Bloc Party played Forest Hills Stadium

In celebration of 20 years since the release of their debut album Silent Alarm, Bloc Party played Forest Hills Stadium in Queens.

Billed as "20 Years of Bloc Party performing Silent Alarm and the Greatest Hits" things were immediately off to an interesting start when the band took to the stage and sunk in to "So Here We Are," a track from said album, but not the opening track which many in attendance were likely expecting. While the song is a great one and from the album that inspired the tour, it was a bit of a shock to realize the band wasn't going to be playing the album in full from start to finish, but rather the album in addition to other songs from their career thrown into the set at random. "She's Hearing Voices" was another great song that came a bit too soon and hit with more shock so when the band followed it with "Hunting for Witches" from the better than you remember sophomore album A Weekend in the City things started to feel a little less special and more like a typical Bloc Party concert, not a complaint really, but also not how the show was really pitched either. When they did get to "Blue Light," the crowd finally eased up and welcomed the song with a full sing along moment and the band breathed a sigh of relief as they finally won over the mostly filled stadium. "Price of Gasoline" got the band to push themselves and take the show to its prime where it would remain for the rest of the night, the quartet finally sounding confident and locked in to their grooves. When the band seamlessly switched into the dueling guitar riffs of "Banquet," the audience fully broke and let loose, resurrecting the dance-rock vibes of the mid-aughts as the duo of Kele Okereke and Russell Lissack shredded away and everyone in attendance getting lost in the moment. The two original members of the band who recorded the album, it was exciting to watch them bring these songs back to life and give them the proper energy that they deserved. As the temperature dipped and things cooled down, the Cure-esque number "I Still Remember" was a chill number that still brought the vibes and heightened the mood of the crowd with its pristine grace and enchanting melody. When they finally hit us with "Like Eating Glass" and that opening guitar line rang out over the stadium it was a bit frustrating to think of how epic this would've been as a way to kick off the night instead of using it to bring things to an end, but the power and intensity of the track still brought immense energy and had people raging to let go of all of the energy that had slowly been building all night long. It served as an epic release and was a divine way to remember the joy of this album and how singular their mix of dance and post-punk felt upon its release. While many rock bands have fused dance elements into their work, Bloc Party's use of angular guitar riffs and pulverizing drums mashed together more intense reactions than other bands that elicit a bit of a safer response. For the encore, the band still snuck in some newer numbers but "The Pioneers" steered things back on course and when "Helicopter" kicked in things absolutely blew apart and the night transcended into pure euphoric bliss as everyone rocked on with unabashed joy. As a perfect comedown, the band strolled into "This Modern Love" with utmost cool that had people back in the palm of their hands for one final moment of nostalgic delight. Of course heading into a show with a certain expectation only to learn there was a different plan in place was an unexpected bump in the night, but when it came to delivering their signature tunes, Bloc Party turned things around and made sure the memories and feelings for the band remain in tact. It also made me go home and want to immediately listen to Silent Alarm in full.

Set list:

01 "So Here We Are"
02 "She's Hearing Voices"
03 "Hunting for Witches"
04 "Mercury"
05 "Blue Light"
06 "Price of Gasoline"
07 "Song for Clay (Disappear Here)"
08 "Banquet"
09 "Traps"
10 "Different Drugs"
11 "I Still Remember"
12 "Blue"
13 "Positive Tension"
14 "The Prayer"
15 "Like Eating Glass"

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16 "Signs"
17 "The Pioneers"
18 "Helicopter"
19 "This Modern Love"
20 "Flux"
21 "Ratchet"