So I guess I should count my lucky stars in having seen both Blur and Pulp at what was near to their peaks... Blur in 1995 on the Great Escape Tour when they had a horn section with them. Pulp in 1996 on the Different Class tour.
Now it seems that unless either of these do a co=headlining tour ala New Order/Pet Shop Boys, seeing them live will likely involve expensive travel. A co=headliner tour would likely get us a Blur setlist similar to what they are doing at the moment, which isn't nearly as good as what they did at Wembley.
Don't worry Kosmo. That's when some of my favorite bands were at their best, too.
Apparently, we need to go to a Feelies show.
There is no rational or legitimate reason why the Feelies should be as good as they are now, 40+ years on. It's mind-boggling and though I honestly don't think they'll be doing many/any shows in another couple of years, they know they're still good and they enjoy performing.
With a band like Blur (and I saw them in 1994 with Pulp opening...both were amazing), I really do wonder if they actually enjoy what they do, and if they appreciate and realize what they do best. Looking at that setlist from Coachella, the answer I have is probably not. I think Blur is a really good band. At one point, I thought they had a trajectory like the Kinks or maybe even the Jam...you couldn't be more Anglo, but still find a dedicated and loyal US audience. Maybe not a huge one, but one that appreciated them. What I find odd is that Coachella started off by booking bands LIKE Blur back in 1999. So much has changed in 25 years, and so why would they even bother booking them? That's not an audience that turns up for music anymore. But the fact that only 80% of tickets sold shows to me that Coachella has started to lose its focus. Someone told me where they really make money is on global streaming, but if you don't book the bands that get people to show up, that really doesn't make it a true world-class festival anymore. I stopped going when they made you purchase 3-day tickets. I don't want to be around that many people for 3 days in a row. But to me this year's lineup made me start to question the business sustainability of festivals. Lollapalooza's this year is an absolute joke. Like all things that become a brand, at some point it might be wise to discontinue them instead of trying to reinvent them. You can only do that so many times before it becomes a parody and pale shadow of what it used to be. And it's not just because they're artists I don't care for (or that I don't even know). The social media component of everything is exactly why a Fyre festival happens. It's all about people wanting to be part of something not for the experience, but the perception of it.
