Mean Fiddler
25.01.07
‘Silent Alarm’ rang late in the winter of 2005 and has since been taken in by the millions of music fiends around the globe, people who love nothing more than a fresh melody drumming away harmoniously on their ears. This 4 piece from Essex, are too unique to describe, they have a wonderful way of playing normal musical instruments simultaneously and achieve a sound that is hard to go unnoticed!
Their music is raw, yet refined, it’s old, yet its never been heard before, it’s a serious masterpiece on every note and comes fully equipped with lyrical genius-ness. I can’t quite place their mentors as I’m not sure that they have any, but by comparison I would say Joy Division, The Cure, XTC & The Pixies are amongst their midst and shines through in their ballads of individualism.
Thursday night at the Mean Fiddler saw Bloc Party come on stage to play their phenomenal album ‘Silent Alarm’, alongside bits off their latest album, ‘A Weekend in the City’. This was no ordinary gig; this was a one off pre-release gig that gave Bloc Party fans the chance to see them live before their UK tour, which sold out in record time. As packed as the Mean Fiddler was, Bloc Party was still performing in front of a concentrated crowd, but it was a crowd filled with some of their biggest fans!
The first piece of music to hit the long awaited fans was the ever famous, ‘Like Eating Glass’. A great way to start their set as the energy of anticipation started glowing with electricity. Fans sang away to every lyric and Bloc Party was simply dropping bombs by the riff, in spectacular fashion. They churned out most of their beloved debut album, “Positive Tension”, “Banquet”, “She’s Hearing Voices”, “Blue Light” and “Helicopter“. Every song went down very well with the crowd, but it was “Modern Love” that I myself was waiting for. It fell on my ears like never before and I could tell that this track was a favourite for many of the screaming fans jumping around to the opening riff!
Amongst all the nostalgia filling a smoky Mean Fiddler, the band graced us with a few tracks off their new album. They delivered us with “Hunting for Witches”, “Song for Clay Disappear” and they’re latest single “The Prayer“, which is climbing its way higher and higher up the charts. It was well received and the last sequence of each track was muffled by applause and whistling of astonished fans.
Most of their new material came on after an obvious encore. To much of the delight of the fans, they reappeared with fresh tunes, as well as mixing in the remaining classics. They preserved one track and kept it locked up until they announced that they would now play their final track for the evening. “Luno” was echoing throughout the venue and crowd started chanting away as the opening riff came to life.
It was seriously amazing to witness and be a part of this show, a gig that I will definitely remember, not only for the unforgettable music, but the order in what it was staged, alongside with a bunch of Bloc Party fanatics who looked like they too were having the time of their lives.
Words and photos by 2P