Neil Renton shrugs off Storm Bert to report on the Bristol band’s return to Scotland’s largest city.
I always wanted to see IDLES live and despite having a ticket for their show in Glasgow I didn’t think it was going to happen.
Storm Bert showed up much to the surprise of whoever grits roads by the look of it and it gripped the UK in its icy grasp. Me, standing in the centre of Edinburgh with my white adidas trainers frozen to the spot , was one of those who was right up in it.
Do I just jack it in, I asked myself. Shrug off the cost of the ticket and go home. Maybe I could watch those clips from Glastonbury, the sort that made me want to lose my IDLES virginity in a perspiration flooded mosh pit in the first place. With a cup of hot chocolate before Strictly comes on.
Or do I go for it? Thankfully that’s what I did. So off I set on a journey to The Barrowlands. Where else could a band of such rage bring their sermon to the masses? Wait. It’s The Hydro!
Apart from the monstrous car park, I’m a big fan of the old SECC. If you’re sitting it’s far more comfortable than other venues. And if you don’t believe me see how long you can squeeze into a seat at the Edinburgh Playhouse seemingly designed for The Borrowers to have a family night out.
Drinks and food are about the going rate, the staff are competent and it still feels relatively fresh despite it being open for a bit.
There’s a time and a place for the Hydro. And I don’t think an IDLES show on a Saturday night is that time or place.
But with them being on an arena sized tour where they’d sold out most of the venues, it’s the best the country has to offer.
A lot of the seating area appeared to be shut off and a few of the seats that were there for the taken laid empty. Even the standing section felt a sparse at first, maybe with attendees deciding against it.
Could the band, lead by singer Joe Talbot, still deliver?
Without a shadow of a doubt l, the answer was Yes.
Speaking of silhouettes, the start was shrouded in an eerie darkness. It was like John Williams classic Jaws theme tune striking up. You knew it was the sign that something was about to happen and you didn’t know where to look. At the stage covered in darkness? Toward the closed doors of the exit? Or through the cracks in your fingers? And it did kick off.
‘IDEA 01’ from TANGK, one of the years finest releases, started proceedings. Talbot then spilt the crowd in two for an almighty mosh and a run through of new anthems and well revered classics.
‘Gift Horse’ muscles its way next to ‘Mr Motivator’ with the Conor McGregor lyric wisely dropped. ‘I’m Scum’ found the singer holding his middle finger to the skies while phlegm and lyrics leave his mouth with equal amounts of venomous spit.
But it’s not all rage. ‘Roy’ dedicated to Talbots girlfriend reveals a tender, bruised heart that makes you fall for them even more. In Talbot they’ve got one of the finest front people on the go.
He holds the crowd in the palm of his tattooed hands, taking them on a spiritual journey as if he’s a preacher conducting a sermon.
Crouched, angrily pacing the stage as if he’s a boxer about to go twelve hundred rounds with Prime Mike Tyson. As expected there’s a substantial political tone with the singer. But it’s not all heavy. He tells the crowd he was conceived in Glasgow and gets a response which was better than the one he’ll get back home.
And he demands the crowd to hunker down before sprinting up, an act which is easier for some than it is for the likes of me and my knees. But it’s not all about him. Far from it. Guitarist Lee Kiernan spends most of his time in the crowd than he does on stage.
Much like Young Fathers, arguably the best live act I’ve seen in recent years, you’re not sure where to look when IDLES are on stage and you can’t take your eyes off wherever they land.
Towards the end, Talbot announces that he’s going to make everyone dance before launching into the LCD Soundsystem backed number ‘Dancer.’
And that’s what the crowd do although I doubt it anyone in attendance still had the energy that the band had.
They’re a spectacle, the complete polar opposite of a bunch of guys standing motionless while playing their instruments. Fitting as we’re about to head into the year which sees the live return of Oasis.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen the Gallagher’s at their peak, a summit from which most of their peers would get vertigo glancing up at. You don’t need to be wearing a dress of charging about a stage to entertain. If you’ve got the ability to deliver a set worth of well crafted songs that’s more than enough.
But what if you’ve got both?
Then you’ve got IDLES. A band well worth seeing wherever they play.
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