| BLOCTOBER HITS CORNWALL |
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| Reviews - Music | |||
 Photograph by James Dart Bloc Party's UK 'Bloctober' tour came to Truro's Hall for Cornwall on 22 October. Stranger was eager to witness the group's self-confessed move from their unique mix of indie and rock music to a more electronic direction in their new album, Intimacy. Support act, The Grammatics, kicked off the night with their weird indie rock alternative music, which struggled to extract an ounce of enthusiasm from the crowd before lead singer Owen Brinley sang 'D.I.L.E.M.A', which at last created some excitement. It was then the turn of indie kings Bloc Party to take control of the stage and as the lights were dimmed, Truro's packed Hall for Cornwall waited in anticipation. With only minutes before the expected entrance of the group, the place was a wall of noise. During the ear deafening cries, four dark shadows emerged casually from backstage. Bloc Party are here and don't you just know it. The heaving excited mass of the crowd pushed everyone forwards towards the stage as Bloc Party began their sold out gig with 'One Month Off'. Within minutes the crowd surfing and mosh pits had began, with Bloc Party whipping up the raw energy we have come to expect. 
Cruising through a set list of songs from their new album, Intimacy, tracks such as 'Mercury' and 'Signs' really got the crowd buzzing. Even a fire alarm halfway through the gig - causing a 20-minute delay - didn't dampen the atmosphere as the 1,630-strong crowd was ordered out into Truro's high street. When the music started again, Bloc Party's front man Kele Okereke really got the crowd going as he seemed to lapse into a trance-like state. Kele summed up the night when he commented that he hasn't seen as many crowd surfers at a gig in a long time. Several encores and huge applauses later Bloc Party's gig came to an frenzied and energetic end with the old classic 'Helicopter', which probably produced one of the biggest and wildest mosh pits the Hall for Cornwall has ever seen. As we walked away officially Bloctobered, feeling like we had just done a marathon in a swimming pool, I thought Thank God for Bloc Party. (James Dart)
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