[live review] Dancing in September with Bloc Party @ the House of Blues

After the tremulous disappointment that was the WHY? show that I saw last Wednesday, I didn't expect too much from BLOC PARTY this past Friday at the House of Blues. I mean, they had one really good record, and seem to have been stuck in the much and mire of "second album" syndrome for their last three releases. I've never been one of the band's biggest fans, despite flirting with their music in high school while all my friends were creaming their pants over the Arctic Monkeys. So, it was with this darkly-colored lens that I walked into their show, and I sort of stood there like a petulant child waiting to be impressed. However, I was completely proven wrong/blown away, and that it was by far one of the most fun shows I've been lucky enough to go to this year.

First of all, the way they used the stage was fantastic. Normally I think the laser-light show accompaniment at certain shows is distracting rather than awe-inspiring, and I typically find myself going to a lot more no-frills shows than anything else. Their lighting felt completely different, with all sorts of focused colored lights and timed strobes blasting off during each one of their songs. It gave their performance the feeling of a giant fucking party instead of some kind of planetarium show that you'd drop acid to and then spend three hours going "whoa dude" afterwards at a McDonald's.

Aside from the lighting, it was pretty minimalist. The circular symbol from their new record, Four, hung above them, which led me to believe that 95% of their set would be the new record exclusively. Wrong again. After beginning with a few new songs ("Octopus," "3X3"), they began to delve into the back catalogue in a serious way, jumping through single after single. Of course, the best reaction came whenever they played anything from Silent Alarm, with "Banquet" and "This Modern Love" being key components of the main set. The audience fucking loved it, and I've got to say that any Boston dude who throws the horns up in the face of a strobe light at a show like this is automatically my new best friend. The entire HoB floor was a huge fucking dance party, with the fun extending past the sound and light booths and almost to the entrance doors.

Best of all, it seemed that the band actually had a good time at the show. Sure, there's been talk of some behind the scenes problems in recent years, but that's symptomatic of being in a band for roughly 10 years. Vocalist Kele Okereke was cracking jokes left and right, made the occasional reference to tea, and never let up with the fun. The rest of the band followed suit, and generally just rocked the fuck out. I mean, I'm going to feel grateful to any band that starts their show early enough to be able to play two encores* after a set that lasted a solid hour. They made their fans feel special, and that it was the band's privilege to be playing for them that night.

So who really gives a shit if the records they've released since 2006 weren't as good as Silent Alarm? They sound really great when played up close with the famous ones in concert, and they have the same free-wheeling spirit that made that record so amazing. Also, as long as the band continues to act like this when they tour, I'll always have a large amount of respect for Okereke and company. It's nice to have the cynicism cut out of you like a case of stage 4 lung cancer every once in a while, and it seems that Bloc Party may be some of the best surgeons in British music today. God save the Queen.

Nick Johnston is the Boston Phoenix music intern. Follow him @onlysaysficus.