Jordan speaks with Kele from Bloc Party about their sound and making Intimacy (the album, not sex (not that there is anything wrong with sex)).
Canadian fans of Bloc Party will be treated to a ton of homegrown talent during the British band’s upcoming tour.
Beginning in March, Montreal’s We Are Wolves, Toronto’s Holy Fuck and Victoria’s Hot Hot Heat will take turns opening for Bloc Party across 10 Canadian shows.
Bloc Party, currently touring Europe behind last year’s “Intimacy,” will kick off their North American trek with a March 13 show in Toronto, which We Are Wolves will support.
The band’s second Toronto show the following day will feature Holy Fuck, who will continue to serve as openers for shows in London, Ottawa and Montreal.
From March 19 to 31, Bloc Party will play a string of U.S. dates, then jet home to London, England.
They will then return to Canada for five dates beginning April 26 with openers Hot Hot Heat.
Here are the dates and locations for Bloc Party’s Canadian stops:
March 13 – Toronto, ON @ Kool Haus (w/We Are Wolves)
March 14 – Toronto, ON @ Kool Haus (w/Holy Fuck)
March 15 – London, ON @ Centennial Hall (w/Holy Fuck)
March 17 – Ottawa, ON @ Bronson Centre (w/Holy Fuck)
March 18 – Montreal, QC @ Metropolis (w/Holy Fuck)
April 26-27 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom (w/Hot Hot Heat)
April 29 – Edmonton, AB @ Shaw Conference Centre (w/Hot Hot Heat)
April 30 – Calgary, AB @ Big Four Building (w/Hot Hot Heat)
May 1 – Saskatoon, SK @ Odeon Events Centre (w/Hot Hot Heat)
May 3 – Winnipeg, MB @ Burton Cummings Theatre (w/Hot Hot Heat)
Kele Okereke, the singer for Bloc Party, was attacked Saturday by Sex Pistols singer John Lydon.
Okereke approached Lydon as a fan, asking about a possible reunion of his post-Sex Pistols band, Public Image Ltd.
Okereke told the Guardian UK that Lydon then became “intimidating and aggressive while his entourage responded with a racist tirade, including the statement, ‘your problem is your black attitude’.” Okereke is of Nigerian descent.
Okereke was left with “severe facial bruising and a split lip” following the assault, but that wasn’t the worst part for him. “It’s not an issue of the physical assault, even though it was an unprovoked attack,” Okereke commented. “It is the fact that race was brought into the matter so readily. Someone as respected and as intelligent as Lydon should know better than to bring race into the equation, or socialise with and encourage those who hold such narrow-minded attitudes.
“I am disappointed that someone I held with such high regard turns out to be such a bigot.”
Several other bands witness the attack and stepped in on Okereke’s behalf.
British rockers BLOC PARTY could be forced to disappoint fans on their current UK tour due to drummer MATT TONG’s ongoing life-threatening respiratory condition.
The SO HERE WE ARE stars cancelled a series of gigs supporting PANIC AT THE DISCO in the US after Tong suffered a collapsed lung in November, and frontman KELE OKEREKE admits the band are searching for a stand-in musician in case Tong falls ill again.
He says, “It was a frightening moment, and the most worrying thing is there is a high chance it might occur again so we have to find a replacement for parts of the tour.
“We are keeping an eye on him and we have given up smoking, so thank goodness for that.”
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Britis Pop Rockers Bloc Party were forced to cancel the last stretch of their North American tour.
The Mercury prize nominees called it quits after drummer Matt Tong, 27, suffered a collapsed lung in Atlanta last week.
Tong’s doctors ordered him not to perform or travel over the next few weeks.
The band released a statement saying, “We were looking forward to playing in a number of American cities that we’ve never been to before. However, Matt’s health is our number one priority right now.”
Bloc Party have enjoyed the success of their album, titled, “Panic! At The Disco,” touring across Europe and North America.
The band had a remaining 19 gigs including New York’s Madison Square Garden and Toronto’s Ricoh Coliseum.
The boys in Bloc Party are getting busy.
Days after receiving a Mercury Prize nomination for their debut album, the British rock band has announced they will release “Silent Alarm Remixed” on Sept. 13. The dance-rock-friendly version of their Vice debut will include B-sides, rare tracks and a second disc’s worth of remixes.
A slew of indie acts have reworked material from the original album, including Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist Nick Zinner, Mogwai, Ladytron, M83, Pretty Girls Make Graves’ Jason Clark and Canada?s own Death From Above 1979.
?It?s really tough,? Bloc Party drummer Matt Tong said of DFA79?s version of ?Luno,? according to MTV.
?It?s a really aggressive take on our music. It makes me want to punch people.?
Initial pressings of ?Remixed? will include a limited-edition bonus disc with three B-sides previously unavailable in the U.S. (?Storm and Stress,? ?Always New Depths? and ?Skeletons?) and acoustic versions of ?Plans? and ?Storm and Stress.?
?Silent Alarm? debuted in April at No. 3 on Billboard?s Heatseekers chart and has sold 123,000 copies in the U.S., according to Nielson SoundScan. The single ?Banquet? reached No. 34 on Billboard?s Modern Rock chart.
The Mercury Prize jury described the album from the London-based band as ?edgy, exciting and assertive ? compelling rock songs performed with swagger.?
The band is also preparing their follow-up album to ?Silent Alarm.?
“We’ve written about 20 songs, and we’ll have more by the end of the year,? vocalist Kele Okereke told MTV. ?And we’re going to start next year off by recording a new album.
?We really can’t wait.”
In more Bloc Party news, the band will kick off their three-week North American tour on Sept. 8 in Boston.
They have already played live extensively this year, recently completing a four-month spring/summer U.S. tour. After the upcoming North American tour in the fall, they have a host of European shows planned all the way into December.
Here are Bloc Party’s North American tour dates:
Sept. 8: Boston, MA (Avalon Ballroom)
Sept. 9: New York, NY (Roseland Ballroom)
Sept. 10: Philadelphia, PA (Electric Factory)
Sept. 12: Toronto, ON (Docks)
Sept. 13: Detroit, MI (Royal Oak Theatre)
Sept. 15: Chicago, IL (Congress Theatre)
Sept. 16: Denver, CO (Fillmore Auditorium)
Sept. 20: Los Angeles, CA (The Palladium)
Sept. 21-22: San Francisco, CA (Warfield Theatre)
Sept. 24: Austin, TX (City Limits Festival)
Sept. 26: Atlanta, GA (Tabernacle)
