Crashing the Bloc Party

March 31, 2007 by alex

TOAD: March 30th, 2007: On Friday, Karen and I went up the to the United Palace Theater in Harlem to go catch our first Bloc Party show. I don’t really play the “who’s your favorite band?” game anymore but if I did, Bloc Party would be that band right now as they’ve managed to capture my attention like no band since Radiohead, the last band to carry the title. (for those taking notes, past winners include The Beastie Boys, Nine Inch Nails and Jane’s Addiction)

First off, rock shows are a new thing for this venue and to be honest, after seeing photos on the website, I wasn’t sure how it would play out. From the moment you walk into the venue, you’re blown away with how grand it is. The level of detail on the walls and ceilings is really breathtaking.

Karen found it so breathtaking she decided to envelop herself in all its ornate glory.

As far as the show went, I thought it was awesome. They played almost an even mix off both albums, which is rare to me, and managed to hit all the songs I really wanted to hear (Prayer, Banquet, Hunting for Witches, Blue Light amongst others. This list is long when you’ve achieved “favorite band” status). The only thing I would have changed is that I would have swapped out one of the slower encores for one of the banging songs they played earlier on, but I’m splitting hairs with that.

For any of you dubious about this new venue, don’t be. It’s a great place for a show and an easy ride up on the A express train. We were even treated to a guy rocking out to his discman on the ride back, which prompted a lady to get her freak on with him.

For extra credit, I wanted to throw in this picture of a store my mother used to take me to when I was little (thanks mom!). I used to collect Japanese toys - robots, figurines, etc… and this was the place I’d go to get them. Great to see its still there.