ATN San Francisco correspondent Clare

Kleinedler attended

the Blur/Rentals show at the Fillmore Auditorium Monday night (Jan.

29). We

must warn you that the intensity of the show, combined with Ms. Kleinedler 101

degree temperature (she has the flu), clearly warped her perspective. This is

particularly obvious when she compares Blur to Oasis at the conclusion of the

review. As we all know, there is no question that Oasis is the superior

band :-)

Yet Ms. Kleinedler, caught up in the excitement of the moment, forgot this

basic truism. Oh well. Keeping all of that in mind, here is Kleinedler's

report:

Orgasmic, it was, and I am not lying when I say this. Whoever says

that pop music can't completely rock needs to slip on that condom and pay

attention. The Rentals did a superb job with the foreplay, opening with the

machine love song "The Love I'm Searching For." Rentals frontman (and Weezer

bassist) Matt Sharp was all over the place, and backing vocalists/Moog players

Cherielynn and Tanya couldn't keep still for more than a second. If you think

The Rentals are just about looking Russian and acting frigid, you need to see

them live. The friends of "P" thrashed through "Naive" and "Please Let That Be

You," but toned things down for the "woe is me" love songs which included

"These Days" and "Sweetness and Tenderness." And of course, they played that

"P" song. Even through a bit of taunting from the crowd ("Play Buddy Holly!" to

which Matt played a three-second version of the Weezer song), Sharp and Co.

kept the audience satisfied, and got them hot and ready for the

headliners.

Blur walked on stage around 9:15 to a screaming crowd of

twentysomethings, most of them trying desperately to look "British" with their

Adidas sneakers and Puma shirts (get a life). Singer Damon Albarn immediately

took over, said "hello" to the sold-out crowd, then plunged straight into

"Tracy Jacks." The band was incredibly in key and performed with profound

energy, with Damon climbing up on to the eight-foot tall speakers and diving

off onto the stage.

Guitarist Graham Coxon, who has a reputation for being

an introvert, was amazingly vital as he pumped out ferocious licks for songs

like "Mr. Robinson's Quango" and the massively appealing "Parklife." Drummer

Dave Roundtree pounded the drums with unusual force (and that is a good thing

in case you're wondering) and the two-man horn section added a thick quality to

the songs. The crowd roared as Damon displayed unbelievable elasticity,

grinding and leaping around like a madman. Resident bad boy and bassist Alex

James stood still most of the night, but his oh-so-sexual hair tosses and

naughty grins kept the girls in the front row gazed in lust.

The crowd was

all in sync as they sang along to a surprising number of songs, including "To

The End," "Charmless Man," and "End of a Century." Damon even pulled a few

audience members onto the stage, letting a very lucky girl sing the chorus to

"Girls & Boys." The charismatic singer ensured his acceptance by the crowd when

he sincerely announced that "San Francisco is like our second home, if we were

to have one." And when the band played a little bit of the Oasis song "Roll

With It" (the song that was defeated by Blur's "Country House" in the Blur vs.

Oasis deal in the UK some months back), the whole house shook with knowing

laughter.

When we all thought it was over, Blur came back for more, playing

two encores which, to everyone's amazement, included the infamous "There's No

Other Way" off the Leisure album. They closed with an extraordinary

version of "The Universal" and it was like God. There's just no other way to

describe the feeling of seeing over 1,500 people waving their arms screaming

"IT REALLY, REALLY, REALLY COULD HAPPEN, WHEN THE DAYS SEEM TO FALL STRAIGHT

THROUGH YOU, WELL JUST LET THEM GO!" like they really, really believed that

something amazing was going to happen. Hands reaching, tears rolling, lighters

waving, the whole bit. Truly, truly orgasmic.

I hate to get into the whole

Blur vs. Oasis thing again, but it was almost one year ago to the date of the

Blur show that Oasis played the same venue, and there just is no comparison.

Three words: Blur kicks

ass.