Software data company Umbel kicked off SXSW Interactive with London’s Bloc Party on Friday night, March 11, 2016, at the Moody Theater. Dubbed “Data Disco,” it featured a forgettable warm-up performance by emerging Austin performer Emily Bell that had me pacing the rain-soaked patio with a double-tall Tito’s and tonic until the main event. Although the rain that was present most of SXSW had abated by Friday evening, the moisture may have kept many away from the home of ACL Live as lines moved quickly and venue never reached capacity.

When vocalist Kele Okereke, lead guitarist Russell Lissack, and their newest bandmates in the latest iteration of Bloc Party finally took the stage (a good 20 minutes past the listed set time), the crowd was getting a little restless. The first three songs built up slowly and featured some medium-tempo tracks from the 2016 release Hymns. You could tell by the lack of head nods or swaying hips that this audience of future tech titans just weren’t into the new shit. Kele stopped at one point early on and lamented that the band had a SNAFU with their gear and that they were making do with what they had, gaining some sympathy from the crowd. As the rolling drums of “Banquet” from Bloc Party’s 2005 Silent Alarm began, the audience finally started to dance and flail around — a welcome sight after the slow intro. The energy kept up through the end of the set that closed with arguably the strongest song on Hymn: track one, “The Love Within.”

After a brief intermission, the band came out for a spirited, danceable encore featuring “Helicopter” that made the first set seem like an appetizer. You could tell Bloc Party was just warming up and saving energy for a week-long set of performances through SXSW’s music portion.

If you are in Austin for SXSW 2016, you can catch Bloc Party, The Kills, Tanlines, and Lower Dens at the Stubb Hubb party at Bangers on Thursday, March 17th.