BLOCK 33 PERFORMING AT SOUTHAMPTON’S SUBURBIA

★★★☆☆ (3.5/5)

BLOCK 33 PERFORMING AT SOUTHAMPTON’S SUBURBIA
PHOTOCREDIT: CHARIS LYDIA BAGIOKI

As part of their ‘The Promised Land’ tour, local boys Block 33 delivered a great performance at Suburbia in Southampton on Saturday night. The venue filled up slowly with a lot of enthusiastic fans of the band, reflecting the band’s energy for their Southampton stop.

Whilst the band is up and coming, they are no strangers to hitting large milestones. Having achieved a £20,000 crowdfunding goal and on course to secure a spot in the Official Top 40 of the UK album charts, the band’s upcoming third album is already on track for great success. The audience responded with warmth to the band’s new songs as well as their classic hits, with ‘London Town’ being the start of dancing and bouncing as the setlist evolved.

Block 33’s performance comprises of dynamic guitars, rolling basslines and a punk rhythm – the quintessentially British sound – that mixes all the elements that endears the band to modernist subculture. The crowd’s engagement peaked as fan favourite songs came on, with communal singing and dancing showing how the band has already built a strong connection with their audience. The setlist was well curated and flowed seamlessly through the set, going from more energetic songs such as ‘The Monday Club’ and ‘When it Comes Around’ to more mellow and slower tracks like ‘Square Man’.

To top it all off, the band also introduced their fifth member playing keys for the show and adding a bluesy element to their signature nostalgic punk sound. Interestingly, Block 33 is not short on guitars, swapping them on stage to accommodate for the different tunings and elements of each song. Their tour will continue with a lot of upcoming dates still on the bill, including a highly anticipated show at London’s 100 Club (which is already sold out). It is evident that the band’s ability to energise the crowd is testament to their rising prominence in the UK.