Kele

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More About

• Bloc Party
• Kele Okereke
• Elbow (Band)
• Indie Rock and Indie Pop
• Arts, Entertainment, and Media

Bloc Party isn't all the way dead—they're probably just having a bit of a nap (never mind that trickle of blood). Even so, frontman Kele Okereke refuses to lie down and close his eyes. Too creatively restless to remain idle for long, he's now shrugging off his bandmates for a solo project that owes more to London's bass-heavy dubstep scene than Gang of Four's wiry post-punk. Likewise, Kele's lyrics have gone all introspective, weeding out the opaque political references and focusing on fragile hearts crushed into pulp by loneliness, indifference, and malice. For all the left turns, Okereke's other band is never too far behind; reports from recent shows point out the live reinterpretations of older Bloc Party songs that he's been trotting out on this tour. It's a move that slyly suggests that Kele was the reason that Bloc Party was so successful in the first place—but whether that's truth or hubris will depend on how captivating a showman he can be on his own. With Does It Offend You, Yeah? and Innerpartysystem. 18+.
Sun., Sept. 12, 8 p.m., 2010