Saturday 29th January
Post-punk provocateurs Idles dropped like a granite bowling bowl out of an obsidian sky way back in 2016. In a scene that had stagnated beyond recognition, the Bristol band reinvigorated guitar music and paved the way for other noisemakers such as Shame and Fontaines DC. I saw Joe Talbot and co at Bearded Theory festival in 2018 – a live experience that was genuinely akin to a religious ceremony – and I was instantly smitten. Terrified and smitten.
More recently, Idles have just released their well received fourth album Crawler and have embarked on a sold out UK tour. After the Bearded Theory gig, I saw Idles again at Bingley Weekender and at Y Not festival. It was impressive to note that the band’s shambolic and chaotic stage presence had not been dulled by success since that special first time I saw them. This gig at Manchester Victoria Warehouse was something of a first for me then, my first time seeing Idles at their own show. What a gig. What a venue. What a band.
Playing the second of three sold out Manchester shows, Joe Talbot and his band of misfits and lunatics storm the stage to the ominous sound of Colossus filling the entire venue as a bar of red light flashes behind them in time to Adam Devonshire’s thundering bass. And from those first opening notes, it is clear this was to be no ordinary gig.
New songs such as Car Crash and The New Sensation slot in perfectly alongside old favourites like Date Night and Mother. The latter of which sees the crowd go apeshit as guitarist Mark Bowen, resplendent in a flowing dress, orchestrates the chaos from the side lines.
Talbot doesn’t have much to say to the crowd, preferring to let the music do the talking, but he does find time to individually thank the road crew at sporadic moments throughout the show, and also offers heartfelt thanks to the fans for showing up. And when Joe Talbot is being heartfelt, boy, does he mean it.
The 21 song set leans heavily on their latest record but all four albums are represented and it is astonishing that the band can deliver such an exceptional set whilst still leaving out beloved tracks such as Samaritans and Stendhal Syndrome. It’s difficult to pick out highlights as the entire set pounds the crowd into submission with Jon Beavis beating the living shit out of his drumkit, but it would be remiss of me not to mention Never Fight a Man With a Perm or Danny Nedelko, both of which sound majestic here, and it is also interesting to note how sharper the band have become musically. They may sacrificed some of the frenzied psychosis of their early gigs, but in its place is a newfound focus and dedication to the songs themselves. Put simply, this band sound fucking incredible.
Towards the end of the gig, Talbot finds time to deliver a medley of some of Manchester’s most iconic acts, and by most iconic acts, I mean Oasis, Simply Red and M People, culminating in their now customary rendition of Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas Is You. This fleeting moment of levity is the only let up from what is a brutal gig and the by the time the band close with The End and Rottweiler, both audience and band are exhausted. I also need the toilet. Not really relevant, I suppose.
Anyway, let’s not end on toilet humour. Instead, let us marvel, dear reader, on a band at the absolute peak of their powers. Idles’ abrasive attitude probably ensures that they won’t ever play venues bigger than the ones they are currently filling, but there is no denying that they are probably the best live band in the country right now.
If you haven’t seen this band yet, buy a ticket fast. People will be asking about these gigs in twenty years.