B-Boy Limping

“I’ve come to the conclusion that the only real saving grace is the intimacy that can happen between two people,” said Kele Okereke in an interview discussing what would become Bloc Party’s latest album, Intimacy. And last night at Terminal 5, the front man readied himself to get intimate with many people. In a hint of something to come he had stripped off his jacket and rolled up one leg of his red track pants to make it easier to move around. A sweatband was keeping his short dreadlocks out of his face, all the better to see the crowd. Now all Okereke needed was the right moment.

He had already gotten familiar through his banter early in the evening. Someone in the audience had asked for his drink. You can have it, he said, “If you’re man or woman enough to take my cold.” Then he threw the bottle into the horde. Then the moment almost came during the song “Mercury,” when Okereke first asked for the house lights to be put up so he could see our faces. With dimples showing, he said he was nervous. Would we catch him if he passed out? During the song a roadie attempted to hook a strap to his pants, presumably before Okereke leapt off the stage into the crowd, as he had done in previous performances of the song. But last night it never materialized.

Then the encore—round two as Okereke called it—where he urged us to get sexier. It came and went with the only crowd surfing being done by a member of the audience during “The Prayer.” Then, a second encore. Here it was. “Are you ready for a fight?” Okereke asked before launching into Intimacy’s frenetic first track, “Ares”. Riled up with the energy of the song, he climbed the speakers to the balcony, precariously straddling the railing. He lingered in the balcony before running behind the scenes to get back to the stage, and almost tripped in his enthusiasm to get back in front of the crowd. The night ended with a fan favorite, “This Modern Love” off Bloc Party’s first album Silent Alarm, with an introduction of “This is for all the people who supported us on that first record four years ago.” Many were there last night, singing along, and maybe found themselves with Okereke later that night at Le Poisson Rouge. If that didn’t happen they could always catch him and the band again tonight at Terminal 5, where they’ll do it all over again, but only if you get sexy.