Bloc Party made a triumphant return to Manchester as part of their ‘20 Years of Bloc Party’ tour, in an evening packed to the rafters with indie bangers. Kele Okereke and his band are bang on time, they stride out into the Mancunian sunshine to a sea of rapturous applause – “I’ve been looking forward to this one – you were so loud last time”, declares Okereke as he laps up the adoration.
Castlefield Bowl is almost immediately transformed into a sweaty indie disco – the crowd is diverse in its age range, with seasoned Bloc Party veterans dancing and singing arm in arm with the young gun first timers. It’s a glorious testament to the enduring quality of such tunes: ‘So Here We Are’ and ‘She’s Hearing Voices’ are colossal moments early on. The way that an album like Silent Alarm has permeated British culture is something to be utterly admired and celebrated: in a music-obsessed country, very few artists can claim to have a record with such cultural capital. The sing-along choruses, lovesick and hurting lyrics and frenetic indie breakdowns are such a pure slice of British 00s culture.
The band rattles through tune after tune, each one larger than the last. ‘Price of Gasoline’ is a gigantic moment, as is the fantastic ‘Banquet’. Okereke introduces ‘One More Chance’ by asking the bowl if they would like to “go to a disco” – in a split second, the sunbathed bowl (now turning a dramatic orange as the sun sets) transforms into a mad night at the infamous 42’s.
Sure, the pints are more expensive here, and everyone is a few years older, but the electricity of connection via music is omnipresent. The band do their part and blasts out banger after banger – ‘Like Eating Glass’ is the finale of the main show, before a hit-packed encore.
Bloc Party are greats of the scene – their infectious, danceable indie grooves captured a generation for good reason. They’re still doing it 20 years later, albeit with a different cast of musicians, but Okereke is the driving force behind BP, and it’s utterly clear that he holds a great love for these special tunes.
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