Bloc Party Celebrates 20 Years of ‘Silent Alarm’ With Blonde Redhead, joan at Fox Theatre

Bloc Party pulled up to the Fox Theatre in Detroit on June 7, a year to the date of their last stop in town with Paramore in 2024. This time, the band came prepared with celebrating 20 years of their most popular album ‘Silent Alarm’ with special guests Blonde Redhead and joan.

 

 

JOAN

 

 

 

 

 

While we’d not heard of joan until this moment, this is a band we’ll be keeping our eye on. Listening to tracks like “tokyo,” “superglue,” and “stop and stare,” we easily could see them on the road with other alt darlings such as Royel Otis or lovelytheband, y’know, if we were the show bookers. Their simple energy but swift precision made for a great time, and it primed the mood for the evening of eclectic songs.

 

 

See their setlist here:

 

 

 

 

BLONDE REDHEAD

 

 

 

 

 

 

Up next was Blonde Redhead, whom we’d come across quite a bit on streaming services, but had not fully taken the plunge into their artistry. This, however, completely works out, because seeing them live actually enhanced the experience to the point of making it a must-listen later on. Kazu Makino’s way of dancing across the stage as if she’s the only one in the room, with her vocals transcending normalcy, coupled with Amedeo Pace and both of their multi-instrumental creation on one stage, is a sight to behold and capture, while trying to absorb its overall meaning. I found myself getting lost in the performance, but in a good way.

 

Some of the key tracks to check out on their setlist below include “Here Sometimes,” “Falling Man” and “Kiss Her Kiss Her.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BLOC PARTY

 

 

 

 

 

 

The evening came to a climax as Bloc Party took the stage. The band’s tight-yet-expressive playing style helped us dip our toes right back into 2005 and subsequent years as frontman Kele Okereke led us through their bodies of work. They began the set with “So Here We Are,” a slower start, before moving into “She’s Hearing Voices” — both from ‘Silent Alarm.’ The energy went into the most octane that the band can produce with “Hunting For Witches,” which truthfully could have given the band any moment to speak on the state of current affairs, but instead, they continued on with minimal in-between-song interruptions.

 

Later in the set, they went back to back with “Song For Clay (Dissapear Here)” and “Banquet,” which got the crowd’s arms up in the air in the Fox’s debut night for its new standing experience toward the front of the stage, rather than being coralled into seating. Fans enjoyed the freedom and during these tracks were some of the moments we were able to see diehard Bloc Party fans truly get expressive for their favorite tracks. Other tracks from ‘Silent Alarm’ rounded out the set, as the band’s purpose for appearing was to celebrate 20 years of the album, but having a mix of their early works from ‘A Weekend in the City’ was also a wonderful addition.

 

If this tour is coming through your area, or you happened just to miss it, be sure to keep tabs on Bloc Party for their next round, as we highly recommend seeing these audio artists live.

 

 

SEE THE SETLIST HERE: