Blur, the Rentals - Robin Lapid

So, are Blur really intent on "breaking America" and beating out Oasis in the woefully misguided and overhyped battle of the "Britpop" bands? An answer to this question would be merely gratuitous. But if the public really wants one, they need only listen to Blur bang out a few schmaltzy, Blur-ified bars of Oasis' "Roll With It" during their performance at San Francisco's legendary Fillmore Theater (in the U.K. last year, it was Blur's "Country House" single which beat out "Roll With It" when both were released on the same day). With lead singer Damon Albarn on organ, they then briefly launched into the Knacks' "My Sharona." Roughly translated, the boys just wanna have fun, a concept which was successfully conveyed to this sold-out crowd.

The pop indie princelings of Britain tread some strange waters in America these days. As fellow U.K. acts like Oasis and Bush garner their fair share of stateside success with radio-friendly alterna-rock, Blur continue to play distinctly British-flavored pop tunes. As a live band, however, it doesn't much matter that they clearly love the Kinks and the Jam more than the Rolling Stones. They are still, according to stellar guitarist Graham Coxon, "a pop band that can rock."

The "fast" songs ("Advert," "Globe Alone") were frenetic and bounce-around pop, and the "slow" songs ("The Universal," "This Is A Low") were haltingly anthemic weep-alongs. The fact that Blur sing about the oddities of the British working class and occassionally play waltz-y instrumentals becomes a moot point when the whole crowd begins singing louder than the singer himself, or when you somehow find yourself amongst a mass of people giddily shouting out "Parklife!" every fifteen seconds.

An occassionally dazed Albarn dabbled in climbing the P.A. and knocking down equipment while a cheerful Coxon provided some appropriate rockstar acrobatics. As the crowd writhed in time to the music and belted out lyrics, an endless stream of groupies periodically rushed the stage to kiss and/or embrace poster idols Albarn, Coxon, and bassist Alex James (the haughty, still one with the hair and cigarette permanently dangling from the face).

Despite the vocals starting out a bit too low in the mix, the band were relaxed and limber enough to provide some crowd-pleasing antics (Albarn risked life and limb jumping dead center into a pit of young groupies eager for the flesh of a bona fide British popstar); and Albarn conversed freely with the fans between songs while Coxon graciously handed someone a towel of his sweat at her request. Backed by the steady rhythm of drummer Dave Rowntree and the embellishments of a two-man horn section, Blur dove into a steady stream of pop-pleasing numbers, performing long-lost favorites from all four of their albums - the grateful crowd were treated to the rarely-heard "There's No Other Way," their first major hit from their debut album Leisure and to a crackling version of "Stereotypes," the band's next U.K. single from their current album The Great Escape.

The Rentals provided a subdued, pleasant opener to the evening. Frontman (and Weezer bassist) Matt Sharp led an affable set of "nerd-rock" that was a moog-synth lover's dream. The band offered a unique brand of rough pop smoothed out by cheesy electronic effects. Even better, they also had the harmonizing backing vocals of two women intent on displaying their karate-kicking dance moves between synth playing. Although a slightly annoyed Sharp ignored repeated requests for "Buddy Holly," the band temporarily appeased the anxious crowd with their alternative hit, "Friends of P."

Blur provided the audience (largely a mixture of Anglophile fashion-followers and swooning girls) a lesson in the art of a good show

Anyone who wonders if the band are stressed out with selling as many records in America as Oasis need not worry. According to Coxon, "[Making music] is not about making money. It's about integrity."