A BLOC PARTY TREAT AT DANFORTH MUSIC HALL
It’s been almost four years since Bloc Party added their two cents to the music scene, and over three years since bringing their live act over to our beloved Toronto. Keeping that in mind, the Brit rock quartet saw fit that they kick off their North American tour with the first of a two night stand at Toronto’s recently renovated Danforth Music Hall.
The old movie theatre, now a fully convertible general admission venue, hosted a near sold out crowd to a show that made us all remember why we fell in love with the band in the first place.
Bloc Party kicked off their set with “Octopus,” the leadoff single off their latest effort, Four. The song is a result of the band’s members each bringing their signature sounds and elements to the table; Lead singer Kele Okereke’s melodic shouting, the shirtless and furious drumming of Matt Tong, temperate bass grooves courtesy of Gordon Moakes, and guitarist Russell Lissack’s riffs alongside a mess of pedals and effects that would even make Mike Einziger turn his head.
The set involved a wide variety of music from each of the bands’ albums, and soon proved to be showcasing their discography in reverse chronological order. Blasting through crowd pleasers like “Trojan Horse” and “Hunting For Witches,” the house finally came down when the opening bass riff of “Positive Tension” made its way through the skeleton of the old building.
With a crowd that seemed to have brought their dancing shoes, Okereke seemed to have no problem taunting and egging on those very few who didn’t seem up to the task. Throughout the entire evening, the singer could be heard ad-libbing such lyrics as “Come on, you f**kers!” and my personal favourite, “Let’s go, Toronto! Don’t be a p****y!”
Brave stuff coming from a frontman whose previous two releases (A solo album, and Intimacy) could hardly seem to captivate anybody, but the officials in attendance let it slide and danced even harder than before. In return, Okereke & company tested the waters with some more songs off the new record, which were generally well received, but garnered no “Holy crap, they’re actually playing it!” screams from anyone outside the well endowed moshpit up front.
With the band in top form after a series of festival shows this summer, Bloc Party continued to dig deep into their catalogue and played an hour and a half long set, complete with two encores, and yes, even a dude that managed to sneak on stage and sing a couple lines off of A Weekend In The City‘s “Sunday.” The band closed their set with fan favourite “Helicopter,” but not before dedicating it to the attacker’s well being, hoping that the security guards “weren’t being too mean to him.”
So what do you get from a Bloc Party concert? Simple. You get a band who takes their talents with them on the flight over and into the venue. You get a hungry audience that commands a second show after the tour’s already been booked, and a frontman who matches the excitement and effort that the fans put in. You also get a pretty cool light show to boot.
If tonight’s show was any indication of what the rest of this tour will be like, I’d make it out to the second. If the Kool Haus or Sound Academy isn’t your cup of tea, this is a show you want to check out. An established band that gives you your money’s worth in an intimate setting is not something you get to see a whole lot of anymore. Don’t pass it up this time around.
PHOTOS: Christina Stanoulis
WORDS: Jesse Parkinson
Setlist
- Octopus
- Trojan Horse
- Hunting For Witches
- Real Talk
- Kettling
- Song For Clay (new intro lyrics)
- Banquet
- Day Four
- One More Chance
- This Modern Love
- The Prayer
Encore
- Coliseum
- Ares
- Flux
Encore
- Sunday
2. Helicoptor
Category: Photo Updates, Reviews