Bloc Party, Longwave – Live @ Aragon Ballroom

I’ve found the progression of Bloc Party from their debut, Silent Alarm, to their latest effort, Intimacy, to be quite a fascinating series of events. With Silent Alarm they came out guns blazing and in seconds flat became the vast majority of critics’ dream come true. Some even went as far as to herald them as the second coming of U2. After Silent Alarm came A Weekend in the City, which in all fairness could easily be considered a sophomore slump, and after A Weekend in the City came Intimacy, which in all fairness could easily be considered straight up bad. I, in my lifetime, cannot remember a band flourish with so much promise and then fall so deeply into the pits of mediocrity. With that being said, their popularity hasn’t waned as a result. If anything, they’ve benefitted from an inverse relationship between the quality of their music and the number of their fans.

This was no more evident than their March 28 show at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago. Now, the Aragon is probably about the biggest theater a band could hope to play in Chicago with a capacity somewhere in the vicinity of 4,000 people. The next step up would be a mid-sized arena such as the Sears Centre or Allstate Arena which are typically held for popular semi-professional sporting events and tours of a more grandiose nature such as reunions, circuses, and whatever’s on ice. The Aragon was crowded enough to the point that the next step up might be a necessity for their next visit.

The evening got started on a good note with a band Bloc Party chose well as their tour mates and opening act since they happen to compliment each other’s sound with near perfection. This band in question is none other than Longwave. There are countless bands out there who haven’t yet received their proper due and Longwave should be placed towards the top of that list. The Aragon isn’t known for its stellar acoustics, but vocalist Steve Schiltz’s shaky vibrato resonated throughout the high arching ceilings in a way that most singers’ voices simply do not. They got the crowed prepped for Bloc Party by ending with “Sirens In the Deep Sea” which is one of the best songs off their 2008 release, Secrets Are Sinister. It is brought to life by a continual pounding of crash cymbals and was made even more spectacular by a row of interchanging spotlights casting eerie silhouettes.

Bloc Party’s set was a fairly equal representation of their three LPs with no real favor showed to one over another. I, like most other fans in attendance, would have preferred it to be more Silent Alarm heavy, but was at least happy with the songs they chose to play off it. Silent Alarm’s brilliant singles, “Banquet” and “Helicopter”, were both played with “Helicopter” serving as the closer. “Hunting for Witches” was probably the best sounding song played off A Weekend In the City. “The Prayer” sounded pretty good as well as far as A Weekend In the City songs go as the bass from the computerized percussion gave a light vibration to the floor. “Signs”, the diamond in the rough off of Intimacy, came across surprisingly fantastic live. Bassist Gordon Moakes actually played the xylophone instead of it being prerecorded which added for a more organic feel. The album version, while good, is overtly computerized and slightly over-produced.

Bloc Party’s backing lights were a sight to behold and really added another dimension to their performance. They regularly shifted in position and changed in color while maintaining the shape of an upside down triangle. They kept up with the tempo of their music and were spot on with timing changes and chord progressions. While the music from their last two albums isn’t nearly as good as the music from their first, Bloc Party still plays it with the same furiousness and for that they maintain their audiences’ attention from start to finish. Lead singer Kele Okereke apologized repeatedly throughout the entire show with the utmost sincerity for having lost his voice. Because of this, he said the band needed to cut the show short. While his apology was heartfelt, it was unnecessary since not a person in attendance left feeling the least bit disappointed.

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