On paper it seems rather baffling that erstwhile Bloc Party frontman Kele Okereke has opted to go on tour a full month before his first solo album, The Boxer, is released, but in reality his gamble has paid off, as we’re only halfway through set opener ‘Walk Tall’ and we’re in love with his new electro-indie leanings already.
“I’ve just made the best record that I think I’ve ever made and I hope you like it when you hear it,” he grins after playing ‘On The Lam’ and ‘Meet Me In The Middle’ in quick succession, and while we’ve only heard these few tracks a handful of times, we’re starting to think he could be right.
Featuring dance-beats, glockenspiels and cowbells, Kele’s percussive solo sound is both visionary and retro at the same time. New single ‘Tenderoni’ showcases his bold new outlook perfectly by putting a clever hook onto a fiendish beat and it’s backed by his unstoppable new three-piece band. The crowd, who have the good manners not to shout for Bloc Party songs, go suitably apeshit. In fact at one point Kele has to tell some overly amorous fans that he’s “Not in JLS, you know” to which one girl screams “Just get naked!” Now what would their mothers say about that?
Despite a relatively small turnout thanks to novelty nu-rave merchants Pendulum playing down the road (Okereke cheekily says they sound like German comedy act Scooter at one point) everyone’s into the “nu” vibe of the show, and by the time the triple-encore of ‘Unholy Thoughts’, Bloc Party rarity ‘Your Visits Are Getting Shorter’ and ‘All The Things I Could Never Say’ are rolled out, we’re hungry for more. Bring on Oxegen.