Live Review: Bloc Party, Manchester Apollo. 29/1/09

From the minute I heard Bloc Party's latest album Intimacy, second to falling for the London 4-piece all over again, I was curious, if a little worried, about how the heavy use of effects and keyboards would work out live. From the minute the band kick into opener, and new single, One Month Off my fears are eased, especially when this is followed by an epic rendition of Halo.

Bloc Party get straight down to business rattling through single Hunting For Witches, a rendition of Positive Tension that's up there with some of the best live tracks I've seen and Intimacy track Signs, which is as beautiful live as it is on record. Even Talons, one of the weakest tracks on the new album, is brilliantly frantic. The choice to play Waiting For The 7.18 is clearly one that not only pleases me, as the crowd sing and jump along to the chaotic ending.

Opener to 2007's A Weekend In The City, Song For Clay (Disappear Here) merges perfectly into indie classic Banquet as the immense first two thirds of the show crash to an ending. Unfortunately, the next few tracks do not follow suit. Ion Square is frankly boring, the only real highlight in single Mercury is singer Kele loosing his microphone while in the crowd and even airing of So Here We Are fails to recapture the atmosphere lost during the previous two tracks. Luckily final song of the main set Like Eating Glass saves the day.

The encore pretty much erased memories of the evenings down points, a brilliant cover of Girls Aloud's Call The Shots followed by singles The Prayer, Flux (unfortunately, the heavy synth fails to convey live) and the timeless Helicopter. The band return on last time for the insane Ares and a magic rendition of This Modern Love.

Bloc Party live is very much a game of chance. When you win, they are up there with the the best live acts on the planet, but when you loose, they are dull, boring and rather than conjuring up no atmosphere manage to remove any that had lingered from earlier in the night. Fortunately for tonight's attendees, they manage to win on pretty much every throw of the dice.


Bloc Party played:

One Month Off
Halo
Hunting For Witches
Positive Tension
Signs
Talons
Waiting For The 7.18
Song For Clay
Banquet
Ion Square
Mercury
So Here We Are
Like Eating Glass

Call The Shots (Girls Aloud Cover)
The Prayer
Flux
Helicopter

Ares
This Modern Love