|
|
|
|
Holy Fuck and Bloc Party at Metropolis in Montreal - Show Review and Photos
Gig review and photos by Music Vice contributor Elizabeth Keith - April 1, 2009
|
Gig/Concert: |
Bloc Party with Holy Fuck opening |
||
|
Venue: |
Metropolis, Montréal, QC (map) |
||
|
Date: |
March 18, 2009 |
||
| Headliners: |
Bloc Party |
||
In one word: |
Spring! |
||
Your say: |
|
|
|
Huzzah for a good show to knock me out of the stupor left over from being sick for a week. My addled immune system has fucking had it with winter, the weather, and the overall shittyness that is the tail end of the season that really, can only get better at this point. So, with that, I give you... Holy Fuck!
Yes, the name may straddle that fine line between clever and stupid, but damned if this Toronto band doesn't at least put some effort into the hepped-up-on-goofballs Nintendo-esque anthems that they throw down tonight. Dragged shuffling and bobbing from my files of “heard-of-them-but-never-actually-heard-them,” their set - lit almost entirely by strobe lights, for those prone to tweaking out on such things – tries its best to get the bastards moving, with some folks totally into the music, others shuffling along because it's impossible not to.
"It feels like I’m intruding on someone’s garage band practice, but their sound makes up for it."
HF's sound has an awesome video-game-bedlam vibe to it; the mix of porn beats and a racetrack horn (?) thrown in are a nice touch of the random in their inspired set. I gotta say I appreciate that components of their music (drums, bass) are played live rather than the band just be four guys hunkered over MPCs and keyboards, twiddling little dials all through the show - although they still play in a circle like a Stonehenge of musicians, paying no mind to the audience. If one thing can be said, at least little-to-no interaction with the audience may be the antithesis of cheesy rockstar showboating, removing visual gimmicks and distractions that take away from the music and leaving the audience to enjoy the show for the music’s sake. It feels like I’m intruding on someone’s garage band practice, but their sound makes up for it.
On the exact opposite end of the audience-interaction spectrum, you have Bloc Party’s Kele Okereke, teasing and shyly flirting with the audience the whole night. If he’s ever been described as shy, there’s no sign of it at the Metropolis, which is packed. Whether wrestling a sound tech to the ground like a hyperactive puppy or mocking people in the crowd for having beer brought to them – “Is that a Canadian thing to do?” Fuck yeah! – the band’s good mood is infectious in the early spring night.
At one point a beach ball makes a short-lived appearance before being eaten by security, only to later reappear hurtling towards Okereke’s head. This isn’t the kind of crowd that looks like they’re trying to start shit – this isn’t a cancelled GNR show, for fuck’s sake – so I doubt it was intentional, but I still cringe, remembering all of the rockstar hysterics I’ve witnessed over less. The incident gets laughed off with a sly admonition, and the show goes on.
"I came to the show not really needing any convincing to like Bloc Party, and looking to see if Holy Fuck lived up to their hype, and was well rewarded on both counts."
Bloc Party’s music is a bit more complex than what you could dismiss as simple upbeat indie rock, and for me the show tonight has succeeded in delivering an abrupt mood reversal where copious self-medication had failed. As the band comes back out for two encores – three songs off of Silent Alarm, plus Ares from their latest, Intimacy – there’s no lack of love on display for the Montreal crowd. I came to the show not really needing any convincing to like Bloc Party, and looking to see if Holy Fuck lived up to their hype, and was well rewarded on both counts. So, Fuck You, Winter.
© Elizabeth Keith
Photos of Holy Fuck and Bloc Party at Metropolis, Montreal
(click thumbnails to view full-size images)
Holy Fuck - www.myspace.com/holyfuck
Bloc Party - www.myspace.com/blocparty
