At the end of a 2007 performance, Bloc Party vowed that it would return to Milwaukee. On Wednesday night at The Pabst, the British band delivered on that promise but also came off a little too rehearsed at times.

Opening the show with "So Here We Are," Bloc Party was immediately embraced by The Pabst Theater crowd, who filled the first level of the venue. Surprisingly, the balcony was closed for this performance, a decision which created some tight spacing especially close to the stage. Bloc Party then shifted to "Mercury" from the 2008 album "Intimacy," forecasting a trend that they would follow all night, jumping back and forth within their discography.

Early in the set, during a performance of the raucous "Team A," drummer Matt Long shed the Nirvana shirt he was wearing and went bare-chested for the remainder of the show. Later, during the band’s performance of "Blue Light," frontman Kele Okereke implored the audience to sing along. "I can’t hear you! I still can’t hear you! Come on, Milwaukee!"

Shockingly, less than an hour into the set, Bloc Party thanked the crowd and departed the stage. This was one of the most blatant applause-grabs I’ve ever witnessed. If you’re going to go through the silly motion of pretending the show is over, at least do it at a point it would seem plausible. Of course the band returned, declaring that the return was "round two," but that this would be the final round.

This so called "second round" was far less pleasant in the audience as some of The Pabst crowd became way more aggressive. Suddenly there were mini mosh pits and a few attempts at crowd surfing. One audience member was passed onto the stage, but was quickly returned to the crowd. The Pabst Theater really doesn’t lend itself to this type of rowdy behavior and not surprisingly, everyone who was passed around ended up having their ride end with a vicious fall.

Bloc Party then thanked the Milwaukee audience and once again left the stage. Despite playing well-known songs such as "Helicopter" and "Banquet," this action felt like déjà vu as they had yet to play "Truth" from the most recent album, "Four."

It’s pretty standard that a touring band would play the best and most well-known song from its latest release and no surprise, Bloc Party returned to the stage for a second encore which started off with the aforementioned "Truth." This performance was the highlight, but it was shame that the band had to make such a superfluous big show.

The other highlight of the night was the opening act Bear Mountain, who made a very strong impression. Playing songs from its 2013 release "XO" (and a cover of "Everybody Wants to Rule the World"), Bear Mountain presented its brand of accessible electronic music.

Bear Mountain came off like a cross between the Postal Service and Passion Pit. In a clever move, the majority of the set had each song blend right into the next.

Bear Mountain also made a point to express deep gratitude to Bloc Party for bringing the group along on the tour. However, the band's self-assuredness was similar to fellow Canadian Patrick Watson's when he opened for Keane last year and it wouldn’t be a stretch to see Bear Mountain headline its own show in Milwaukee soon, just like Watson did months after his opening performance.