Bloc Party debut new material at intimate London show

NME

Bloc Party played an intimate show at The Garage in London last night (March 30), where they debuted some of their new material – watch below.

• READ MORE: Bloc Party on ‘Alpha Games’: “We’re not the same band now. The chemistry is different”

The show was announced earlier this month, with a press release stating that the London gig would provide “a special, intimate chance to hear the band’s new material” for the first time. The gig also marked the band’s first live show since 2019.

Bloc Party’s sixth studio album ‘Alpha Games’ is out on April 29. They opened their set at The Garage with the album’s first track ‘Day Drinker’, followed by another live debut: first single ‘Traps’.

Other singles from the new album, ‘Sex Magik’, ‘The Girls Are Fighting’ and ‘If We Get Caught’ were also played live for the first time during their set, as well as album tracks ‘Rough Justice’, ‘In Situ’, ‘By Any Means Necessary’ and ‘Of Things Yet to Come’.

Elsewhere, the band peppered in hits like ‘Hunting For Witches’, ‘Banquet’ and ‘The Prayer’, before closing with ‘Helicopter’. They also played their 2012 track ‘Kettling’, which hasn’t been heard live since 2013.

Great to see @BlocParty back tonight. They sounded awesome, and exuded joy and energy from the stage. pic.twitter.com/XwwY8G3ZWz

— Paul Townley (@prtownley) March 30, 2022

Kill me now @BlocParty pic.twitter.com/6qxineTEpC

— Alan Mulvey (@al70) March 30, 2022

@BlocParty good to have you back live! pic.twitter.com/wU7KGt3PM5

— Jordan Linklater (@jordan_link216) March 30, 2022

Last night’s 600-capacity gig was in preparation for their BBC Radio 6 Music Festival headline slot in Cardiff this weekend (April 2), plus their UK and European headline tour in May/June. You can see the full schedule below and buy tickets from here.

MAY
26 – O2 Academy 1, Birmingham
27 – Rock City, Nottingham
28 – Alexandra Palace, London
30 – O2 Academy, Bristol
31 – O2 Victoria Warehouse, Manchester

JUNE
02 – O2 City Hall, Newcastle
03 – The Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow
04 – O2 Academy, Leeds

In a recent interview with NME, Kele Okereke said of the new album: “What’s most important for me is that it still feels exciting and it still feels like we have something to say. With everything that we’ve done outside of the band, it’s really made me appreciate what the band is and what it stands for.

“[Lots of] great bands, as soon as they start becoming successful, start having their edges shaved off and it becomes a lot more palatable and whatnot; that always seemed kind of gross to me. So I feel quite lucky that we’ve been able to not have to do that.”

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