Backing up their headline performance at Future Music Festival, indie veterans Bloc Party played an electrifying set at Horden Pavilion on Wednesday night.
Despite a fantastic set from the London rockers, initially the night was disappointing. The support act, Worlds End Press, felt like a bad ‘80s throwback band, right down to the mock Depeche Mode vocals of frontman Rhys Richards.
Though their rhythm section was strong, a dearth of imagination in the melody really let them down. Over indulgence in guitar slides did little to distract from the fact that Richards was basically playing one or two notes in each song, rendering his guitar unnecessary. Ultimately their songs all sounded exactly the same, leaving the audience underwhelmed with the curtain raiser.
However, all memory of Worlds End Press was left behind when Bloc Party took the stage. In a blur of strobe lights, lasers, and the concentric circles that adorn the cover of their 2012 release, Four, the British indie rockers launched straight in, smashing out that album’s opening track, ‘So He Begins To Lie’, to a jubilant venue.
Revisiting arguably one of their bigger hits, the set’s third song, ‘Hunting For Witches’, really set the crowd off, to the obvious satisfaction of frontman Kele Okereke.
It takes something very special not to look like a tool when performing in your band’s own merchandise, but whatever that something is, Okereke’s got it.
His almost childlike presence, the way he riled up the crowd, and his smug smirks as the audience recognised each song had the Hordern Pavilion continually on its feet and begging for more.
In the middle of the set, the fans were pleasantly surprised by the inclusion of ‘Waiting For The 7:18’, and were then treated to a sample of one of Okereke’s solo efforts, ‘Tenderoni’, at the beginning of ‘Song For Clay’. At this point it felt about time to revisit a track from 2005’s Silent Alarm, so happily ‘Banquet’ made an appearance to the ecstasy of the pumped-up crowd.
As they left the stage after ‘Octopus’, the lead single from Four, the call for an encore was already in full swing, and the British indie outfit duly obliged.
During the first encore, Okereke’s playful demeanour was epitomised by his cheeky quip that fan favourite ‘This Modern Love’ was an old song that the crowd “might not remember.”
Upon hearing the strong reaction to the song’s opening, he affected mock surprise that the large crowd knew the track, before delivering his trademark guilty smile and launching into the song.
After the completion of ‘Flux’, the band once again left the stage, but of course they could not get away that easily. Though it was late in the night, when returning to the stage for a second encore Bloc Party proved they still had a few tricks up their sleeves.
Beginning their final few songs by covering the start of Rihanna’s ‘We Found Love’, the band then exploded into a new track called ‘Ratchet’. This had the effect of making the crowd understandably excited about Bloc Party’s next release, which is rumoured to be coming up later this year.
Saving one of the best for last, the indie veterans ended their second encore with Helicopter, again from Silent Alarm. Any energy that was left in the crowd was left on the Hordern Pavilion floor, as the lyrics were screamed back at an increasingly amused Okereke.
Despite the sub-par support, Bloc Party delivered a typically brilliant show. The set contained a diverse range of songs from all their albums, as well as a nice mix of singles and fan favourites.
Okereke’s ability to engage and entertain the audience continues to be phenomenal, and based on the consistently strong reaction from the crowd, he found his mark.
Technically brilliant, visually stunning, and ultimately just a joy to watch and listen to, Bloc Party, you’ve done it again.
