April 11, 2005

Friday

My friend Bob and I were down at the Bowery Ballroom on Friday to see Bloc Party. Chromeo and The Ponys opened. The biggest surprise for me that night was how much I liked Chromeo's performance. I honestly don't know that much about them beyond that song, "Needy Girl", that seems on the verge of being overplayed. The song itself is fun and totally catchy, but based on that, I would never have guessed that the band responsible for it could put on a totally kick ass show. An added bonus was the beautiful Gibson Flying V that Dave 1 played during the show when all I really expected to see was stage of synthesisers, two guys and a vocoder. (They also had the good sense to put a live drummer on stage, and that makes a BIG difference.

Next up was The Ponys, and they were pretty good. Not really a standout performance, but definitely a good solid, straight-ahead band. We went to the back of the room for a beer and took in the band from there.

When Bloc Party took the stage around 11, the room was filled with very excited fans. Their Wednesday show in Philadelphia had been cancelled due to the lead singer blowing out his voice, but he was fine Friday night. Most likely they were looking for a break in a long tour schedule to rest up for the weekend shows.

The band was great and put on an amazing show. The crowd was so wrapped up in the whole thing that some actually began to dance at the front of the stage. It's such a rush when the band is really cranking and the crowd is just loving it. It really ratchets up the experience a few notches.

I have been lucky enough to catch some really fantastic and impressive shows this year so far, and I have to put Bloc Party up there too. I had been reading so much about Bloc Party lately and people just gushing over their album and shows - sometimes that just sets you up for a big disappointment. But they totally delivered at the Bowery on Friday. I am a believer. Hell, tell you what, I'll even go buy the album.