Theme Park Review

I saw this band when they were supporting Bloc Party.

Theme Park with their catchy indie pop tracks and upbeat and cheerful lyrics are a great go to if your seeking feel good music. Miles Haughton, the lead singer of Theme Park, has a voice that to me matches that of Razorlight front man Johnny Borrell - in no way is this a bad thing. Joining Miles on stage are Loius Bhose, Oscar Manthorpe and his brother Marcus Haughton.

Despite the venue being jam packed Theme Park showed no nerves when appearing on stage. Having supported Bombay Bicycle Club on their tour, Theme Park did a great job of warming the crowd up. Despite being a relatively new band, there was a great number of people from the crowd singing along to Theme Parks singles.

I really enjoyed this band and their sound. Looking at them, Theme Park's style reminded me a lot of Bombay Bicycle Club, while their sound mirrored that of Vampire Weekend.

This band is sure to do well, and has proven a huge hit so far supporting Bloc Party on their UK tour. I would definitely check them out if I were you - your in for a treat.

Tour dates: 
26th July. Kendal Calling - Lowther Deer Park
23rd August. Leeds Festival
23rd August. Leeds Festival

For information regarding tour dates and tickets, check out: http://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/Theme-Park-tickets/artist/1799929

Foals

This English indie rock band are great.

Originally from Oxford, Foals have been a favourite of mine since I first heard their single "Cassius" on a night out all those years ago.

Over five years later Foals are continuing to release great indie music. I would add however their music has changed (and matured) a lot from their original material back in 2005. So far Foals have released several EPs and three albums; Antidotes, Total Life Forever, and the most recent - Holy Fire, which includes the singles "Inhaler" and "My Number." They have gone from strength to strength over the years, building up a strong fan base of teenagers and twenty somethings. In terms of seeing them live, expect packed crowds and mosh pits.

If you like bands; The Maccabees, Bloc Party and Everything everything, than you are really going to like this five piece.

Tour dates: 
3rd May. Terminal 5 - NYC
6th May. Upstate Concert Hall - NYC
13th June. Jilian's of Albany - NY
26th June. Glastonbury Festival - Pilton, UK
11th July. T In The Park - Glenrothes, UK
18th July. Latitude Festival - Beccles, UK
23rd-25th August. Leeds Festival/ Reading Festival - UK

For information regarding tour dates (Australia, Europe and N.America) and tickets check out: http://www.songkick.com/artists/525043-foals/calendar?page=1

Bloc Party Review

When I saw Bloc Party last month, it was confirmed why they are one of my all time favorite bands.

To put it bluntly, they were: AMAZING!!

I was fortunate enough to get tickets to their sell out show at the O2 Academy in Birmingham. The evenings set list was: Octopus, 3x3, Hunting for Witches, Positive Tension, Kettling, Waiting for the 7.18, Song for Clay, Banquet, Coliseum, The Prayer, V.A.L.I.S, We Are Not Good People, Real Talk, One More Chance, Flux, Helicopter. Encore: Ares, This Modern Love.

One thing that I appreciated was the diversity of the crowd. There were the older fans, the twenty/thirty years old who remember the bands original music from the albums "Silent Alarm" and "A Weekend in the City," and finally the younger folks who were into the mosh pit and sounds of their latest album "Four."Just a note; due to the intensity of the crowd (and the mosh pit) it was virtually impossible to take any snaps of the band so I am afraid there are no cool shots of the band in action..sorry!

Kele as ever was great on stage.  A hugely charismatic guy, with distinct deep vocals, Kele effortlessly worked the whole crowd. The atmosphere was electric, with every soul in the venue squashed together with the hope to get closer to this epic foursome. It came as little surprise to me that the loudest response/applause from the crowd came when Bloc Party played their older tracks; The Prayer, Banquet, This Modern Love and One More Chance. For me the highlight was when they performed Banquet. I may be slightly bias due to it being one of my favorite songs but the packed out venue crowd seemed to be in a frenzy - everyone singing and dancing and quite frankly not caring who the hell was watching. It was brilliant.

I can honestly say if I had the chance to buy tickets to see Bloc Party again I would do so in a heartbeat. Although a long time coming, I can finally say  I have seen this awesome band live - and boy were they good!! 

Tour Dates:
4th Dec. Apollo - Manchester, UK
11th January. Wellmont Theatre - NJ

For more information regarding tickets and tour dates (N.America and European tour) check out: http://blocparty.com/#live

Bloc Party

My absolute all time favorite band.

I can't express in words how much I love this band, and how ecstatic I was to hear they are back together again.

Bloc Party are a British indie rock band that formed together in 1999. Between 1999 and 2009, Bloc Party were very successful, releasing three popular albums "Silent Alarm," "A weekend in the City," and "Intimacy." Although they had a string of hits, and won 'Indie Album of the Year' at the 2006 PLUG Awards for their album "Silent Alarm," the band announced they would be going on a hiatus to focus on side projects.

It was not until September of this year that Bloc Party announced they would be reuniting and releasing an album in fall 2013. In addition to the album, Bloc Party have announced a string of tour dates in the UK and N. America (see below) that I would urge everyone to check out.

Although I have only been fortunate enough to see Bloc Party live once, I was able to see Kele Okereke (lead singer of Bloc Party) live when he performed solo at Glastonbury music festival.

I had a great time seeing both the band and Kele live. With a string of great hits such as "Hunting For Witches," "The Prayer," and "Two More Years" and Kele's awesome charisma, the crowd and I were kept thoroughly entertained. Although they have been on hiatus recently, this should have in no way impacted their ability to put on a great show. Go and see them - it will be worth it!

Tour Dates
19th June. Garage - Glasgow, UK
20th June. The Ritz - Manchester, UK
21st June. Koko - London, UK
8th August. Terminal 5 - NYC (support band: The Drums)
9th August. Terminal 5 - NYC (support band: The Drums)
12th October. O2 Academy - Newcastle, UK
13th October. 02 Academy - Leeds, UK
14th October. Academy - Glasgow, UK
15th October. Academy - Birmingham, UK
17th October. Guildhall - Southampton, UK
18th October. O2 Academy - Bristol, UK
19th October. Warehouse Project - Manchester, UK
20th October. Corn Exchange - Cambridge, UK

For more information regarding tickets and tour dates check out: http://blocparty.com/post/20969842612/warm-up-shows or http://www.ticketmaster.com/Bloc-Party-tickets/artist/953414?tm_link=edp_Artist_Name

Kele Okereke Music Gig

My number 1 band to listen to is Bloc Party, an indie rock band from London, UK. I started listening to this band in 2003 when I came across the song "Banquet" which is my favorite of all Bloc Party's songs. I have seen this band live and thought they were incredible. Watching them live was awesome as they performed their songs with so much energy that they had the whole crowd buzzed and the atmosphere was electrifying. The main performer of the band, Kele was definitely the natural performer and so when it was announced that the band were going on hiatus and he was going solo I was excited to see what he would do.

I have not been left disappointed. Kele Okereke released his first solo album "The Boxer" which includes the songs "Tenderoni" and "Everything You Want." Whilst I was at Glastonbury Music Festival over the summer Kele performed a great set. He sang both his own stuff and material from when he was in Bloc Party such as "Flux." This is definitely a gig not to miss out on.

Tour dates:
19th March. The Plug- Sheffield, UK
19th - 21st Aug. V Festival - Staffordshire, UK