Graham Coxon: March 25, 2005

Graham Coxon began his solo career while still serving as guitarist for Blur, but really hit his stride after leaving the group in 2002. His 2004 album, Happiness in Magazines, was a widely acclaimed collection of melodic guitar rock that announced his arrival as a fully formed solo artist, and he embarked on a full-fledged U.S. tour behind it.

The set focused heavily on the current album, including the singles "Bittersweet Bundle of Misery," "Freakin' Out," and "Spectacular," with a few older tunes, including the opener "Escape Song." It was a night of good songs in a casual atmosphere, but the venue could have been better. The Double Door's usual crew of meat marketeers was there, more interested in scoping out the talent in the crowd than the talent onstage.

"Do you like Blur?" one drunken soul asked my friend and me. Um, yes, although that hardly seemed relevant since this was a Graham Coxon solo gig, not Blur's. His next line has become a favorite of mine: "Oh. I thought maybe you were here with your boyfriends or something."

Coxon hasn't done a proper U.S. tour since then, and his stateside audience has remained limited although he's continued to release strong albums. C'mon, Coxon: You bring the striped shirts, we'll bring our boyfriends.

Oasis: April 18, 2000

This appears to be my first concert as a Chicagoan! I got tickets to see this show with a friend but ended up reviewing it for a local entertainment paper and they reimbursed me. Ah, the few but nice perks of music journalism.

Oasis were already showing the signs of wear and tear by this point (including significant lineup changes), when they were promoting their fourth album, the grammatically confused Standing on the Shoulder of Giants. Although the album contained much of loping, Beatlesque sound one would expect, it was a bit darker and wearier in tone, particularly on the songs on which Noel Gallagher took the lead. It also contained a Liam Gallagher composition, a saccharine tribute to his then-wife's son.

Back then it would have been logical to expect one of two scenarios at an Oasis concert: They'd be drunk and arguing, or they'd put on a helluva rocking show. In fact, neither scenario transpired. Instead, it was a professional, competent, but fairly boring performance. Liam even politely applauded when his brother sang his trademark "Don't Look Back in Anger."

The set focused fairly equally on the then-current album and the two mega hits, Definitely Maybe and (What's the Story) Morning Glory? but was noticeably short on material from the oft maligned Be Here Now. Travis, at the time the "next big thing" coming out of the UK (boy, that ended fast) opened the show with a cheerfully anthemic set.

Blur: October 2, 1995

It's still somewhat odd to me to think that while Blur reigned supreme in British hearts and charts, they were playing relatively small clubs in America. It makes sense, though, since their music of this period was almost insularly British. That's not to say Americans couldn't relate to it, but it took some open-mindedness and at least a slight understanding of Brit culture for Americans to find a point of entry.

This show took place just a few weeks after the release of The Great Escape, the follow-up to what is generally considered to be the band's masterpiece, Parklife. Expectations were high, and although it was a solid album, ultimately it would be considered a disappointment by most. At any rate its exploration of the dark side of middle-class life was a mostly somber listen and a harbinger of the '90s hangover to come. It also signaled time for a musical change, and Blur's next album would be a decidedly different affair that incorporated a grittier and more indie-influenced sound. Of course, none of this was on the minds of the crowd that night since we'd only had a couple of weeks to mull over the new album. In essence, the band and audience were still riding high on Parklife. A lot of the material was culled from that album, including an attempt at the title track (performed by actor Phil Daniels on the album) that resulted in Damon Albarn flubbing a few lines -- but he laughed it off. Several other songs from the set list were culled from The Great Escape and Modern Life Is Rubbish.

The Swedish outfit Whale opened, still coasting on their one and only semi-hit "Hobo Humpin' Slobo Babe," which is as atrocious as it sounds. (Time has not been kind to their debut album, We Care -- although I liked it at the time.) The show was all ages, and I'm surprised to see the door time listed as 8 p.m. on the ticket, because I recall it was still daylight out when we got there. Blur's American audience made up for in enthusiasm what it might have lacked in numbers. I remember the crowd as being very lively and it was a great night, even if it had to end before curfew.