BLOC PARTY + Holy Fuck @ Metropolis

By Abby Elizabeth Schachter - The Reaktor - 03/18/2009

I walked to the Metropolis. This is no normal feat, because springtime in Montreal is really February (a.k.a) icicle hell in disguise. However, March 18th was an exception, the weather was amazing. I took this as a sign from the musical Gods and automatically assumed that Bloc Party would put on a good show. Good old Apollo was working his magic that night because both Bloc Party and opening band Holy Fuck were out of this world.

My mythology reference has everything to do with Bloc Party’s most recent album, titled Intimate. Influenced by myth and astronomy, the songs all have metaphysical names like- "Ares", "Zephyrus", "Signs" and "Mercury" (just to name a few.) The record has a really different sound - acid pop rock fused with indie and hip-hop. Each song sounds completely unique but nothing compares to seeing these guys live!

I love Metropolis; it is the only venue that ever starts a show on time. At exactly 8:00pm, Holy Fuck hit the stage. Now I had heard from a few friends that they were a really good group but in all honesty, I wasn’t expecting much. They really proved me wrong.  This electro synth, quartet has one electric guitarist, a drummer and two DJ’s who create beats on the spot.  The vocals are bare minimum but the sounds and rhythms these guys come up with are seriously ethereal.  Everything sounded awesome, it was really original and the entire audience went wild. Now I have to give credit the lighting guy that night (during both sets.) The colors and lighting made for a real live rock show, something you’d see at a major awards show on T.V… it was really impressive. The music was awesome but it wouldn’t have been the same without the added visual effects. Also, I still can not believe how great Holy Fuck was. They ended with the song "Lovely Allen" and the crowd didn’t want them to get off stage; in fact I started to think that maybe Bloc Party wouldn’t perform up to ‘fuck’ standard.

Luckily Bloc Party was amazing live…they sounded even better than their album. I had never seen this U.K based group perform before and they were real rock stars, in the most unaffected non-pretentious way. I even liked what they wore: t-shirts jeans and sneakers, nothing too flashy or hipster like. The cool laid back and ultra cute lead singer Kele Okereke had fun with the crowd as he and drummer Matt Tong had some witty repartee with the audience. They opened with the song "Zephyrus", a fast paced rock song that makes you want to upper torso dance. Then they played my favorite song on the record: "Signs". It was bloody amazing! The song opened with xylophone and chimes and the mystic sounds accompanied by the turquoise and violet lights made for a musical nirvana. People were mesmerized by the entire scene, even the usual angry and burly security guards looked as though they were enjoying themselves.  In fact there were songs on their record that I had not liked all that much, but I changed my mind after hearing them performed live.

Okereke was a madman; he leaped around the stage dancing and at some point literally attacked a stage hand who was fixing an amp. Rolling all over the poor middle aged guy while playing guitar, the audience went wild laughing and screaming. It was great; I love insanity… its proof of real talent. In all, it was probably the best concert I’ve been to in 2009 and I’ve seen some really great shows this year. Check out these guys live, it’s worth buying a ticket and I doubt anyone would ever leave feeling disappointed. 

Tune into The Reaktor with Abby every Friday from 2PM to 4PM