Bloc Party’s Kele turns up this time, but part of us wishes he hadn’t

It was the turn of UK indie band Bloc Party’s front man Kele Okereke to find Alpha’s roof, tie it back down and blow it off again after the storming DJ set from Pendulum the week before. Unfortunately single handedly Kele didn’t have the strength or the skills to bother the Grecian roof over Alpha’s dancefloor. His band might have had massive hits with single ‘Banquet’ and ‘One More Chance’ but the star power wasn’t at the singer’s fingertips for this gig; we think he might need a bit more practise with a DJ Hero kit.

Alpha usually only fills up late, but on this occasion it didn’t quite fill up at all, unless you count the post brunch drunken staggerers. It wasn’t a big help that Kele didn’t make an appearance until gone 1am. His set immediately cranked up the pace and the BPM, making a change from 90s stalwarts The Charlatans and the Stone Roses that had preceded, only to return to the decade that we all know and love about half an hour later, with indie classics that did tempt the more sober people onto testing out the edges of the dancefloor.

It’s a shame then, that Kele disproved that inside every musician lies a talented DJ - some things really are best left to the professionals. Having to restart Rage Against The Machine’s ‘Killing in the Name Of’, not once, not twice but three times before giving up and moving on to something not quite as stirring really didn’t instil confidence amongst those trying to co-ordinate flailing limbs. Bloc Party might have had huge success with debut album ‘Silent Alarm’, but the long silences between tracks didn’t work for Kele as the whole crowd stopped. And started. And then had to stop again. Despite the slightly trying nature of some very unseamless mixing, the crowd went with it and gave the British singer a fairly mild time, but on the whole not one of Alpha’s finest moments. Last night a DJ saved my life? Unfortunately, I don’t think salvation is anywhere within this record spinner’s grasp.