Germans like to gather in front of the TV on sundays to watch “Tatort” together. Maybe having heard about this almost church-like custom, Bloc Party’s frontman Kele Oreke is asking the audience “Is there any fire left in you this Sunday?”
But there is no doubt that the crowd, which is sharply defined around their thirties, came this evening to celebrate one of the most acclaimed British indie-rock bands that the early 2000s brought to light.
The songs they put out were setting fire to the Astra
Playing a diverse setlist ranging from clubby electro beats, solid trip-hop grooves to the hard hitting indie-rock that they became famous for, Bloc party surely made the crowd jumping and singing along to most of their material throughout the show. Maybe at some point the band seemed to be a little bit too focused on what they are doing.
The flow of energy saw no end
The way the people were exploding brought back the feeling of being in a club around the time when Bloc Party were at the peak of their fame and the dancefloor became one jumping mass when one of their indie-hymns was being played. The end of the show was some kind of amusing oddity. After having finished their last song, Bloc Party quickly left the stage to make space for the roadies to turn off amps and unload the stage. The DJ’s music starts playing, the venue is already clearing up while a bunch of die-hard fans in front of the stage starts screaming for an encore.
So strongly that the band is indeed reappearing. The Astra is filling up quickly with people coming running back just to see Bloc Party playing another song. Whoever spread the rumour that Germans are getting lazy on Sunday evenings – after having visited this Sunday’s indie-church at the Astra there should not be any doubt left that it’s indeed just rumours.
indieberlin review by Christoph Grzeschik, photos by Caterina Gili
