This was my first time seeing Bloc Party, a band that were part of the Post punk revival circa 2005 that got me re-excited about music after one of my lulls. And Silent Alarm was the debut album that was core to this sound. I had many of its tracks on heavy rotation along with Arctic Monkeys, Interpol, Editors, The Cribs, The Libertines, The Hives, Clinic, Art Brut, and so on and so on...
This was a solo show for me. I've recently discovered an informal group called Solo Armada for people wanting to meet up with other solo gig goers. I was hoping to spot someone with one of their badges, but no luck.
I thought I might have spotted one when I was in a bar line up, but abandoning a drink to chase after a stranger disappearing into the crowd was a bit beyond me. Maybe next time.
After being fucked over by some Facebook chick who was going to buy my spare ticket - I should have known better when I saw all the hen party pictures on her profile - I made it in a bit later than I wanted, but in time for most of the opener's, Middle Kids, set. I'd checked them out ahead of time and liked their songs, even if they are a bit mellow. Their performance was dull. Four people standing still and playing. The lead singer reminded me of one of those thrift-store-sweater-wearing geeky girls with her guitar strung high and played awkwardly. They could keep growing though; the potential definitley seems to be there.
In the wait for Bloc Party, I found myself standing next to a young woman who was doing all the pre-gig physical arrangements that marks you as a regular gig-goer: layers off and tied around waist, hair in pony tail, etc. I asked her if she was here solo as well, and we chatted for 15 minutes or so. She summed up the evening perfectly: "do you get the feeling every 30 year old male in London is here tonight?" She was spot on. It was a predominantly white male 30-ish crowd of the type that don't seem to go to tons of shows. The ones nearer the front would be more the die-hard fans, but in a 10,000 capacity place (is Ally Pally really that big?) there were far more of the former, trying to recapture their late teens and early 20's passion, and mostly forgetting how. In other words, it was a well-behaved and mostly dull crowd.
Bloc Party's arrival was preceeded by a tape playing Every time is the Last Time, a hidden track off the Silent Alarm album. This show is a revisit of that album (one of 6 in European cities), albeit in reverse order acknowledging a tracklist ending with slow songs that wouldn't work in a live environment. So, the band comes on and quickly gets through the slow tracks. Things start to get a bit more interesting (in live terms) with Luno and build from there. I necked a few drinks and then started to make my way towards the front with each song. Tons of singing along and excitement from the crowd. It was nice, despite my snarkiness as a show like this isn't going to bring out the curious, but more established long-term fans and that makes for an engaged, happy audience. This Modern Love kicks off the really uptempo part of the show, culminating in the last song, Like Eating Glass, before the pause and encore. more to come....
Setlist:
Compliments
Plans
Luno
So Here We Are
Price of Gasoline
The Pioneers
This Modern Love
She's Hearing Voices
Blue Light
Banquet
Positive Tension
Helicopter
Like Eating Glass
Encore:
Two More Years
The Marshals Are Dead
Little Thoughts
The Prayer
Ratchet
Flux
No comments:
Post a Comment