It seems strange, but in almost ten years of record releases and world tours, Bloc Party had never played Miami until last night.
A celebration was in order, so Absolut vodka teamed up with artist Agustina Woodgate to transform Soho Studios into an interactive wonderland of booze, rainbows and great tunes. It was called Absolut X, and much hashtagging was encouraged.
It was a great party, apparently so great you had to show up an hour and a half early just to make it in.
See also:
-Bloc Party's Russell Lissack: "Whatever Type of Music Tends to Be Popular Is Irrelevant"
-Absolut X Miami with Bloc Party at Soho Studios: The 70-Photo Slideshow
Doors opened at 9 p.m, but some people got there as early as two hours before. It must have been the combined lure of free drinks and Bloc Party's Miami debut that had the line wrapping around the entire building, turning the parking situation into a living nightmare throughout Wynwood.
Once you made it inside, things got better. It was a masquerade themed-event, so girls in glowing costume passed out masks, and there was a make-up center provided by Absolut to transform guests into something more appropriate. Of course, it being Miami, not too many people showed up incognito.
Absolut provided more than just masks and make-up, they gave us everything. Waiters walked around with finger foods that were both delicious and suspiciously similar to the kind of thing you might find in the frozen aisle of your local grocer - not that we're complaining.
We will however complain about the total lack of alcohol in the free mixed drinks. We understand a need to curb intoxication at an event like this, but after almost 10 drinks, we should have felt something other than a sugar high.
Warming up the crowd, Jessica Who mixed from atop some artistic riser, underneath of which guests could walk through a black-light tunnel that didn't really make any sense but looked really cool. She spun a bunch of classic indie jams, mixed with contemporary hits like Daft Punk's "Get Lucky," though critically, it wasn't the smoothest set we've heard from the local star. And really, that MC, he wasn't that great. He sounded like a knock-off Pitbull.
Finally, at 11 p.m., the moment had arrived. The Studios has reached capacity, and the waiters cleared the floor as the crowd squeezed into the front toward the stage. The house lights dimmed and blue mood lighting shone above the heads. Mysterious Tron-esque music played before the four men took their places.
Bloc Party manned their instruments and went straight into "So Here We Are," a song off their debut album Silent Alarm. They sounded great, their chords and voices ringing clearly through the speakers. They followed it up with "Octopus," a catchy number from their latest album Four.
They had a classic rock'n'roll look about them in matching white t-shirts. They seemed relaxed on stage and happy to be there, although not altogether as energetic as they might have been. The lights reflected off the metal ceiling installations, casting rainbows over the crowd.
