I had been itching to see Bloc Party live for some time now. Originally I wanted to make it to their show earlier this month with The Pretenders and Black Kids, but that unfortunately
wasn’t possible. On a whim I looked up other shows they were playing and found that they were playing
The Grove in Anaheim. Upon calling the box office I snagged one of the last of twenty tickets to the show.
I arrived as the supporting act was starting, a band from Los Angeles by the name of The Blood Arm. While their name conjured images of a dark metal band, I was pleasantly surprised by the alternative indie – pop performance that was delivered. Almost more entertaining than the music itself was the energy displayed by all band members, especially vocalist Nathaniel
Fregoso. One moment he was dancing in the middle of the stage, the next he was on top of the speakers and then laying down in the stage all while crooning. Their set was short but highly entertaining, leaving me wanting more.
During the break in sets I looked around at my fellow concertgoers. The venue was filled with hipsters clad in combinations of dark and neon colors. I immediately felt as if I was not cool enough to be at this show. Luckily the house lights began to dim so I could no longer silently compare myself to the much hipper audience members.
The men of the hour took the stage just before nine while being welcomed by the spirited crowd. Front man Kele
Okereke held the attention of everyone in the room from the moment he stepped onto stage – during which time he prefaced their set by announcing he was very hung over. Throughout the show worked his charismatic personality on the audience, injecting stories (including one that involved him being pasted out under a speaker the night before) that captivated.
The set itself included an even blend of music from their three full-length albums, satisfying the needs of all fans. The first half of their set included fan favorites Banquet from their debut album ‘Silent Alarm’ and Hunting For Witches off of the sophomore album ‘A Weekend In The City’. The band took a short intermission of sorts while a second drum kit was assembled on stage. Upon returning to the stage for the second half,
Okereke humored crowd by asserting he was sure we had not been expecting more music from them that night, especially after seeing another drum kit put together. The other drum kit was used only once for the song Sunday. The second half of the set was just as good as the first, fueled by songs such as The Once & Future King, and This Modern Love. While I felt the quality of their performance was high, I was slightly disappointed with the rendition of Mercury from their latest release, ‘Intimacy’. The song calls for an echo effect of his voice, which seemed poorly executed. Besides that the show delivered more than I could have hoped for.
Fans were thrilled with the encore of three songs that Bloc Party gave to them after what was already 70-minute set. The audience – myself included – simply
couldn’t get enough he band chose to bring the show to an end with the hits Flux and Helicopter. . Once the encore was complete the crowd demanded more, which the band agreed to deliver.
Okereke came on stating ‘just one more song’ much to the delight of the audience. When that song was finished the band agreed to perform one more song so long as the crowd promised to get really into it – the song was about fighting. Of course the audience would comply. Before starting the last song of the night
Okereke addressed the audience for the final time: “Say what they will about Bloc Party, but they can’t say we
aren’t generous”. Based on the performance that night, I would have been hard pressed to find someone who disagreed.
Bloc Party:
official website;
myspaceThe Blood Arm:
official website;
myspace
