Friendly Fires started off the night with boundless energy and surprisingly catchy synth-laden dance rock. The highlights of their set were "Jump in the Pool" and whatever song they played before it (it gave me goosebumps). I asked them what it was on their myspace and they told me it was called "White Diamonds," but the studio recording doesn't sound nearly as good as the live song did. They put on a good show though.
Next up, the "it" band of the summer: Does, It Offend You, Yeah?. I don't really like them much so wasn't expecting much, but I was still let down. The songs were boring and none of the members had much stage presence. Even "We Are Rockstars" didn't sound very good.
Bloc Party proceeded to take the stage and thoroughly tear it up. When I saw singer Kele Okereke in his Barack Obama t-shirt I wondered if he would wear it in Chicago for Lollapalooza. He did. After performing the new single "Mercury" (sounded pretty cool considering I don't like it that much) Kele welcomed this one guy on stage. The dude proposed to a girl and she said yes. Everyone clapped. I knew that "This Modern Love" was coming next, and it did, sounding great. My favorite moment of the night was during the encore. The stand-in bass player went over to the synth-board and I expected them to play "Flux." He started playing a song that sounded like Flux, but was different. I thought, "Oh no. The new guy is messing up the song!" But instead they played a short cover of Prince's "I Would Die 4 U" that went into Flux. When "Flux" kicked in my jaw dropped. It was such a dynamic moment of a great show.
I can't wait for Bloc Party's new album and I hope it's better than "Mercury."
