Bloc Party at Festival Hall 14.03.13

[Silent Alarm]

Tonight!

Dat Smashing Pumpkins intro...

 

[Spanish Sahara]

Pumped!!

 

[Kyptastic]

I'll be right up the front (probably blocking everyone's view).

Been wanting to see these guys for years, but I've always managed to miss them whenever they've been out.

 

[Silent Alarm]

I'll be right up the front (probably blocking everyone's view).

Been wanting to see these guys for years, but I've always managed to miss them whenever they've been out.

What time are you getting there? It's doors at 7, support at 8, and Bloc from 9:15 to 11.

 

[Silent Alarm]

Obviously room for error. Had a good time and I haven't sweated at a gig so much. I was nearly dying at the start because it was so intense. Hot, tight, sweaty, and singyyy. No Like Eating Glass was really disappointing, and The Prayer, She's Hearing Voices, and So Here We Are would've been nice.

Hmm. Not sure what else to say. Everyone knew the words for Truth. That went down well. So did One More Chance. Ratchet is a turd and even with the lads who barely knew songs didn't dance. Total tripe. Shameful.

The dudes barely bantered and everything Kele said was a cliche: "a song for the boys" (Coliseum) and "a song for the girls" (Flux). Then "now for something a bit different" for One More Chance. Plus the old "come on you mother*ers!" (SFC/Banquet), "have you got fight left in you? Because this is a song for war" (Ares) "this is an old song – I dunno if you'll know it" (This Modern Love) and then "this is a newy, we haven't recorded it yet" (Ratchet). Oh yeah and a pun for the Truth.

In general, it felt a bit... like they weren't really together? But hey. They made $5 million (AUD, I guess) on this tour. Five festival slots and four headlining shows. They're not gonna die when that kind of money's popping up on the ATM.

Even though I've bitched, it was nice to see Bloc Party live.
Met a chick lone gigging who made eyes during every love song, who gave me puppy dog eyes when we got separated, and who introduced herself first. Then she offered me a lift and when we got back to my suburb (after going a bit too northward) she said she had a boyfriend. Bluuuueeeballed. Two girls in three nights and two gigs would've been too good...

Nice night. Good fun. But jesus, you can really only deal with that many songs. They go very hard and I'm really sore.

 

[Kyptastic]

I agree with you on Ratchet, sounds very average.

Overall, had a good time. Everyone went nuts for Banquet and This Modern Love, whilst the crowd managed to pack together even more for Helicopter. So many songs that I was hoping for that they didn't play - So Here We Aee, Two More Years, Uniform, I Still Remember, Mercury and Kettling would have been nice, although cant complain too much.

Interesting that one side of the hall all stayed sitting, whilst the other side were all standing up.

 

[La Dispute]

Was a good gig. As I've stated previously I'm not a massive fan by any stretch of the imagination but they were great live.

I dunno though; their back catalogue is kind of mediocre and IMO, it showed.

Obviously loved hearing Banquet, Blue Light, Positive Tension, Song For Clay etc but was really struggling with a lot of their set, particularly the new songs. Would have loved to hear Luno, Compliments, So Here We Are but I guess asking for a 90% SA set is a bit much..

Ratchet was woeful. Truth isn't a bad tune, but it shouldn't have been an encore; especially considering how much they could have played.

I didn't realise how many jocks listened to Bloc Party as well. I guess it makes sense tho; they are a bit of an every-man band. They write tunes about being hungover, pining over break ups and sexual frustration and I guess that resonates..

This Modern Love was the highlight for me. Epic tune.

 

[Silent Alarm]

I dunno though; their back catalogue is kind of mediocre and IMO, it showed.

Obviously loved hearing Banquet, Blue Light, Positive Tension, Song For Clay etc but was really struggling with a lot of their set, particularly the new songs. Would have loved to hear Luno, Compliments, So Here We Are but I guess asking for a 90% SA set is a bit much..

This Modern Love was the highlight for me. Epic tune.

What a contradiction!

Like Eating Glass should be a staple. Pretty disappointing.

I think the fact there were bogans and lads there is just because they're a big band. Even Passion Pit had those pricks last year, apparently. When you're that big, you're going to be getting a fairly spread demographic. And the songs they most liked were the most popular ones, I dunno if the lyrical content or thematics was what drew them in. Helicopter is about disappointment, resentment, jading, and society and politics: but it's fast and has a great riff so people dig it.

 

[La Dispute]

I wouldn't call it a contradiction.

One good quality album doesn't make up a back-catalogue.

 

[Silent Alarm]

I wouldn't call it a contradiction.

One good quality album doesn't make up a back-catalogue.

Waiting for the 7:18 and Hunting for Witches went down pretty well. Kreuzberg was changed around a bit, but you need slow songs every so often so your crowd doesn't peak too early. Plus those singles like The Prayer and I Still Remember were huge when they came out, but weren't played (they never do ISR – haven't done for five years). Ares was solid, as would be Halo and Mercury.

They have a pretty decent back catalogue. It outweighs their current catalogue by far. Except maybe for Intimacy.

For a live setting, their songs are pretty well suited and they can draw from a fairly big cannon to get the same results. Silent Alarm is far more than good quality; it was genre-defining.

 

[La Dispute]

But of course that is all subjective. I've never been a big fan of AWITC and sure, those songs go down well live - but that doesn't make them good songs. That album as a whole is ridiculously, cliched, overly ambitious.. I prefer Intimacy for the pure intensity; Trojan Horse a good example.

I dunno.. I wouldn't call Silent Alarm genre-defining either. It's a good listen but I can't see it ever it reaching classic status. I feel nostalgic listening to it but it doesn't have the usual peaks that are associated with classic, genre defining albums.

Songs like Banquet, Luno and Positive Tension are certainly 'classic' songs though in my view.

 

[mike_]

Wow can't believe they wouldn't play The Prayer, Like Eating Poison or Mercury. Makes me feel better that I missed out.

AWITC has so much replay value, On is one of my favourites of theirs, Sunday's drumming is worthy of a live performance and Uniform has a nice build up.

You should give it another listen Russell.

 

[Silent Alarm]

Seems they're over. Russell did the old passive aggressive, typical Bloc thing and vented through the media. Matt withdrew from a Norwegian festival and didn't drum in England last night.

I'd much prefer them to die now than do a Strokes and stay in it for the name and money.

 

[radiojake]

Seems they're over. Russell did the old passive aggressive, typical Bloc thing and vented through the media. Matt withdrew from a Norwegian festival and didn't drum in England last night.

I'd much prefer them to die now than do a Strokes and stay in it for the name and money.

Does that last sentence imply that The Strokes were ever about anything else apart from the name and money?

 

[checkraiseulite]

Does that last sentence imply that The Strokes were ever about anything else apart from the name and money?

lawl.

 

[La Dispute]

I kind of half wish they would die tbh..

Four was very boring for the most part except for Day Four and possibly V.AL.I.S.

Plus now I've seen them, I feel I personally can't extract anything else from them..

Would have loved to have seen them after Silent Alarm came out.

 

[radiojake]

I kind of half wish they would die tbh..

There is certainly something to be said for bands finishing 'while on top' - A bit like a footy playing retiring on their own terms....

I wish Against Me! finished after releasing 'Searching For a Former Clarity' -

Their new stuff is s**t.. so s**t that the old drummer and bass player have now left, and so s**t that it pains me to listen to their old stuff... which was AMAZING...

 

[La Dispute]

Against Me have definitely gone the radio rock sound.

Their first few LP's were killer.

 

[Silent Alarm]

Tonight: Kirin J Callinan – Northy Social Club
Tomorrow: Dick Diver w/ Twerps and The Stevens – The Corner
Monday: UV Race w/ The Stevens – Northy Social Club
July 24: Surfer Blood – The Corner
July 27: Wavves w/ Unknown Metal Orchestra – The Corner
Aug 05: CHVRCHES – The Corner
Aug 30: Japandroids – The Corner
Sep 21: Beach Fossils – The Corner
Sep 27: Foals w/ Alpine – Palace

Few locallies scattered throughout as well. Foals is pretty much based off my love of them, pre-Holy Fire. I find that album so malnourished of anything invigorating or sincere. It just seems really pampered, like the gloss of songs like This Orient were just taken too far. They seem to be getting, somehow, even better live. So I'm looking forward to it, even if it's the night before the Granny.

The Corner is overrated, though. The kind of gig venue adulated by people who haven't been anywhere but there and Festival Hall. Weird placements, overpriced beers, obstructing poles... Lame.

 

[JD11]

Now that's #unilyf.

 

[james Dean]

Touring later this year, playing Silent Alarm in full.

Definitely an admittance from the band that they are not capable of magic anymore, but such an epic album would be great to see in live full.

 

[t_94]

Torn as to whether I'll get tickets for this. Just feels like they are so far from where they were when Silent Alarm came out... 2 new members, Kele doing acoustic albums with absolutely no energy in them. On the other hand this album was the formative album for me growing up, and I'm a sucker for nostalgia so I'll probably end up going. Would be awesome to see them do skeleton, the present or even tulips as well to fill out the set.

 

[Silent Alarm]

Torn as to whether I'll get tickets for this. Just feels like they are so far from where they were when Silent Alarm came out... 2 new members, Kele doing acoustic albums with absolutely no energy in them. On the other hand this album was the formative album for me growing up, and I'm a sucker for nostalgia so I'll probably end up going. Would be awesome to see them do skeleton, the present or even tulips as well to fill out the set.

Yeah same here. Kele in some cargo shorts, Russell with his white boy singlets and muscles, plus those two pretty lifeless and tame members playing? Rubs me wrong. Doesn't entice me. Album tours are lame to be in general and a sign of giving up so I'm hard to sway but there's too much going against it... not to mention Magaret Court (though the Perth venue is really nice, really nice) as a soulless mega venue. I got to see the original four - as this thread says - and I'd almost like that as my sole experience with them as a live entity, because it was them all, it was faulted and imperfect, but it was also very sweet and intense and earnest at parts too... Encapsulates the band.

Then again it's a seminal album, the album is important to lots of people, and sharing the emotions with all of those other 20-30 year olds will be really, really lovely. And with my mates. Torn.

 

[Kyptastic]

I'm leaning towards going. It won't be the same, but I love the album, so I'm sure I'll still enjoy it.

 

[james Dean]

I remember going to the Festival Hall gig, it was a pretty good setlist IIRC.

Not a lot of interest in this gig though - Margaret Court, half the band, playing only one album - I'll pass on this one.

I doubt it will be just Silent Alarm and off. Weezer did a similar tour for the Blue Album a few years ago and it was Greatest Hits (non-blue album) - Intermission - Blue Album