With only three albums in tow but already additional party remix versions by music colleagues and overly busy worldwide tours, it is no surprise Bloc Party have become a party icon. Hype does not build steadily for no apparent reason. In an era where internet leaks, instant review blogging and twitter-esque word of mouth abound, it is hard to turn a blind eye to ‘express’ popularity without feeling a tinkle of curiosity.

Bloc Party started off their new tour with two sold out gigs in Olympia, London, to promote their latest album ‘Intimacy’. And it is precisely intimacy what their performance was about. Never mind the mammoth size of the venue, mega screens hanging from the sides and the kilometric distance between band and crowd, Bloc Party provided just that: plenty of party and dance beats that felt as close and cheerful as playing it all through one’s home stereo full volume.

Kele Okerele and company came out with a grin and kept it on for the entire night, fresh and tight, to the bliss of the masses. Mixing old tunes and new, with hints of hip hop, electronica, pop and indie post-rock blends, there was hardly no way to pick any difference between one album and another, as if rather than having ‘developed’ a new sound or becoming more ‘sophisticated’, they created three rollercoaster works as continued episodes in a series. It is, however, singles such as popular ‘Banquet’, addictive ‘The Prayer’, electro-pop seizure-like ‘Mercury’, ‘Flux’, anxious ‘Hunting for witches’, ‘So here we are’, firework ‘Ares’, cracking ‘Helicopter’ or the soft ‘Signs’ that got the loudest cheer and the craziest ecstatic reactions, bouncy air head butts galore, crowd swaying in a mare of limbs, and pink bras and shoes flying to the stage.

Not content with the size and extend of their fiesta, for the encore Kele decided to make Easter Sunday a little special and presented himself to the fans in a hairy white bunny costume, which understandably didn’t last on him for too long, both spectators and band covered in sweat after 1.30 hours of bunny jumping – a real resurrection celebration.

Words: Liane Escorza
Photos: Andrew Willsher