Bloc Party Autumn 2005
As a self confessed Bloc Party fan, and somebody who rates 'Silent Alarm' as one of the best records of the past twelve months, I was looking forward to this as much as anybody inside Brixton Academy at this sold out show. You know you're on to a good thing when you can feel the anticipation in the air so much you could bite off a chunk and chew it. The break off a bit and hold it feel to the atmosphere was added by the fact that this was arguably the hottest and sweatiest I've ever experience this particular venue, this show didn't disappoint.
I had in my head a number of preconceptions as to which track would get the honour of being the set opener, I hadn't included 'So Here We Are' in that list as it seemed the sort of track that would sit nicely in the middle of the set, or be saved to the end in order to send the crowd on their way with the band's biggest hit single to date still ringing in their ears. The 'Silent Alarm' album has a number of excellent set openers on it and 'So Here We Are' was as great a way to start as any.
They hit the ground running and hurtled through their debut record with a pace and energy that meant that any of the more mellow tracks on the album were taken to a different level. Obviously 'Banquet' and 'Helicopter' got huge reactions from a packed house, with other notable crowd pleasers including 'Like Eating Glass', 'Blue Light' and 'Luno', as well as the latest single 'Two More Years and 'The Present' from the recent 'Help' charity compilation album. The latter two were both included in an encore that closed with 'Pioneers' and a shower of paper over the crowd as the band departed the live arena for the final time in 2005.
This was the last night on a triumphant headlining tour that has seen Bloc Party play to packed venues around the UK. They're next move is to complete the song list for the second album in a writing session in January, adding some material to tracks they've been experimenting with in sound checks while out on the road this autumn.
There is no doubt that Bloc Party have broken through in the past twelve months, to become one of the UK's great bands, their headlining slot on the Radio 1 stage at this years Carling Weekend was a defining moment in confirming their status as a band who will be around for as long as they decide to be. The one problem with gigs of the size of the Brixton show for a band with only one album is that, not only can it seem as if it is over just as you're getting into it, but in order to make sure that this isn't a reality rather than just an illusion, a set list has to include any filler tracks that the debut album might have. Bloc Party without question put on an excellent show, one that will be even better once the second record is out as the set list will be even stronger.