The power of the Internet can be demonstrated by the surplus of review sites accessible via a simple search. Looking up critiques of New York City’s Terminal 5 will make anyone with a ticket to the venue leery. As I held my torn stub for UK electro-indie-funk group Bloc Party’s all ages show ,I was apprehensive about whether such experimental music could be executed in what is supposedly one of the worst acoustic spaces in Manhattan.
Longwave, the neighborhood kids from Brooklyn, opened the show and tested the system for my ears. It took a matter of minutes to conclude that this quartet is more of a one-man-show, as front man Steve Schiltz made sure the spotlight was fixed on him and his dominating vocals and guitar licks. Certainly talented, Schiltz would be better served by allowing his band to pull more weight or by becoming a solo artist. Regardless, Longwave showed they belong in the next tier of musicians with aggressive chord progressions and cut-stop endings that took the energy of the room to a high.
As Bloc Party took the stage, the youth of the all-age audience showed up in force at the front of the floor to partake in some debauchery, which was later amplified when encouraged by the band. Lead singer Kele Okereke reached the crowd from front row to balcony, age 14 to 40, and held them in his palm from the opening song to the closing encore. Like an ice cube in the hand of Satan, the loyal followers melted to the sound of an English accent pouring from Okereke’s lips. His flirtatious, confident, overly charming discourse with fans started as endearing and ended nauseating.
When he wasn’t fawning over the audience, Kele was passionately blasting his smooth vocals into the microphone, equipped with alteration tabs and a looping foot pedal. His voice boomed over the chillingly impressive riffs of the lead guitarist, Kele’s childhood friend Russell Lissack. Lissack’s suave, careless demeanor demonstrated his focus on his craft as his fingers danced across strings on tracks including “The Prayer” and “Mercury.”
The set list featured a perfect array of upbeat, infectious rock tracks and trance-like numbers that kept the tempo of the evening varied. Following each sudden slow down with a song such as “Signs,” Okereke would explode and up the energy on a dime. In one such moment, a transition to “Eating Glass” took the room from complacency to chaos. It was impressive to see a group with such a risky and creative portfolio execute a set list representative of the entire spectrum of their talent, notably balancing the list across all three of their releases, including their latest, Intimacy.
Shirtless drummer Matt Tong punished his drum kit with incredible fills on “Positive Tension” and Gordon Moakes was musically everywhere—setting down his standard bass to throw down on keyboards, the xylophone and a drum machine. Okereke was physically everywhere, choosing to climb into the balcony towards the concert’s climax and nearly decapitate several audience members with his mic cord in the process. When all together on stage, the quartet dazzled, and chose to round out the night with the crowd pleasing “Modern Love.”
Kele’s over-the-top foolishness combined with his stale between-song banter were the only real downsides to the performance. But coupled with the horrendous acoustics of Terminal 5, it resulted in my having mixed feelings overall. Still, in the end, I came to see Bloc Party attempt to translate their effectiveness in the studio into a live stage performance and they did so in an admirably entertaining fashion. With three successful albums released, this progressive group continues to blur the lines of genre and reinvent the boundaries of instrumentation. They are undoubtedly a band worthy of the price of admission. However, next time, I will choose a 21+ show and hope it takes place in a far superior venue.
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Two songs go in, one comes out. Pick a side.
Columbus Short Would be an excellent match for Sam Cooke (especially if this movie was to include Sam’s Soul Stirrer years). Just as long as in the movie Sam does the singing of course lol. But as far as physical resemblance my boy Columbus Short all the way. View this clip of Cadillac Records were he played lil walter… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmxTbcnW6bY
by Akin Z on Wed Feb 1, 2012 at 12.37 am from the entry: Sam Cooke to get a movie
Oops meant Aloe Blacc not Black. Sorry about the typo. If you doubt that he should play Sam check him out here on you tube singing Loving you is Killing me. The likeness is uncanny - but the voice is quite different.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yJuyaVcL2I&feature=artist
by Tamara L on Tue Jan 31, 2012 at 08.30 am from the entry: Sam Cooke to get a movie
I have read the Peter Guralnick book and it is thoroughly researched down to the minutest detail. Amazing.
I would go for Aloe Black because he looks so much like Sam, but for heaven’s sake why are we talking about the quality of the actor’s singing? Sam’s singing has got to be dubbed in. We want the real thing not an impersonator. There is only one Sam Cooke. The actor can act, let Sam do the songs.
by Tamara L on Tue Jan 31, 2012 at 08.24 am from the entry: Sam Cooke to get a movie
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by Dirty Ice on Tue Jan 24, 2012 at 11.04 pm from the entry: Yasiin Bey - Fete (Providence, RI; Dec.10, 2011)
John Boutte should play Sam Cooke. Except the point someone made about him dying young, this is true. Boutte may be a bit too old.
by Brendan on Tue Jan 17, 2012 at 06.17 pm from the entry: Sam Cooke to get a movie
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by asdsad on Tue Jan 17, 2012 at 04.29 am from the entry: Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic Weigh In On Kurt Avatar
Blacks say the word 50+ times a day. Fuck the double standard, stop trying to create controversy.
by Steve C on Fri Jan 13, 2012 at 02.00 pm from the entry: John Mayer is about to get swallowed up in public outrage
