Last night's Royal Albert Hall gig
I was lucky enough to go to Bloc Party's charity gig at London's Royal Albert Hall last night...and it was absolutely STUNNING!
The reliably shambolic Mystery Jets were the first band on. They played a good set (but no 'On My Feet'!) and the crowd really seemed to warm to them. Henry Harrison, the elder Jet, was his usual cool self...in 'Alas Agnes' the drummer sped up, so Henry walked over to the drums and tapped out the tempo on a cymbal!
Biffy Clyro were the next band to play. Biffy have always been a bit of a cult band...a rock behemoth that has never quite made it out of the underground. Judging from the new material played tonight, however, Biffy should soon get the commercial success they deserve. The Biffy army were out in full force last night, with cries of 'Mon The Biffy!' echoing around the venue! Credit must go to the guys near me who not only sang all the lyrics, but also every guitar riff!
Before the headline set, a short video about the Teenage Cancer Trust was played on the big screen, providing a few minutes to reflect on the reason behind this series of gigs. The Teenage Cancer Trust focuses on the needs of teenagers and young adults with cancer by providing dedicated teenage units in NHS hospitals. As well as providing excellent medical facilities, these units are funky and vibrant - equipped with computers, TVs, music equipment, game consoles and facilities for parents to stay close by overnight.
So far, TCT has built eight units - two in London and one in Leeds, Liverpool, Birmingham, Sheffield, Newcastle and Manchester. Units cost over £1 million each to build and TCT wants to see at least 20 units in the UK so that every teenager with cancer in Britain has access to these unique facilities. To find out more, head over to the TCT website.
So...on to the main attraction! Bloc Party's set followed a similar format to the recent Marshals shows, with five new songs being premiered alongside the highlights of 'Silent Alarm'. The boys were in really good spirits - Kele was constantly smiling and joking with the crowd. It was actually the second time Kele had played at the Royal Albert Hall...he sang there in a school choir when he was 12!
I was worried that the seating would be slightly restrictive, but everyone in the arena stood up when Bloc Party came on, allowing more room for people to dance!
My favourite bits of Bloc Party's set: - The new songs! Five new songs were played last night (see the setlist below) and they all sounded huge in this magnificent venue. 'Hunting For Witches' is already one of the set highlights, 'Blue Moon' is a heartbreaking anthem set to a groovy, lilting rhythm. 'Uniform', which seems to be about Kele's frustration at the lack of individuality in today's youth culture, is a twisting epic which features Russell on the EBow! 'Wet', a gorgeous slowburner with a multilayered guitar intro, contains the lyrics 'you make my tongue loose' and 'Waiting For The 7.18' soars like an eagle!
- 'So Here We Are'. In the instrumental bridge, the house lights came on and Kele came right to the front of the stage without his microphone, mouthing the words to the rest of the song as we all sang our hearts out.
- The intro of 'Hunting For Witches'. The. Best. Intro. Ever.
- Matt's drumming. How does he keep it up? He must have a robotic arm or something.
Anyway, I apologise for the length of this post. It was just a very special gig! Here's a few photos I took last night:




Setlist:
Waiting For The 7.18
She's Hearing Voices
Banquet
This Modern Love
Hunting For Witches
Two More Years
Uniform
Like Eating Glass
So Here We Are
Helicopter
Wet
Price of Gasoline
Blue Moon
The Pioneers
Labels: Gig_reviews, Setlists
The new songs: more info
Following on from yesterday's post, here's some more info on the new songs, collected together from fans' observations at the Marshals gigs:'Blue Moon': slow-building and melodic, with a pulsating tom-tom beat underpinning the whole song. In terms of mood, it's 'So Here We Are' meets 'Blue Light' on the dancefloor. The outro sounds similar to 'Sunday Bloody Sunday' by U2! 'Machine': a cappella intro gives way to a brooding Pioneers-style rush of guitar. 'Atonement': centred around a breakbeat evocative of The Stone Roses' 'Fools Gold'. Contains a very sparse verse, with the only instruments being Russell's guitar and Kele's vocals against the drums. Has a huge, anthemic chorus. 'Uniform': Bloc Party's 'Paranoid Android'/'Bohemian Rhapsody'!'It Started In An Afternoon': the poppiest and sweetest of the new Bloc songs. The verse has a simple set of guitar chords reminiscent of The Cars' early stuff.Labels: A_Weekend_In_The_City
The fan club tour: my summary
With the fan club tour finishing in Norwich last Saturday, I thought I'd write a bit about the new songs that were premiered.
I was lucky enough to go to the Nottingham leg of the tour, and I have to say it was one of the most enjoyable, and sweaty, gigs I've been to. Congratulations must go to whoever chose Komakino as the support band - they were excellent in Nottingham, setting things up nicely for Bloc Party.
All the setlists for the dates are in the setlists post. I'll try to update this, so feel free to send me setlists of any BP gigs that you go to.
In total, ten brand new songs were played over the eight gigs. Below is a list of the songs in the order they were premiered, and my first impressions from what I heard in Nottingham and from other fans' videos! By the way, I've never been great at describing things, so excuse my poor attempt at music journalism!
'Machine': lives up to its title...Matt Tong provides a mechanical drum beat and the main guitar riff is reminiscent of the chorus guitar line in 'Price Of Gasoline'. The song begins and ends a cappella with the chorus lyrics: "People are afraid to merge on the freeways, people are afraid to merge".
'Hunting For Witches': 'Helicopter' Mark II? Russell or Kele opens the song with a VERY cool guitar effect, then Russell comes in with a riff which reminds me of the intro riff in 'Helicopter'. Kele sings something about "sitting on the roof of my house", with a "six-pack of beer, six-pack of beer, six-pack of beer".
'Waiting For The 7.18': I love the atmosphere of this song. Quite melancholy sounding. Starts off with warm, ambient chords, and has a soaring, mainly instrumental chorus. Features Gordy on the glockenspeil! If anyone knows what the 7.18 is and would like to enlighten me, please do!
'Wet': haven't heard this song yet, but described by Gordy as being "a brooding dancefloor-type thing, and quite druggy."
'A Momentary Loss Of Control': haven't heard this song yet!
'Uniform': possibly Bloc Party's longest song to date? Has a gentle opening and outro, but a crazy, driving middle section. Contains an amazing guitar solo and some vocal sounds to match the "hey"s at the start of 'She's Hearing Voices'! My favourite new song from what I've heard so far.
'It Started In An Afternoon': a grandiose, tender song in a similar vein to 'So Here We Are'. Ends with a refrain of "I still remember".
'Atonement': can't really remember this one, but I think it was a slow song! Mentioned as a possible centerpiece of the album.
'Rhododendrons': haven't heard this song yet! Continues the flowery theme started by 'Tulips'!
'Blue Moon': a beautiful, slower song, with some lovely floating guitar lines. Key lyric: 'I'm waiting to crash into you, I'm waiting for that blue moon'Things are looking very promising for the second album! It'll be really interesting to hear how the songs change when they're recorded.Look at Matt go!
Photos taken by Anant Naik at the Bedford gig.
Labels: Gig_reviews
Setlists
Feel free to email me the setlists of any forthcoming BP gigs that you go to!
02.03.06 – Brighton Concorde
Machine
She's Hearing Voices
Banquet
This Modern Love
Two More Years
Hunting For Witches
So Here We Are
Like Eating Glass
Waiting For The 7:18
Helicopter
Wet
Tulips
Price Of Gasoline
The Pioneers
03.03.06 – Manchester Academy 3
Waiting For The 7.18
Like Eating Glass
Banquet
This Modern Love
A Momentary Loss Of Control
Two More Years
Uniform
It Started In An Afternoon
So Here We Are
Helicopter
Atonement
Staying Fat
Tulips
Little Thoughts
05.03.06 – Glasgow King Tuts
Waiting For The 7.18
Positive Tension
Banquet
This Modern Love
Machine
Two More Years
Hunting For Witches
Like Eating Glass
So Here We Are
Helicopter
Rhododendrons
She's Hearing Voices
Blue Moon
Little Thoughts
06.03.06 – Leeds Cockpit
Waiting For The 7.18
She's Hearing Voices
Banquet
This Modern Love
Two More Years
Uniform
Atonement
Like Eating Glass
So Here We Are
Helicopter
Wet
Price of Gasoline
Blue Moon
The Answer
07.03.06 – Newcastle Northumbria University Stage Two
Waiting For The 7.18
Positive Tension
Banquet
This Modern Love
Machine
Two More Years
Uniform
Like Eating Glass
So Here We Are
Helicopter
It Started In An Afternoon
She's Hearing Voices
Blue Moon
Little Thoughts
09.03.06 – Nottingham Rescue Rooms
Waiting For The 7.18
She's Hearing Voices
Banquet
This Modern Love
Hunting For Witches
Two More Years
Uniform
Like Eating Glass
So Here We Are
Helicopter
Atonement
Positive Tension
Blue Moon
Little Thoughts
10.03.06 – Bedford Esquires
Waiting for the 7.18
Positive Tension
Banquet
This Modern Love
Machine
Two More Years
Uniform
Like Eating Glass
So Here We Are
Helicopter
It Started In An Afternoon
Price of Gasoline
Blue Moon
Little Thoughts
Tulips
11.03.06 – Norwich Waterfront
Waiting For The 7.18
She's Hearing Voices
Banquet
This Modern Love
Hunting For Witches
Two More Years
Uniform
Like Eating Glass
So Here We Are
Helicopter
Atonement
Price Of Gasoline
Blue Moon
Little Thoughts
29.03.06 - Royal Albert Hall, London
Waiting For The 7.18
She's Hearing Voices
Banquet
This Modern Love
Hunting For Witches
Two More Years
Uniform
Like Eating Glass
So Here We Are
Helicopter
Wet
Price of Gasoline
Blue Moon
The Pioneers
Labels: Setlists, Tour