When Bloc Party emerged in 2004, they were seen as indie drips, with Noel Gallagher comparing them unfavourably to contestants on University Challenge. Since then, the band have undergone a metamorphosis. Indie guitars have given way to distorted effects and eardrum-shattering volume. At times, it seems as though Bloc Party have been abducted and replaced by a quasi-metal band with a sticks-juggling drummer.
With guitarist Russell Lissack playing beautiful, plangent chords, vocalist Kele Okereke shouting as much as he sings, and bassist Gordon Moakes laying down reggae basslines over Matt Tong's hyperactive percussion, they sound so mismatched they could have met for the first time on the way in. But mostly it works. Sonic manifestos such as Ares ("We dance to the sound of sirens") have the crowd shouting along. This 90-minute set shows how they don't write songs so much as mashes of melody and groove, which are rendered here as an audiovisual barrage.
Though it can be mesmerising, the set is crying out for the more delicate strokes of their recent album Intimacy, or a gentler old song, such as So Here We Are. Still, as the amps are cranked up, the young crowd follow Okereke's requests to "go mental" - although at least one chap has his fingers in his ears.
