First things first: the opening band. SFist is loathe to hate on local acts, trying hard to make it in this town. BUT ... we will say that Oakland’s "The Death of a Party" is aptly named. Word to the singer: boys wearing girls' clothes is definitely aight in this town, but NOT when you do it just so that your shirt is extra tight (he was sporting a ladies' button down to show just how skinny he was)

Luckily Bloc Party was worth every glimpse of boy belly we had to endure during DOAP. Bloc Party’s drummer wasn’t wearing a shirt at all. Sort of avante garde for any band reviving 80s new wave, but he definitely took it to a new level by coming on stage sans shirt. That plus his floppy hair, glasses, and gold chain belied the intensity of his drumming. Ok, SFist fashionista-wannabe-ism aside, Bloc Party sure can play. In fact their set was so good that you should probably consider shelling out $40 tix to some craigslist scalper to check out their set at the Fillmore tonight.

Before seeing them perform, we’d assumed that Bloc Party used a lot of overdubbing and vocal affects. Surprisingly, their tight, energetic set came with a minimum of technological tricks and pretension. Bloc Party appeared to be a nice guys, playing hard, and wanting the crowd to have a good time. Lead singer Kele Okereke’s vocals are amazing, invoking a little Oingo Boingo and Echo and the Bunnymen nostalgia, but at the same time seeming oh so current.