‘Part Sinatra, part steamroller, wholly unstoppable’: Idles live at Leeds Stylus


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Idles playing Live At Leeds 2018 (Gary Mather / Live4ever)




Where and when tonight did righteous fury become poetic, or frustration a shield or honesty a weapon? For Idles it’s not enough to want change, it requires action.

Ten Years After once said, ‘I’d love to change the world but I don’t know what to do so I’ll leave it up to you’. Idles may or may not know what to do, but there’s no way they’re leaving it up to anyone else. Here, they put the ‘Just Warriors’ into social justice warriors and the ‘up yours’ into anything relating to the status quo. In a live setting, their militancy gains real force.

Show opener Colossus is bigger than even its name suggests, the sheer intensity and ferocity incredible. With an even more sparse and brutal arrangement, the impact is even more insane and visceral than on the album. Similarly, during Never Fight A Man With A Perm, Idles show how their ability to re-purpose and re-arm the familiar cannot currently be matched. Their combination of known, unknown and unexpected lyrical beats repeatedly hit the mark and drag the crowd along for the ride. It’s part Sinatra, part steamroller, wholly unstoppable.

Mother has always painted a very bleak picture of modern Britain however, in doing so at this gig, it instead becomes a rallying cry for those who know the tale it tells, all united under an assumed allegiance to righting these wrongs. They might not actually solve any of the world’s problems, and they might never, but you suspect that’s not their ultimate goal. Instead, this band wants to open eyes, minds and ears. And what’s more interesting is how open everyone already is to what Idles are preaching; everyone already understands, everyone already knows and everyone already believes that things can be better and will be better if they work towards it together.

Divide & Conquer’s pulsating, gyrating deep dive into a swirling bass vortex is not only intoxicating, but also drips with charisma and excitement. Never relenting or relinquishing its vice-like hold on the audience’s throat, choking, cloying and liberating all at the same time. It’s wonderfully evil and passionate.

Then they had sound issues. But when things go wrong the brave step up to be counted, and it took a brave man in front of this crowd to deliver a wonderfully impromptu acapella cover of Mariah Carey’s Christmas classic. It was out of key, out of season, out of the blue but completely inspired. In fact, Idles seem to believe in their fans in a way most bands don’t. This gig was as much a dialogue with those in attendance as it was a performance for them. Questions are asked and answered, crowd participation not just encouraged but a part of the show.

Which, at another point, culminated in an expletive-driven and hilarious performance involving a still-in-his-uniform employee of a major supermarket singing something far from encouraging about his employers and their competitors – accompanied by the band, who loved every single second of it. (All names and descriptions remain kept vague, to keep people employed.)

Cry To Me is one of the most insane and inspired covers in history, the live setting only sharpening this point. Idles have taken a classic slice of sultry soul and turned it into something deeper, more powerful. They’ve not taken the soul out, but have instead transported the lovers’ yearning into the heart of a fighter. Well Done will probably become Mary Berry’s most lasting legacy if Idles have anything to do about it. Anger, ire, frustration (not her usual characteristics) all encapsulated in a truly claustrophobic, sweaty-palmed and jittery performance.

Changing the world is probably beyond any band, but making it better is achievable with the right message. Idles and their audience seem to feel this might be the message that’s needed. Idles manage to make their antagonistic onslaught feel like a comfort blanket. There’s something warming about their sincerity – whether it’s their passionate concern for some or their utter contempt for others, who knows.



But in every breath and beat is honesty and confrontation, and that’s what people need today.

(Dylan Llewellyn-Nunes)


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