It was over in roughly the time it takes to TiVo through an episode of "Desperate Housewives."

Yet, there wasn't a sweaty skate punk in the house who didn't feel like he got his money's worth from the 44-minute main set delivered by Bloc Party [ tickets ] at The Fillmore in San Francisco on Wednesday night (6/1).

The Bloc Party buzz is certainly in full effect in the City by the Bay. This South London punk band, which somehow blends the no-frills garage rock of The Hives with the artsy pop elegance of Coldplay, managed to sell out the 1,100-capacity venue just one day after tickets went on sale.

"We were told this is the best house in America," bassist Gordon Moakes said as the band came back to the stage for its well-deserved encore.

Bloc Party was in full agreement with that advance billing by the end of the night. Of course, that's a little like agreeing that the aunt that gives you candy money and thinks everything you do is perfect is the best aunt in America. According to the rabid fans in attendance at The Fillmore, Bloc Party simply could do no wrong.

The quartet took the fiery songs from its debut full-length record, 2005's "Silent Alarm," and poured gas all over them in concert. Bloc Party raged through such visceral blasts as "Blue Light," "She's Hearing Voices" and "Banquet," always finding ways to up the intensity from the recorded versions.

Although a definite cousin to the likes of Franz Ferdinand and The Futureheads--new bands that draw inspiration from '80s new wave and then sharpen the sound with a harder rock edge--Bloc Party managed to separate itself from the pack by adding a distinctly British, absolutely punishing, '70s punk feel. In fact, it wasn't hard to hear a bit of Johnny Rotten snarl in the words delivered by singer Kele Okereke as he socked out "Little Thoughts" and "Helicopter."

Bloc Party captures the exciting volatility of early punk bands like the Sex Pistols while managing to keep the playing at a very high level. The rhythm section of Moakes and shirtless drummer Matt Tong came across like a pairing of Godzilla and Mothra on a weekend bender in Tokyo. Guitarist Russell Range's angular rhythm rock was reminiscent of U2's The Edge (only played at a higher RPM). Okereke was a madman on stage, busting guitar strings, crawling on his knees and feeding the cathartic slot machine on true emo tracks like "This Modern Love."

In a world filled with buzz bands that carry the same life expectancy as houseflies, these South Londoners definitely showed the Fillmore crowd that they have what it takes to keep the party going indefinitely.