Results tagged “blocparty”

At the TLA on Tuesday night, the assembled crowd witnessed a band at the peak of their powers. Bloc Party, the British foursome with two solid albums to their credit (2005’s superior Silent Alarm and 2007’s solid A Weekend in the City) gave a transcendent, 16-song performance that earned the crowd’s raucous reaction and made their two encores totally acceptable (a bit ostentatious for a mid-weekend if you ask me, but what the heck?). They also gave their fans an extra added bonus by choosing as their openers their fellow UK natives, Does It Offend You, Yeah?, four up-and-coming lads who offered a set that was never less than interesting, and often threatened to be revelatory.

Fresh off a triumphant performance at last weekend’s Lollapalooza festival in Chicago, in which lead singer Kele Okereke sported a fetching Barack Obama T-shirt, English dance-rock foursome Bloc Party rolls into town tonight to play a sold-out show at the TLA, along with opening act Does It Offend You, Yeah? and its annoying, grammar-check-baffling moniker. This show should be anticipated for several reasons. First, there is the opportunity to see if Bloc Party’s sailor’s-knot-tight rhythms can possibly hold up under live scrutiny. Second, there is the opportunity to find out if seemingly elastic drummer Matt Tong really does have eight arms, as his speedy beat-keeping suggests. Third, there is the opportunity to find out if the inclusion of the song “Helicopter,” off of the group’s 2005 debut LP Silent Alarm, on Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock causes the crowd to be as annoyingly young as this Phillyist is expecting. And finally, there is the opportunity to find out if the warm-up band with the pretentious comma and question mark in its name is as good as their headliners would suggest. Not only are the Reading, Berkshire, United Kingdom natives opening for Bloc Party here, but they will be opening for Nine Inch Nails when they make their end-of-the-month trek through Philly. Hey, who knows, maybe they are strong enough to make you clap your hands and say yeah? Early prediction: a band with two strong albums and a third in the making, along with one that has been compared to Justice and Digitalism? Should be aah-ite.

You know those songs that take over your headphones for weeks at a time? Well, the youngest alternative-rocker on the Phillyist staff decided to put all those infectious tunes into a list of 10 - and then 10 more, just because. And for your listening pleasure, yours truly linked to the album versions of those songs (thanks YouTube, for your comprehensiveness) - just click on the song names! I think you'll enjoy this medley of happy, somber, honest, and beautiful songs. And if you don't find three songs that you like, well, you can tell me that I don't know anything about music.

There are few things in life I truly appreciate. Among those are dudes who are secure enough to admit that Justin Timberlake is totally deck and multi-instrumentalists. Last night, at North Star Bar, I was entertained by the latter.

Happy first weekend of September - and happy Labor Day weekend, too, for our American cities! Let's take a look at what's been happening around the Ist-a-verse.

Tuesday night, we carted ourselves out to the hot, misty expanse of the Tower Theater to see Bloc Party with the Maccabees and the Noisettes. British band the Maccabees started things off right with a rousing set which, they confessed, was their first performance as a band in America, and their first performance in front of a seated audience. They didn't sound like they were doing anything for the first time, though; they played strong, loud, post-rock tracks with emotional vocals and fantastic beats. We were racking our brains trying to come up with a comparison to describe what they sounded like, and then realized they sounded vaguely like Bloc Party, which made perfect sense. Anyway, we were very impressed.

We've talked about this show, and the contests associated with it, quite a lot, but we thought we'd give it all one more mention, now that the show is practically here. We are referring, of course, to the show tomorrow night at the Tower Theater, wherein the Noisettes (MySpace) and The Maccabees (MySpace) will open for Bloc Party (MySpace). It's an indie rock triple feature! How can you resist, we ask you? We couldn't, which is why we'll be going ourselves.

Bloc Party and Noisettes

Did you forget about that cool Noisettes giveaway that we're a part of? Well, we're here to remind you! Go here and enter for your chance to win one of three sweet Noisettes prize packs, which include a copy of their literally-just-released-yesterday, first full length CD, What's the Time Mr. Wolf?, as well as a signed 7". Also, remember that their sold out show with TV on the Radio is tomorrow night at the Troc, and if you go, you can pick up a scratch card and get a code off it that you can enter here to win one of three awesome prizes: two tickets to see The Noisettes play with Bloc Party, a Noisettes T-shirt, or a free download of The Noisettes' awesome new single, "Scratch Your Name." There are lots of ways to win, and lots of awesome music to listen to, but it's all over on June 30th, so get to work! If you'd like to whistle while you work, check out these Noisettes music videos:

Phillyist is pleased as punch to announce our participation in a very cool contest/giveaway. You can check out the web page here, but we'll give you the background: super fun indie trio The Noisettes are on tour, opening for TV on the Radio, and they're coming to the Troc in our own hometown on April 20th (sorry, the show is already sold out!). And after they run across the nation opening for TV on the Radio, the Noisettes are going to do it all over again, this time opening for another incredible indie rock band, Bloc Party (that time they'll hit the area on June 5th, at the Tower Theatre). Meanwhile, the Noisettes are releasing a new record on April 17th called What's the Time Mr. Wolf? (which is a great name for a record, btw), and Bloc Party recently put out their own disc, A Weekend in the City (we've been listening to it, and it's pretty cool; the New New Wave goodness you've come to expect from the Party boys). The punchline: you could win both CDs, plus a special signed 7", if you enter the giveaway.

Every Tuesday and Thursday, we'll be posting events that are going on sale during the current week. This Tuesday post only collects the early announcements, so definitely check back on Thursday for the latest ticket news.

While everyone else was writing about this yesterday, I was too busy working [read: getting a tattoo of Barbaro on my shoulder while listening to Bad Brains].

by Vin Varstin