Bloc Party at the Hollywood Palladium

Check out my photos of Bloc Party at the Hollywood Palladium over at Stereogum.

Bloc Party at Apogee's Berkeley Street Studio

Check out my photos of Bloc Party at Apogee's Berkeley Street Studio over at Stereogum.

Bloc Party at the Hollywood Palladium

Check out my photos of Bloc Party at the Hollywood Palladium over at Stereogum.

I last caught up with Bloc Party at the Grove of Anaheim for OC Weekly and at the Indie 103.1 show at Club Nokia.

Bloc Party at the Grove of Anaheim

Check out my review of Bloc Party over at OC Weekly.

Indie 103.1 Wreck The Halls at Club Nokia

It is that time of year again. Radio stations across the nation throw together holiday gatherings that serve to close out the year. Indie 103.1 had their annual Wreck The Halls show relocated from the Avalon to the swanky new Club Nokia to put together an eclectic line up that had a bit of something for everyone.

Black Kids






A can of opened Red Bull at the feet of Ali Youngblood (Keyboards/Vocals) symbolically represented the youthful vigor of Black Kids. Her brother, Reggie Youngblood (Vocals/Guitars) was clad in a vintage yellow Descendents t-shirt as the former Pitchfork darlings shook things up to kick off the show.

I don't own their debut album Partie Traumatic and was only familiar with a couple of songs but should mention I was surprised to see Bernard Butler of Suede produced it. The four on the floor disco beat of "Look At Me" had the kids dancing as Ali was playing her microKorg Keyboard alongside Dawn Watley (Keyboards/Vocals) who was tweaking the knobs on her Roland Juno-G.

The collegiate cheers of "Hit the Heartbrakes" were reminiscent of The Go! Team combined with a hefty dose of sugary synthesizers. "Hurricane Jane" was pure eighties nostalgia with wire like guitars and breathy female background vocals. The collective hipster community counted down for "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance" as I think they lifted the opening keyboard riff from The Cure. Black Kids made a lot of noise but will have to step it up for their second album before the Red Bull wears off.


Bloc Party








Intimacy is definitely a grower. Bloc Party continues to stretch out and explore new sounds on their third album rather than repeat their post-punk anthems on their gem of a debut album, Silent Alarm. I initially wasn't too keen on Intimacy but remembered how much I liked A Weekend In The City after repeated listens.

Launching with the electronically mangled guitars of "Trojan Horse", Kele Okereke (Vocals/Guitars) and Russell Lissack (Guitars) used their Fender Telecasters to lock together in a tension filled musical dialogue. "One Month Off" combined elements of frayed metallic guitars and solid drumming by Matt Tong (Drums). "Hunting For Witches" stirred up the crowd, as people were a bit more familiar with the older material.

Bloc Party really started to hit its stride during "Positive Tension". The seamless transition from "Song for Clay (Disappear Here)" to "Banquet" was genius as various hands in the air waved around. Kele would momentarily put down his guitar for the vocal effect heavy "Mercury" as Gordon Moakes (Bass) hunkered over his keyboard. It was difficult to see them end the set with "Like Eating Glass" as I hoped they would have played "Pioneers". I have one more opportunity as Bloc Party plays the Grove of Anaheim on Monday. I hear it is close to selling out.

The Pretenders






Who knew The Pretenders could rock so hard after all these years? Chrissie Hynde (Vocals/Guitars) looked and sounded marvelous. Break Up The Concrete is the new album from the Pretenders that closed the six year gap since their last album Loose Screw.

Chrissie never put down her trusty Fender Telecaster as provided the steamrolling bluesy chords of "Boots Of Chinese Plastic". The slide guitar shined during "Love's A Mystery" as tumbleweed could have rolled through the stage to help enhance the old western saloon vibe. "Back On The Chain Gang" had my colleague from LosAnjealous boast it was one of the top twenty-five pop songs of all time. I contested maybe in the top fifty?

"Don't Get Me Wrong" was another high point of their set as I still couldn't get over the fact that Chrissie sounded immaculate. The sparse characteristic guitars of "Brass In Pocket" were replicated masterfully as young and old members of the crowd couldn't help but dance along. "Break Up The Concrete" might be a thinly veiled statement that the Pretenders are changing the elements of their sound, but I surmise they won't compromise their musical foundation. The Pretenders will be back at the Grove of Anaheim on March 8th and the Wiltern on March 10th.

CSS





A considerable amount of older fans headed for the exits prior to the start of CSS. CSS has come a long way since I first caught them opening for Ladytron back in October of 2006. CSS still had a large gathering of fervent fans that displayed an inordinate amount of energy. One fan valiantly tried to start a "CSS suxxx!" chant.

CSS has been making the rounds behind their Sub Pop supported second album Donkey. Lovefoxxx (Vocals) was charming as usual as did her video workout routine on stage while singing "Jager Yoga". In the synthesizer department, I spotted a Moog Little Phatty Synthesizer and a Roland Juno. Unfortunately, I have no pictures of the bright red keytar that made its debut five songs into their set. Lovefoxxx momentarily reminded me of Bjork with her vocal acrobatics during "Left Behind". This observation could be clouded by the colorful wig and patterned cat suit that Lovefoxxx used to distract fans and reviewers alike.

The dancing didn't stop as the infectious beats of "Music Is My Hot, Hot Sex" stirred up the party machine. The spooky Scooby-Doo synthesizers signaled "Let's Make Love And Listen To Death To Above" as the pit jumped in one mass of humanity. "Alala" sealed the evening's festivities as Indie 103.1 successfully did Wreck The Halls of Club Nokia.

Bloc Party at the Pearl in Las Vegas

I don't think anyone would be surprised to find that I was back in Vegas for another "Vacation". It so happened that Bloc Party was playing the Pearl in Las Vegas. I already had tickets to the Police in Las Vegas for Friday and decided to extend my trip to catch Bloc Party earlier in the week on Wednesday.



 
The Maccabees hailing from Brighton rocked the Las Vegas crowd with a blast of British indie garage rock that had the urgency of early Bloc Party,  and Gang Of Four. I have attended quite a few Las Vegas shows in my time and was surprised how well they were received by crowd. Orlando Weeks (Vocals) was doing a good impersonation of Alan Donohue of the Rakes as he flailed his arms around stage and whilst spitting out his lyrics. Check out their debut album "Colour It In" on Geffen records.



 
The last time I caught up with The Noisettes they opened for TV on The Radio down at the Belly Up. They always put on a high energy show that will keep you entertained. Shingai Shoniwa (Vocals/Bass/Guitars) had a much larger stage to crawl, dance, and jump around. Dan White (Guitars) was busy riffing away while tap dancing on his assortment of pedals. I did notice he had his guitar signal split to perform some basslines at the same time. Some of the songs I recognized were "The Count of Monte Cristo" and "Scratch Your Name". The crowd seemed to have approved of the set but not nearly as buzzworthy as the Maccabees set. 






Bloc Party's latest album "A Weekend In The City" continues to grow on me. When I last caught them at the Wiltern, they skipped my two favorite songs off the album "Atonement" and "Sunday". I was hoping I would at least get one of them this time around. One of the defining characteristics that stands out about Bloc Party is the different guitar sounds they create during their live performance. Unfortunately, the stage monitors obscured a direct picture of their pedalboards but I did manage to scope out some of Russell Lissack's pedals which included a Korg Kaoss Pad 3, Deluxe Memory Man, Big Muff Distortion pedal, Boss Line Selector, Boss Super Shifter,and an intriguing Pigtronix Envelope Phaser.  His complex pedal rig had some problems during the end of show that made for some interesting alternate performances of the songs. The band sounded great though especially through the Pearl's soundsystem. The previous two shows at the Pearl I never managed to get to the rail but on this particular night I was fairly close. The front of the stage at the Pearl has about six or seven speakers angled up for those people on the rail. I have never seen a venue do this before and was highly impressed. The opening notes of "Song for Clay (Disappear Here)" that included the background haunting chants from Gordon Moakes(Bass) and Matt Tong(Drums).  Kele Okereke(Vocals/Guitars) was alternating between his Fender Telecaster and a shiny Gretsch Tennessee Rose. Russell Lissack brought out his E-Bow for "Uniform" which got the crowd moving. After a moment of fixing Russell's pedals, the band came back out to perform "Sunday". Gordon traded in his bass for a drum kit as he complemented Matt Tong's tribal thumps. "Helicopter" was the final punctuation of the night that brought out the crowd surfers and the mini mosh pits.


Bloc Party Setlist for The Pearl in Las Vegas (6/13/07)
 

Bloc Party at the Wiltern

Luckily for me, Bloc Party was playing two nights at the Wiltern. My first impression of the new album was not a good one. After repeated listens though, I think the album holds up. The problem is that "Silent Alarm" was so good. The Like opened the evening's events with their dreamy indie rock like songs. Tennessee Thomas was pounding on drums all night and even broke her drum foot pedal which she threw at Charlotee Froom(Bass). Elizabeth Berg had a good guitar sound running through Orange amps. They played some new songs that showcased their improved writing skills. Final Fantasy was next and happens to be a one man violin band composed of Owen Pallett. I suspect he used a Boss Loop Station as he would sample a violin part and start stacking it on top of each other to create a mini orchestra on all his songs. As Darth Vader would say, "Most Impressive". Bloc Party had a minimal light setup and let the music do the talking. Kele Okereke's voice is an instrument itself. Russell Lissack was channeling Johnny Greenwood with his Fender Telecaster and his arsenal of guitar pedals. Gordon Moakes did an impressive job on "Waiting for the 7.18" playing the Xylophone. Show highlights included "Hunting for Witches", "I Still Remember", "Banquet", and a blazing version of "Like Eating Glass" that actually gave me chills. Kele walked down into the crowd and worked the audience very well. The tough L.A. crowd even screamed out the opening lines of "Helicopter" during the encore. Unfortunately, they did not play two of my favorite songs from the new album "Sunday" and "Atonement" but it was a superb show. Just give this album a few more spins to let it sink in and you will not be disappointed.