For Perth fans of UK dance-rock quartet Bloc Party, it has been a long and painfully gig-free three years since the release of their first offering Silent Alarm hit airwaves, CD players and iPods of the world. Two years after the innovative high energy of Silent Alarm, fans were treated to the sophomore LP, A Weekend in the City. A quieter, more thoughtful collection of songs that hinted towards an experimental electro-rock fusion like the love child of Thom Yorke and Robert Smith. Bloc Party’s third and most adventerous album titled Intimacy was unofficially dropped on an unsuspecting public just one month before their first ever Perth show, and by the way the crowd devoured the newer tunes played on Sunday night you would have to say this band has dropped the bomb.

With the luscious Belvoir Parklands as the back drop, (the venue having been moved from the amphitheatre to accommodate the 10,000 strong crowd) and a perfect Perth November evening as the setting, punters began filtering through the gates at 5:30pm, giving the bar staff a work out before Mission Control took the stage at about 6:30pm. The Melbourne based four piece did a respectable job of warming a crowd that was purely there for a Bloc Party fix, playing a half hour or so set of melodic indie-rock tunes that were respectfully but quietly soaked up by the audience.

By the time Van She began, the crowd was considerably larger and, with the help of some radio air play, were able to recognise a number of their sythy-pop-funk songs that the lads had obviously written while listening to Bloc Party records. A good stage presence with some very well suited music up their sleeves saw these guys well equipped to deliver some solid support to the British behemoth.

And then the time came. With a confident gait, and a swagger in their step Bloc Party hit the stage to the thunderous applause of a crowd that could wait no more. They kicked off proceedings with two tracks from the new record, stopping to say a quick hello to the crowd and to comment on the first day of Australian sunshine since the tour began. Any fears punters may have had about them playing tracks off Intimacy alone were quickly obliterated as they worked their way through a monster set made up of tracks from all albums. As they powered through crowd favourites such as Hunting for Witches, Like Eating Glass, Song for Clay and Positive Tension the energy of the audience grew and grew and it became clear that these four Essex boys had matured into seasoned performers capable of delivering an extraordinary show.

Vocalist Kele Okereke seamlessly switched from his signature quirky rhythmic vocals to his higher register, angelic melodies with flawless perfection, often utilising foot switch effects to record loops of his voice while singing another vocal over the now warped original vocal line. Bassist Gordon Moake and drummer Matt Tong laid down an unwavering, rock solid rhythm section, with Moakes occasionally switching to keyboards or percussion as needed to add a Bloc Party flair to a particular section. All the while lead guitarist Russell Lissack cut through the mix with his uniquely effected Brit-rock brand of guitar, nailing all the quirks and nuances of the recordings.

After a short break Bloc Party returned to the stage for round two. Okereke implored the crowd to go even crazier, saying “I know that Australians can go crazier”. The crowd happily obliged. Not even a technical glitch that saw Okereke’s vocals drop out for the first verse of Helicopter could deter the crowd as they enthusiastically belted out the lines as if they had written them themselves. After the second round Bloc Party left the stage to 10,000 screaming fans that were not quite satisfied. Seeing this, the boys were good enough to come back out for a few more songs beginning with Blue Light, rounding off the night with The Prayer.

A great time was had by all who attended, with Bloc Party blaring out of every open car window as they exited the venue.