Graham Coxon addresses Blur’s “bored” crowd at Coachella
While Blur’s reunion tour has now concluded, they have celebrated the thrilling ride with the new documentary, To The End, focussing on their heroic Wembley Stadium shows and latest album, The Ballad of Darren.
After almost a decade away from each other, the reunion was a landmark way for Blur to take a trip down memory lane by performing their two biggest ever concerts, but also showing they still had something to say by producing a new album. Overall, it was a triumphant comeback that added another chapter to their legendary story, but it wasn’t all milk and honey.
Earlier this year, Blur took their reunion to the United States for two performances at Coachella. The Californian festival has a reputation for welcoming attendees who are more concerned about creating Instagram-friendly content rather than being a love of music, which came across during Blur’s performance.
During the show, after being met with silence when trying to start a singalong during ‘Girls & Boys’, singer Damon Albarn told the crowd, “You’re never seeing us again, so you might as well fucking sing it. Know what I’m saying?”
Furthermore, before they took to the stage, Albarn admitted to radio station KROQ, “I don’t know how it will go.”
“It’s a weird one Coachella when it comes to audience. It’s hard to know,” Albarn continued, claiming that the crowd are “on their own planet.”
Now, Coxon has referenced the debacle during a new conversation with GQ. The guitarist remarked: “I like making albums. I’m perfectly happy on stage, but sometimes, like at Coachella or something, it’s taken you 14 hours to get there, and then you’re playing to people who don’t give a shit. They’re looking at you like ‘who’s this old git?’”
Positively, Coxon didn’t allow the lack of energy from the crowd to dampen his experience, adding, “I love an audience that are smiling their heads off and having a great time, because you’re doing it for them. And if I see audiences of people that are bored, like maybe Coachella, I just do it for myself.”
He continued: “I just enjoy what I’m doing. I smile at the grumpy faces a couple of times just to see if I can change their expression, then I just get on with what I wanna do. Pull faces at Dave. Laugh at Damon when he’s getting things wrong or whatever, just have a laugh. What else can you do? You’ve gone all that way, there’s no point in having a miserable time.”
In stark contrast, during the same interview, Coxon looked back wistfully at their Wembley Stadium performances, and described them as an “out-of-body experience”. He added: “It was really incredibly exciting and exhilarating, and we played great – thank God.”
While Blur currently have no immediate plans to reunite again, To The End, which chronicles their landmark year in 2023, is set for release in cinemas on July 19th.
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