Bloc Party

My hairdresser has heard of Bloc Party – ‘Ahhhh,’ he says before I go up to Exeter University’s Great Hall to see them, “They’re one of those bands which have perfected a distinct sound. They’re really good.” He looks at me disappointed when I have to break the news to him that tonight’s performance is a sell out. He hasn’t got tickets and armed with his description, I can’t wait to see if Bloc Party really are ‘distinct’ or just another rock/indie band.

The capacity crowd seems under capacity to me, there’s more space than usual at the back of the hall, although it’s a bit of a crush at the barrier in front of the band. The lights dim and bulbs flash inside reflectors like those one bar electric fires but white instead of orange as the band announce their arrival to a cheer and break into ‘So Here We Are’ and the crowd are up for it, in the main though there are a lot of fans stood stock still amongst those enthusiastically spasm about. Clearly most of them have the debut album ‘Silent Alarm’ as they accompany frontman Kele Okereke on ‘Positive Tension’ and the fantastic ‘Banquet’.

Now what is it with the university kids of today but they can’t dance! They just errr bounce and wiggle a bit and the two in front of us amuse us with puppet dancing as though connected to strings hanging from the extra speaker stacks wired in for tonight’s performance hanging above us. These certainly add to the sound which is great quality tonight – you can hear Kele’s distinctive vocal style, every fill and pattern of Matt Tong’s drumming, stripped to the waist and he’s my new favourite drummer with frenetic drum patterns which are rich and adrenaline fuelled.

Kele informs us he’s never been to this town before, town? Well I know Exeter’s small but we’re technically a city and he seems less boisterous than usual tonight. Russell Lissack on guitar gets to work with tight riffs and effects pedals and bassist Gordon Moakes begins to climb about the stage as the light screen behind them pulses blue light and later a face and space invaders to ‘Blue Light’, ‘The Marshals Are Dead’, ‘She's Hearing Voices’, ‘Luno’ and the fragile emotionally tinged, ‘This Modern Love’. This indie/rock crossover stuff is great, it has depth and though their performance has a little less passion, Kele isn’t grinning like crazy like he was at Glastonbury, they are accomplished musicians who perform breathless, edgy and mature rock an upbeat Radiohead. Their abilities are nothing short of masterful.

It’s either the fact that their music is good not only to dance to but also to listen to or that the crowd are losing interest but things slow down a little after ‘Like Eating Glass’ and by ‘Little Thoughts’ I’m starting to question why venues like this don’t serve alcohol through gigs anymore. Everytime I come here the crowd is flat, for some artists I understand it but not tonight. The crowd started off so well, all energy and bounce but even the rousing classic of ‘Helicopter’ which brings the lights up, doesn’t quite bring the crowd around me back to life and the band applaud a quiet audience.

Now maybe it’s me getting old, but I remember when crowds would be furious, sweaty and wild and fuelled on beer, for this kind of music deserves celebration, despite it being cerebral enough to have the crowd transfixed. Maybe crowds at other venues on their tour are more abandoned but here Exeter’s labelled sweater wearing four fifths of the crowd haven’t even removed their expensive outer garments and this despite it being a much younger audience than usually graces this venue. Bearing in mind it sold out long before Bloc Party’s latest chart topping single. I don’t know whether the band notice, cos it’s still frenetic for the tightly knit throng in front of them but behind that it’s incredibly subdued between the heady applause.

This reviewer finds it hard not to succumb to the sobriety and is trying to fight the tide of indifference of those happily chatting once breakneck ‘Two More Years’ has finally breached the apathy and livened everyone up, clearly it being in the charts has helped. Certainly the final trio of songs ‘Price Of Gas’, ‘Tulips’ and ‘The Pioneers’ should have everyone revelling in the glorious Bloc Party and their debut album of classics but instead the lights come up and we all just amble out. Me, I’m far too sober for my own good.

I’m amazed to see the pirates are out in force, and for the first time in years, Northern accents bark out the cheap prices for knock off T-shirts and posters for sale outside the venue. A clear sign that Bloc Party are the biggest thing to grace our ‘town’ for sometime, as usually these merchants don’t find it economically viable to peddle their wares this far into the South West. The crowd are quiet and not full of the usual exuberance you used to find after gigs.

The Bloc may have come to Exeter but we didn’t give them a ‘Party’ atmosphere, I blame the lack of booze – I mean how good is a party with no alcohol? I really don’t understand why they don’t allow alcohol into the arena and close the bar the moment the band takes to the stage. Mind you it seems that students today are a different breed to the fuel guzzling partygoers of a decade ago. Maybe their student loans mean they can’t afford it. Although I suspect it’s a case of ‘Dinner Party’ going down better here tonight.

Give them their due though at least they applauded heartily and gave acknowledgement to a band that is on top form at the moment and perhaps standing stock still and gazing blankly at the stage is how audiences have always been and I’ve been at the front for too long to have noticed. But for me Bloc Party have again been terrific, I wonder if the new PA at the venue is theirs as it certainly improved the sound. Not bad for a band with only a debut album under their belt, they’ve clearly produced a ‘greatest hits’ album first, it’ll be interesting to see whether they can sustain it for the next album. I’m kind of glad my hairdresser missed them, he’ll catch them later on tour with a better crowd hopefully.

Set list:
‘So Here We Are’
‘Positive Tension’
‘Banquet’.
‘Blue Light’
‘She's Hearing Voices’
‘The Marshals Are Dead’
‘Lumo’
‘This Modern Love’
‘Like Eating Glass’
‘Little Thoughts’
‘Helicopter’
encore
‘Two More Years’
‘Price Of Gas’
‘Tulips’
‘The Pioneers’

FUTURE GIGS