Bowery Presents
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Bloc Party
- http://www.myspace.com/blocparty
- http://www.blocparty.com/
- Equally inspired by Sonic Youth, Joy Division, Gang of Four, and the Cure, East London art-punkers Bloc Party mix angular sonics with pop structures. Consisting of singer/guitarist Kele Okereke, guitarist Russell Lissack, bassist/singer Gordon Moakes, and drummer Matt Tong, the band was formerly known as Angel Range and Union before settling on Bloc Party. Okereke and Lissack met each other through mutual friends at the Reading Festival, and discovered that they had musical tastes as well as friends in common. Tong and Moakes soon joined their collaboration, and under the name Union, the quartet issued a demo in early 2003; later that year, they switched their name to Bloc Party.
The group's demo and concerts began to attract attention from both the press and their peers; Okereke sent a copy of the demo to Franz Ferdinand, who invited them to play at the Domino tenth anniversary bash in fall 2003. Early the following year, the band released one of the demo's tracks, "She's Hearing Voices," as a single on Trash Aesthetics. A few months later, Banquet/Staying Fat arrived on Moshi Moshi. That spring, Bloc Party signed to Wichita to release their full-length album in the U.K., and to Dim Mak for U.S. distribution. The band spent summer 2004 recording and touring. Late that summer, Bloc Party, which collected the band's first two singles, arrived in the States. Their debut album, Silent Alarm, appeared early in 2005 and was released by Vice Records in the States to widespread acclaim. Later that year, Silent Alarm Remixed capitalized on the band's burgeoning popularity, as did the 2006 EP Helicopter. A Weekend in the City, Bloc Party's second proper album, followed in 2007.
--by Heather Phares
Does It Offend You, Yeah?
- http://www.myspace.com/doesitoffendyou
- http://www.doesitoffendyou.com
- An electronic-based rock four-piece from Reading and London, Does It Offend You, Yeah? made a mark with their raucous live shows and high-energy music that drew comparisons to !!!, LCD Soundsystem, and Digitalism. The band signed to Virgin and released its first album, You Have No Idea What You're Getting Yourself Into, in 2008. (The album included a free digital download for the Live at the Fez EP.) Members Rob Bloomfield (drums), Dan Coop (synth), Morgan Quaintance (vocals, synth, guitar), and James Rushent (bass) took their show on the road in early 2008, supporting the Cribs on the NME Awards Tour.
--by Chris True
- Box Office Info
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Mercury Lounge
217 E. Houston St. (corner Ave A & Houston)
New York, NY map & directions
212–260–4700
Hours: Mon–Sat, Noon–7 pm
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Music Hall of Williamsburg
66 N. 6th St. (b/w Wythe & Kent)
Brooklyn, NY map & directions
718–486–5400
Hours: Saturday 11am–6pm
- Contact Info
- General Info: info@bowerypresents.com
- Room Rentals: privateevents@bowerypresents.com
- Media Inquiries: bpmedia@bowerypresents.com
- Bowery Presents
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Manhattan — Brooklyn