Kele live review 24.06.10

Judging by the amount of Bloc Party T-shirts on display tonight at least half of Kele’s audience must be hoping to hear some of his earlier output. Despite a Bloc Party medley and the final track, however, the night is all about his new material.

Kele steps out onto the stage with his new band featuring Tommy Sparks, a strangely familiar drummer and a female vocalist/keyboard player. Having heard reports of his stage presence being underwhelming at Bloc Party gigs it’s a pleasure to see him interacting with the crowd and commanding the focus despite having little more to do than sing. In fact he only picks up a guitar once during the set and that’s only to record a loop at the beginning of ‘Rise’ which he then allows to play on it’s own throughout. Even the Bloc Party tracks are reinterpreted with an electro pop backing. Kele’s new music translates far better onto the dance floor at Digital than it does onto CD after listening to ‘The Boxer’. The tracks themselves aren’t by any means revolutionary, taking inspiration from 2007′s electro explosion and the subsequent movements in dance music (fidget house etc). He fires the crowd up with bursts of bass heavy synths and rapid percussion before dropping them down into a glockenspiel laced ballad or soft vocal build up.

With his new side/solo project Kele has created a thoroughly enjoyable live experience that masks the mismatch of Boxer’s dance tracks topped with his melancholy vocals and subject matter. His genuine delight at having a much smaller crowd than he’s used to enjoying his music and his professed expectation that ‘It’s going to be a great summer’ only serve to increase his fans’ affection. Kele’s live show is definitely one to try and catch in the next couple of months, don’t be put off by how it comes across on record.

Thanks to Sam Hiscox for the awesome photos. Click the link to see more from the night.