British rockers Blur will return to the U.S. for an East Coast tour beginning July 13th. With a four-year recording gap preceding this year's Think Tank and the Nineties Britpop craze long faded, the band welcomes the challenge of playing intimate venues.

"It's like starting from scratch," says drummer Dave Rowntree. "We've been building up slowly, kind of paying our dues again."

Blur's lineup has also changed, as they've added a fleet of multi-instrumentalists to replace founding guitarist Graham Coxon. "It's a very different live show now," Rowntree says. "There was a time when we tried to be as energetic and as crazy as our constitutions would allow, and that won us a lot of friends and also a lot of hangovers. These days, we put all that energy into making the show as musical as possible."

Blur tour dates:

7/13: Minneapolis, First Ave.
7/14: Chicago, Congress Theater
7/17: New York, Hammerstein Ballroom
7/18: Boston, Avalon
7/19: Washington, 9:30 Club
7/21-22: Toronto, Kool Haus
7/23: Montreal, Metropolis
7/24: Philadelphia, Theater of Living Arts
7/26: Atlanta, Tabernacle

KERRY L. SMITH
(July 10, 2003)