Kele Okereke
As the first really warm and sunny weekend of the year draws to a close, I am back at the Waterfront Studio on King Street. I've watched the London Marathon coverage on TV, enjoyed a Sunday roast washed down with a couple of pints of St Peter's Ale in the courtyard of the Coach and Horses in Bethel Street, and I am now looking forward to the opening night of Kele Okereke's UK tour. This will have been a good day indeed.
The last time I saw the Bloc Party front man was on the main stage at Latitude (goodness, was that really back in 2011?). It was again a hot, sunny Sunday afternoon, and an energetic crowd were buoyed up by a solo set filled with electronic beats and unexpectedly vibrant dance-floor fillers. Tonight I still expect a good crowd, although judging by new album Fatherland, the vibe will be a little gentler.
The first surprise, therefore, is the relatively low turnout for tonight's gig. The unusually fine weekend weather might be a factor. There are also a couple more big names in town tonight at the Arts Centre and at Epic Studios. Opening act Rory McVicar therefore cuts a slightly lonely figure as he starts his set. 'Do we really need three security in here tonight?' he quips as he works his way through a selection of self-penned songs performed on electric guitar. Rory originally hails from Norwich, and it is good to see him back.
Cameron AG, from Oxford, is the tour support, and is once again an act that I last saw at Latitude (Lake Stage, 2016, Friday). With his moniker across the front of the keyboard it is a clever way to get your name remembered, but with Cameron AG it is the delicate vocals and fragile musical sound, and perceptions of rhythm running throughout, that leave the lasting impression. Songs like Headlights, Homeward Bound and Lost Direction really demand to be listened to.
The Studio has gratifyingly filled up somewhat by the time Kele Okereke comes on stage, but there still some empty spaces. 'Come forward. I don't bite. Unless you want me to', he urges to us before opening with Streets Been Talkin' and You Keep Whispering His Name, two tracks from new album Fatherland. They are beautiful, sensitive songs and it is just Kele and his acoustic guitar up there on the stage. He is looking good in white t-shirt and cotton drill shorts, but there is already a suspicion that he may be slightly nervous. His voice fails to hit one note just right, and he half-grimaces, half smiles to himself as he carries on.
Alone on stage there is nowhere to hide. A couple more mistakes are similarly laughed off although one suspects that his confidence is now taking a knocking, rather like a boxer's self-belief being sapped by a succession of cruel blows. The audience are as supportive and as generous with their applause as is possible, but the problem is that we do not have the critical mass with which to lift and restore fortitude of spirit. It is a real shame, because Kele has a gorgeous voice that should be just perfect for this level of intimacy.
In addition to further tracks from Fatherland we get Unholy Thoughts from solo debut The Boxer, and Closer from its follow-up Trick. There are acoustic re-workings of Bloc Party favourites like Blue Light and Exes, and sensitive covers of Sweet Female Attitude's Flowers and Fleetwood Mac's Landslide. There is also a stripped back version of Let Go, the collaborative track originally recorded with Portuguese artist RAC.
It is slightly awkward at the conclusion of the final song, a version of Bloc Party's stormer This Modern Love. Kele thanks us and exits the stage, but the audience seems unsure how to keep the applause going. As the room falls quiet we half expect the house lights to come up. However, Kele returns and performs The New Year Party, from Fatherland, followed by what should have been the perfect finale to tonight's show – Bloc Party's Sunday from the 2007 A Weekend In The City album. Unfortunately, the script had conspired to slightly spoil the impact of this final chapter.
