They’re back so often it feels like Bloc Party should have a Dunne’s store card. But it doesn’t mean the East London boys aren’t capable of filling a venue, even one the size of the Big Top.
Main support tonight are fellow Eirephilies, Biffy Clyro. And it’s no secret, especially in HP Towers, that their talent and constant ability to innovate has turned me into a fully signed up member of Team Biffy. But still working on the other few billion people they’ve yet to convert, the Scottish rockers stick mostly to their breakthrough album Puzzle, even giving a touching rendition of ‘Machines’ – and dropping the best song in the whole world, ‘57’. Still you can’t argue with a set as tight as theirs.
That’s also the philosophy we’ll use for Bloc Party, because although they suffer from a number of technical hitches on the night, they glide through their set like true pros.
Frontman Kele Okereke, shoving his inner shy, awkward self fully to the background for now, commands the crowd like a natural. He chats plenty and openly, and the rest of the band are quite happy to let him have the speaking role in a performance in which they really know they’re equal participants.
They fly through the expected songs – ‘Helicopters’, ‘Song For Clay’ and ‘Like Eating Glass’. But the stars are aligned tonight: a combination of the clear sound, the cheerful nature of the crowd and the infectious enthusiasm of the band (It’s the first night of the European tour. They’ll soon learn.) means that it’s the best performance that they’ve ever given on these shores.
One of this year’s live highlights. No question.