The buzz had already begun; there was something in the air, the wait for one of East London’s biggest indie bands, Bloc Party, in one of Melbourne’s most famous venues Festival Hall. It must be a hard task to open for such an act, but Van She have something unique in their own right, their style being a smaller version of Bloc Party in many ways. Similarly, they mix electronica and rock, and the crowd’s reaction tonight was quite good, but the main act was the one on everyone’s mind this evening.

Queue Kele Okereke, parading a bright red cap, joined by guitarist Russell Lissack, drummer Matt Tong and bassist Gordon Moakes. For any of you who are not familiar with Bloc Party, the band was formed in ‘99 by Okereke and Lissack. Since then they’ve won the acclaim they deserve through three records, ‘Silent Alarm’, ‘A Weekend In The City’ and most recently ‘Intimacy’. Their latest sees them stretch even further into a hybrid of electronica and rock, and the album is also said to be the most personal for the band as it features the stories of Kele’s relationship breakdown with a recent lover.

Bloc Party kicked off their first show of their Australian tour with ‘Intimacy’s single ‘Mercury’. It’s a track that sets them apart from previous work, as there’s hardly any guitar, instead the incessant pounding of drums, synth and vocal effects, all layered by Kele on stage with an array of effects pedals. I was blown away! The way they mix these two styles – rock and electronica – they truly make it their own. It’s danceable, yet also energetic enough to bang your head.

Kele gave the crowd a “g’day”, and automatically you could see his love for Australia, and in particular tonight – Melbourne. He’s been known to say Melbourne is one of his favourite places to perform and visit, and the audience could certainly feel it, as three thousand people continually screamed back for more. Their third track, ‘Positive Tension’, was where you could clearly see the strength of Kele’s voice. It soared over Festival Hall and was fierce and strong. The rest of the band really started to build alongside it, so much so that drummer Matt Tong – doing his normal thing – removed his shirt and began screaming to the crowd.

I must admit, I never seen a crowd so possessed by a band. Bloc Party had the audience in the palm of their hand. Favourites such as ‘Banquet’ sent everyone into a wild fury, with crowd surfing, clapping and shouts. The track was in stereo as well, which only added to the experience. “We are all pretty jetlagged,” Kele said to the crowd. “But we think we are doing alright? Do you think we are doing alright?” A wave of appreciative noise was the response. Clearly they were doing better than alright! “We wish we could tour Australia more often,” they yelled. “I wish we lived here!” It’s clear that Australia is very fond to them, and the feeling is returned.

The band worked into ‘This Modern Life’, with a large guitar riff that pounds the hall, before moving through slower songs like ‘Blue Light’ and ‘Signs’, which built slowly and showcased the band’s softer and more musical side. However my favourite for the night was the famous ‘Hunting For Witches’ from their second album. The track was a mix of samples, blaring guitars, crunchy organic beats and high energy vocals. The only time you could see a glimpse of the band’s obvious jetlag was during ‘Like Eating Glass’, where they had a false start. Kele was blamed it on the drummer and vice versa, and it ended up being quite funny to watch. They finished the first set with ‘Helicopter’, and the audience exploded.

They entered their encore with more audience interaction from Kele. He is certainly a very charismatic performer, as he asks the audience how they are feeling on a scale of 1 to 10. Of course everyone went crazy when he said 10; “the band has more to give, if you give some love for your British brothers.” I was told that Kele had been quite shy on stage in previous tours, but his interaction with the audience tonight were more than you’d expect from more artists. Kele really got into the encore set, and he rocked around the stage so much that his hat fell off.

‘Aires’ was their most electronic of the night, with everyone playing some sort of sequencer or synth apart from Russell. Even bassist Moakes hit electronic pads. ‘Flux’ also fell into this realm, and combined well with the green lasers soaring over the audience. Kele stated before they bowed and said their final goodnight that the gig had been a “residing success”. The audience agreed as they screamed for another encore. The band obliged with one last song. “If we are going to play one more, you have to promise you are going to go fucking crazy!” It became mayhem, there was clapping, headbanging, crowd surfing and screaming. Festival Hall was alive.

I have always been happy to listen to Bloc Party, keeping my ears open for their new albums, but I’d never been a die hard fan. In one word, after such an unexpectedly brilliant show, I was converted.