Bloc Party's performance at the Pageant marked a high-energy event with all the ingredients of arena-sized rock, complete with the requisite smoke machines, dramatic backlighting, and strobe lights, all crammed into the 2,000-capacity venue.
While the venue remained at a thin density through the openers of Smoosh and Final Fantasy, with chairs at a minimum, the house eventually filled up to a healthy and eager crowd by the time Kele Okereke and crew took the stage.
Despite a minimum of banter and seeming irreverence for the institution of celebrity, Okereke dominated the stage with explosive vocals and physical bombast. The singer lead the band through an even mix of songs from their debut Silent Alarm and sophomore A Weekend In The City, though, as expected, it was the former that garnered the biggest applause.
Between Okereke's fierce delivery on vox and Matt Tong's unyielding tenacity hammering away on drums, Bloc Party projected an air seriousness throughout the night. Though the British four-piece powered through their set with more ernest efficiency than musical indulgence, the undeniable vitality of the performance won over any doubts of the group's showmanship.
For a full set of images from Bloc Party's performance, peep the Flickr.
Shooting Notes:
I used the Nikon 17-55mm f/2.8 for the majority of this show, while the Nikon 85mm f/1.4 and 50mm f/1.4 also saw a little bit of use. The reach of the 85mm was especially useful for shots of drummer Matt Tong at the back of the stage. Drummers are often problematic to photograph and this show was no exception, not only because of their position toward the back of the stage, but for all the kit between them and the lens.
Technically, the first three songs were as challenging as any performance I've shot. Between the mercurial contrast of dim ambient lighting to strobes exploding from the front of the stage and the back, the first three songs were persistently formidable to meter.
Luckily, the intensity of the inconstant light on the musicians remained consistent from burst to burst, so I was able to establish rough exposure after a series of errors. This fast education, combined with a little serendipitous dial twisting, produced a surprising set of final images that defied the disappointing first look.
