Bloc Party Cause Moshing

Kool Haus

Toronto, ON

on Mar 13 2009

Aisha Khan (CHARTattack)

03/20/2009 1:04pm

While every bar in Toronto, dive and otherwise, was subject to indie showcases featuring bands and their wandering onlookers for Canadian Music Week, the Kool Haus was graced only by openers We Are Wolves and CMW headliners Bloc Party.

The lineup of wristbanded fans stretched far around the venue's perimetre down the lonely Queen's Quay, and all of them hoped to see a band that hasn't been in town since last year's Virgin Festival. Bloc Party were in Toronto to promote their latest release, Intimacy, and this show would kick off their North American tour.

Montreal trio We Are Wolves were perfectly cast for this gig, and their set far surpassed their performance at El Mocambo the previous night. Their spiky, Hives-y post-punk comfortably filled the Kool Haus, and stirred up an audience that seemed largely unfamiliar with them. The response was interested but hesitant, as would be expected from Lacoste-wearing hipsters with well-coiffed fringes.

It turns out they were just rationing their zeal for the main event. As Bloc Party took the stage, the crowd exploded into a frenzied mosh rivalling that of The Mars Volta's fans in the same venue (this reviewer can say from experience). The crowd got so nutty that singer Kele Okereke felt the need to remark on it several times.

"Wow, we've never had one of those circle mosh pits before!" and then, "What's with all the crowd surfing?" and finally, "OK, I really hope you're taking care of each other out there!"

The band were in top form, and relentlessly charged through their set. Bloc Party are not a band to see live for surprises. Every song stays loyal to the album version, but is played with an energy that justifies circle mosh pits. This was especially evident with chant-inducing single "Mercury."

The only complaint was Okereke's sub-par vocals. Besides being drowned out by the rest of the band, he managed to sound off-key and not hit any scheduled falsettos.

He made up for it, though, by being incredibly chatty. Aside from the requisite "We're so honored to play CMW," he went on to be a little snarky.

"The last time we were in Toronto was for Virgin Fest, when someone tried to kill Noel Gallagher?"

He was referring, of course, to the on-stage assault on Noel Gallagher, and his own well-publicized comments blasting Oasis as the most overrated "meat and potatoes rock" band ever.

"But I shouldn't start talking about people," he said, smirking. "That isn't cool."

Here is Bloc Party's setlist:

"One Month Off"
"Trojan Horse"
"Hunting For Witches"
"Positive Tension"
"Signs"
"Waiting For The 7.18"
"Song For Clay (Disappear Here)"
"Banquet"
"Ion Square"
"Uniform"
"Mercury"
"This Modern Love"
"The Prayer"
"Halo"
"Price Of Gasoline"
"Flux"
"Helicopter"
"Ares"
"Like Eating Glass"