If you’ve seen IDLES before, chances are you already know the score: absolutely anything goes.
A whirlwind of chaotic energy awaits the Bristol punks, and all it takes to unleash it are two simple words: “Alright fuckers.”
Wearing nothing but a pair of tight fitting briefs, guitarist Mark Bowen swings, stretches, and shakes his way in front of (and into, and over) the audience. Sunglasses, items of clothing, and later people fly over heads as the fervour ignites and spreads at like wildfire. Human metronome Joe Talbot commands the chaos, throwing himself into the brawling spirit of the moment with an intensity that would be chilling if it weren’t so damn contagious. The crowd relish in the same abandon, circle pits opening and closing with each track the band perform. For all intents and purposes, it should be a mess. But IDLES create their own magic, and through the chaos the band forge something truly spectacular.
Drawing from debut album ‘Brutalism’, the wry commentaries that saw the group catapult to attention are recognised as brazen anthems. “This song is our penultimate,” Joe Talbot declares as the group launch into ‘Well Done’. “For those who read The Sun, that means second to last.” Expressing their ever-growing love for the crowd before them, checking in on their audience in the rare breathing spaces between songs, there’s a care wrapped up within the calamity. Here to cut loose, to have fun, and to make sure everyone around them does the same, is there anything else you could really ask for?