Wednesday 28/01/09 Bloc Party @ The Apollo, Manchester

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There's no better way for a band to kick off their night than with a warm up act from their best friends. Wet Paint cut a fine and nonchalant act, entertaining the twinkling poppets who showed up early enough to listen. Bluesy and cute, the London-based four wandered through a few tunes as bashfully as if playing to their mates in sixth form.

Tommy Sparks proceeds to launch into an 80’s, synth-driven blaze of bewildering campness, initially rooting the kids to the spot like extras at the Velvet Onion. “The love in here is amazing”, Tommy gushes, “it’s almost like a wedding!”. Each song was fun and poppish, making Sparks endearing, and likeable...eventually.

Putting the swirling lights and disco fever firmly in the past, Bloc Party open with the political ‘Hunting for Witches’. Dark and resonant, they are irrespectively pelted with glowsticks, whoch litter the stage. The band keep it casual, choosing songs from 2007’s ‘A Weekend in the City’.

A kid shouts for ‘Chinese Burn’ and Kele Okereke is impressed. He calls the boy a ‘real fan’.  They play, allowing the undeniable talent of drummer Matt Tong to come through. Although Tong admits to once being ‘just a drunk in Kele’s pub’ and suffered a collapsed lung at an Atlanta gig in 2007, he hasn’t lost his aggressive force and was undoubtedly the man of the show.

Despite being chased around the stage by the manager untangling wires, Kele ran back and forth, sampling and creating a frenzy for 'Mercury'. The crowd crushed their waif-like bodies in a miniature stampede. The gritted impact continued for ‘The Prayer’, thrashed out by lead guitarist, Russell Lissack.

There were softer moments too in the form of 2004’s ‘Sunday’, which still paved way for a blistering drum duet. Predictably, the final encore came in the form of ‘Flux’, sending spasms through the kids who were standing, and the folk in the stalls. A tight finish to a typically understated, yet sonically-charged set.

CLICK HERE to see the show in stunning photos, or see selected highlights below: