Bloc Party + Kaito - Guildhall, Portsmouth. 10/10/05.

As is usual with bigger venues, the snake like queue outside is moving very slowly and so Kaito take to the stage with half the people not even in the venue which is a shame as they miss a real treat. The two boys and two girls who make up Kaito look like they mean business, dressed in black with hair in place they deliver a precise blast of pop noise; dark fun as guitars crash, the bass thuds over Can style strict beats in a sharp and pointed way but underneath there is a fun pop heart beating and this makes Kaito music good to dance to. Front lady Niki almost sounds like a slightly more cheerful Mark E Smith at times as she chants her vocals on the wave of noise; it's catchy as hell and ever so slightly sexy in that look but don't touch kind of way and I'm damn glad that I got there in time to see them.

I really do not understand the fuss about Bloc Party, I saw them a few months back at the smaller Pyramids venue and came away thinking great drummer but poor tunes and I'm thinking exactly the same thing this time only with more lights. Maybe I'm just missing something as the place is rammed, it's too hot and people are passing out and to top it all, no barrier is in place so people are up against the stage; anyone daring to crowdsurf is swiftly escorted off the stage and thrown out the back door, nice. But anyway, as I stand watching, it strikes me how important the drummer is in Bloc Party, Matt Tong has a drum riser that places him well above the rest of the band and in every photo he is at the front and it's the same with the music, the tunes are all drums. Where are the guitars? I keep asking myself expecting them to chime out any moment but they don't and I find it most unsatisfying that an indie 'guitar' band has so little up front guitar. It appears to me that there is very little in the way of memorable tunes and Kele has a very one tone voice, as if he has a cold. But like I say, perhaps I'm missing something as there are plenty of happy faces and the big crowd seem to love it, but Bloc Party just don't cut it for me, I find them dull and just don't see them as anything more than an overhyped NME band made good.