Reading 2009: Bloc Party
In 2007, Bloc Party delivered a decent set at Reading, supporting the Arcade Fire and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but nothing that would set the world on fire. They returned to the festival a year later, rising up to support The Killers, and rejuvenated after releasing their third album, Intimacy, just a few days beforehand. It was a vast improvement but there still wasn’t the spark that gave audiences the feeling that they were watching future festival headliners.
Bloc Party arrive at the same festival yet again in 2009 wrapping up their touring commitments for Intimacy, with no plans for the foreseeable future. This show, as well as the one in Leeds, feels more like a party than a gig to celebrate the end of touring and the band are in a predictably joyous mood (especially since their ‘favourite’ band called it quits two days prior to this). The crowd down the front, compressed like sardines in a crushed tin box, are also in jubilant mood, gearing themselves for a crazy hour or so.
With a crowd that was pumped up to the max, it seemed initially puzzling that the band would open with the tender So Here We Are as opposed to something crunchy and aggressive like Halo or One Month Off. It goes down well though, as does the rest of the set which is pretty evenly balanced between all three albums but with enough hits to satisfy the casual fans. Essentially, this was a ‘hits’ setlist, but it was exactly what was needed – no filler and deep album cuts but songs that can ignite an audience. Hunting For Witches and Positive Tension make them rowdy and set closer Helicopter sets them off the leash.
But it was the enthusiasm of the band that saw them through their hour-long slot. I’ve said it before when I last saw Bloc Party one year ago at the Forum in Kentish Town but Kele Okereke is a man who just wants to have fun onstage. He is a bundle of energy, thanking everyone from the crowd to security, joking about headliners Radiohead with drummer Matt Tong, and climbing on the shoulders of security to greet fans at the barrier during the highly-charged Mercury.
It’s a little amusing that you can plot the rise and rise of Bloc Party’s live show through their three consecutive Reading appearances, but it’s pretty hard not to. After three years of trying, they leave the August Bank Holiday weekend looking like genuine contenders as future festival headliners.
The setlist was:
So Here We Are
Hunting For Witches
Positive Tension
Waiting For The 7.18
Song For Clay (Disappear Here)
Banquet
Two More Years
One More Chance
Mercury
This Modern Love
The Prayer
Flux
Helicopter
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Posted on September 3rd, 2009 by Max
Filed under: Reading Festival 2009
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