BLOC PARTY AT AVALON: Didn't get to see Sufjan Stevens in Somerville (sold out long ago) but did acquire last-minute tix to Bloc Party, which also supposedly had sold out a whiles back. So away my colleague Kerry and I went to Avalon, which, it being a Red Sox home game night, meant Kerry had to pay $30 for parking. That's why I don't have a car in the city. Well, that, and a lot of other reasons which we don't need to go into right now. Let's get back to the concert review. We arrived in time for the final two songs of The Kills. I thought the duo was OK. Kerry, not so much a fan. Neither were the folks from Aberdeen City, whom Kerry introduced me to during the intermission. The wannabe-hip crowd cheered almost every song by Bloc Party. I thought the quartet was solid, but really, not worth the faux encore. And considering we paid almost twice as much for Bloc Party as I could've paid for Sufjan, who would've been twice as much fun -- well, that kind of thinking leads to regret. And we cannot have that. Where are you,
Stereogum, to help save me from this with your photo essay retrospective of Sufjan in NYC? Don't get me wrong. I enjoyed Bloc Party. They may go on to be as huge as the solder-than-sold-out crowd at Avalon implied. But I think I would've enjoyed Sufjan Stevens that much more.