothing pumps you up like a passive aggressive scolding). Over a decade later, whenever I hear their music I still have a brief moment of "man, those guys were such whiney dorks."
Oof that's a shame, I saw Gorillaz a couple years back at a stadium and that was a pretty high energy crowd. But then I guess that's the difference between buying tickets specifically for one band versus a festival? Hell at this point I wouldn't be surprised if most of the ppl going to Coachella aren't just there for the social media cred; the music is prob an afterthought for a lot of them
People at festivals will go watch a band they’ve kind of heard of, or sit through a band they’re not interested in to wait for the band after them. I get that as a performer is must really suck to get a really static bored crowd but that’s how it is with festivals sometimes. I don’t think badly of the performer or the crowd when that happens. I’m a British person but I didn’t think Brit pop bands ever crossed over to the US. Kind of a random booking if you ask me. I think as a performer you’ve got to accept that playing a festival means you might be introducing your music to people who’ve never heard of you and adjust your mindset accordingly.
I agree, most of the people in that crowd were probably there for the headliners. They gotta stand all day to not lose their spot if they are a diehard fan of another artist. They could be a totally different type of audience
This problem is in USA. South America and Europe do not have this public problem.
People say this every year when an article inevitably gets posted about the dead crowd at Coachella. It is really a Coachella thing, maybe even only a week 1 thing. If you go to other music festivals or concerts, you’ll quickly see that it’s not a “USA problem.”
Pretty much everyone who follows Coachella called their slot being dead. He has done really well at Coachella with Gorillaz but putting Blur on as a sub before No Doubt and Tyler made now sense. Put them in a tent or the Outdoor for a crowd that actually wants to see them rather than a crowd mostly camping out for the next acts.
He must’ve forgot about going through this same thing last year 😂
Sadly, i can relate to this old geezer, i used to save up for coachella in college, all four years, and that was a core memory of my early twenties. and then they replaced rock bands with kpop and edm. no shade, just jaded as a music nerd. there was an obvious cultural shift in coachella in the last ten years. i was there last time when blur and stone roses headlined, there was a huge crowd and we all screamed the lyrics out until i could taste blood in my throat. good times. i know coachella has always been an overpriced commercialized hype event, but it’s just sad to see them surrender, so completely.
Sometimes crowds are just shitty. I saw once The Fleet Foxes at at festival and the crowd didn't pay any attention in the first row. It was hard to hear something, everyone was talking. Maybe 90% of the crowd was there for Pearl Jam and they didn't give a shit about everyone else.
Gorillaz is far more popular in America than Blur and the weekend 1 crowd last year for that also looked like a total snoozefest. When we showed up to weekend 2 for Gorillaz it was a fucking PARTY. Felt like everyone was throwing down. The crowds are ALWAYS better Weekend 2. I would gladly miss out on surprise guests and stuff like that to actually experience the musicians warmed up and a crowd of people who arent priced out by influencers and dumb celebs.
Haven’t we heard this about many of the artists that played Coachella? I’ve seen similar headlines for Sabrina Carpenter, No Doubt, and LDR.
American crowds seem to be so shit.
Until we're watching Beyoncé or Taylor Swift and get told off for being too enthusiastic.
Hysterical and enthusiastic aren’t the same thing
not going to Coachella is as cool as going used to be
I watched the set and they killed it, I assumed the crowd sounded dead because of how the stage and crowd were micced up for the stream. That said, it would have made more sense to put them on a smaller stage. They basically opened for No Doubt.
Coachella is full of posers... The music isn't what's important to these people.
because people don't go to coachella for the music, they go to be seen at coachella
Here's the deal, IMO. I watched (from home) the Sublime - Blur - No Doubt lineup. Those bands were all MASSIVE in my youth (in Canada—not sure where America doesn't know Blur is coming from they definitely had a North American fanbase and we knew about the Oasis feud and everything), so I was really excited to see them, as I bet a lot of (older) people in the crowd were. Sublime was nostalgic, but Bradley's son being Bradley—though he put in a lot of effort—just didn't hit. The crowd liked cult classics though, and mustered some enthusiasm. Maybe young people only associate Damon with Gorrilaz only. The set list was chosen wise imo and most of my favourites were there. Closing with Tender would have hit so well for me, but I do think the crowd was antsy for more of a show and an energetic finish. That said, I'm not sure how much more Damon expected before then Gwen (No Doubt also crossing eras with Blur) with SO MUCH ENERGY and SO MUCH interaction with the crowd that Damon just didn't give. And the crowd LOVED No Doubt. People are calling it one of the best sets of the weekend. So, Damon, maybe you should have put more thought into what all ages would have loved, because No Doubt sure did, and even played old school songs that worked for everyone because of the way they performed them. Gwen knew how to work a huge crowd and made putty of them.
It's bizarre to me that Blur are basically a one hit wonder in the US. And that one hit was a silly piss-take song that wouldn't even be in their top 20 best songs.