Live Review

Kele Okereke – Rough Trade East, London

• 28th Jun 2010

On the day his debut solo album, The Boxer, was released Kele Okereke thrilled fans with a live instore performance at one of London’s coolest record shops, just off Brick Lane. Kele bounced out on stage with a huge grin on his face. Throughout the entire performance he was full of joyous energy and enthusiasm. Opening with the first track from the album, ‘Walk Tall’, there was a child-like, sing-song quality to the sound. Echoing the chorus “I don’t know what you’ve been told/ But this start now: walk tall, walk tall” Kele acted as drill sergeant, preparing the crowd for his show. While his solo material has a much more electronic, dance music sound there are still many elements of Bloc Party to be heard throughout, Kele’s distinctive voice is not the least of them.

When he played the first single from the album ‘Tenderoni’ the audience began to jump and sing along. Then Kele leapt into the crowd to join in on the action. Returning to the stage he launched into the spelling-bee section of the song: “T-E-N-D-E-R-O-N-I” and the atmosphere was electric. This catchy tune is bound to be a dancefloor hit this summer. Kele was like a proud parent, telling the audience “So my album was, like, born today! I hope you all like it.”

Kele focused primarily on being the front man and singing soulfully, with a backing band featuring drums, DJ and a female backing vocalist and keyboard player. He played a miniscule guitar riff on one song and admitted to having “forgotten how to play this thing”. He looked uncomfortable before quickly shedding the instrument. Clearly Kele’s has moved away from the instrumentation of the Bloc Party sound, instead opting for synths and samples. We won’t be fooled by the beats that he’s got. He’s still, he’s still Kele from the Bloc! However, the solo material is fresh and innovative, and the live show was amazing.