Andrew Veeder on August 21st, 2015

0

If you see a band play live, a four-piece band, for example, and only two of the four members are of the original lineup, is it still the same band? Without founding dummer Matt Tong and bassist Gordon Moakes, is this incarnation of “Bloc Party” still Bloc Party? But more importantly, does it really matter if the band still kicks ass? These questions ran through the packed Roxy Theatre on Thursday night, as the sold-out crowd of the 449-capacity room brimmed with excitement before the quartet took the stage for its second of two warm-up shows in advance of playing FYF Fest this weekend. “We got to see them last night,” remarked Matthew Stolarz, lead singer of opening band The Active Set, “and guys … you are in for a treat.” He wasn’t wrong.

The crowd erupted in excitement when the Roxy’s curtain finally drew upward. The band kicked it off with a new song, “Edon,” from their forthcoming fifth studio album, and then proceeded to march through a 16-song greatest-hits set, or as much of one as possible without just playing their seminal 2005 debut album “Silent Alarm” in its entirety.

Every song they did pull from it (“Banquet,” “Helicopter,” “Positive Tension,” and “This Modern Love”) drew a ravenous response, but then again, most every song they played did, especially as the band hasn’t played live since 2013. Tong was always a beast on the drums every time they came through town, and such an integral part of the band’s signature sound, but new drummer Louise Bartle mostly filled those sonic shoes in maintaining the double-time pacing of the percussion assault, while new bassist Justin Harris filled in the rhythm section admirably.

Lead singer Kele Okereke offered an intriguing note as they took the stage for an encore and he introduced the new band members, saying they were going to play another song from the new album, the grungy “Exes,” but that they hadn’t yet figured out how to play the rest of the new material in a live setting. By the time they ended their four-song coda with “Flux” and “This Modern Love,” the animated crowd was overwhelmingly singing along word for word, proving they still earn the Party of their name.