The bouncers could have been forgiven if, after the excitable crowd had settled into the Thebarton Theatre for Van She's support set, they had thought it was going to be an easy night after all. The crowd did clap and cheer and were guilty of foot tapping and self-conscious head bobbing during Van She's set, but this was an afternoon nap compared to when Van She exited the stage. There was suddenly significantly less vacant personal space, the rather subdued crowd shifting into 'elbows-out' gear and transforming general admission into a bone-crushing mosh pit. Before the weight of hundreds of bodies the front row (including myself) were one with the barrier. The chants of "Bloc Party!" started in a wave before boredom triumphed. The anticipation was palpable.
The moment arrived when Bloc Party graced the stage with their presence. Opener 'Trojan Horse' nearly ripped the roof off the Thebby. The set that followed mostly consisted of tracks from the band's albums 'Silent Alarm' and 'Intimacy' with a few choice songs from 'A Weekend in the City'. Led along by participative hand-claps, the crowd were whipped into a frenzy, with their rabid excitement evident when Kele stepped back from the microphone to let the crowd scream "so f**king useless!" in 'Positive Tension'. It must be said that 'Mercury' is so much better live. It must also be said that, visually, the gig was characterised by Kele's giant grins throughout the gig, his smile-inducing dancing and Matt's strange frog dance. Kele had certainly gained the love of the front row when in the opening lines of 'This Modern Love' (or possibly another song), he saw bouncers dragging a crowd surfer out of the crowd over the heads of the front row and stopped the song before inquiring whether the 'girls in the front row' were alright (cue swoons from the front row girls and the resounding chant of 'Yes'). Kele further endeared himself to the crowd by making two frenzied runs from the stage to the audience, allowing the front-row plenty of opportunities for inappropriate touching. Fortunately bouncers were in assistance to claim him back from the grasps of the front three rows.
A brilliant set list (peppered by banter regarding the movie Australia and Nicole Kidman, amongst other topics) and encore later, a sweat-soaked crowd high on guitar riffs and heart-thumping drum beats trickled out of the Thebarton Theatre. A mini mosh pit formed at the merchandise stand. Everyone was in an overexcited state that would precede an inevitable Bloc Party withdrawal.
Below is the set list, which I managed to snare at the gig.
Trojan Horse
Halo
Hunting For Witches
Positive Tension
Signs
Song For Clay
Banquet
So Here We Are
Better than Heaven
Talons
This Modern Love
The Prayer
Mercury
Price Of Gas
Flux
Helicopter
Encore
Ares
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