Idles deliver explosive show at Neumos
We had heard so much about the live performances of the British punk band Idles and were thrilled to finally check them out at Neumos. Their second album, Joy as an Act of Resistance, was released last year to more acclaim than their debut, Brutalism, and we couldn’t wait to hear the new songs live. The band has been steadily climbing their genre’s best band’s list and their shows are complete chaos. We expected nothing less in Seattle.
The night started off with another band to watch for Fontaines D.C. which held the audience’s attention and absolutely rocked out. If the openers were any indication of what was to follow we were in for a roughty night. Supporting their debut record, Dogrel, the Irish band excited and caused tension the whole way through. Watch out for them in the future and make sure to join the club.
It was time for Idles to take the floor and as each band member took the stage the crowd was already cheering them on in adoration. Lead singer Joe Talbot looked out and smiled as he wasted no time getting into the set and watching the fans follow his lead. You can’t start with “Colossus” and expect anything else, the mosh pit was going right away and within second track “Never Fight A Man With A Perm,” they were already crowdsurfing. The night was about to get more and more lively as the band continued.
We see a lot of shows every year and we can easily say that this is on our top 20 already. The way all of the members interacted with each other and the audience was so unique and the show flowed as wild as their personalities that came alive with every note. Nothing is staged, nothing is planned, the members do as they feel and they do not hold back at all. There is so much spitting, so much sweat, so much fire, so much passion, and so much raw emotion that it becomes undeniable that it is real.
There was not a single moment that was calm, a single moment we stood still, and a single moment that we didn’t feel alive. This is what it’s all about, moments that we feel this way in our otherwise routine lives. This feeling that comes over you when a band can create a tidal wave of emotion drowning you with life and the willingness to fight everything around you to be alive. Guitarists Mark Bowen and Lee Kiernan got into the crowd a few times, stood on people’s hands, crowdsurfed and showed us how to perform a show. Watching Kiernan move onstage was like watching a professional dancer move to the beat as his notes controlled his entire body with such elegance. He was impressive, while Bowen only wearing American flag tight pants paraded on the right side. Towards the end they had Fontanes DC join them and actually encouraging them to crowdsurf to their songs as the audience held everyone up.
We couldn’t get enough of the night and we can see why this band is so impressive. If you’ve seen them you understand, if you haven’t you will. This is the real deal and if you haven’t been to one of their shows then you can trust us in saying that you will love every second. You might have the urge to go destroy some objects after that but you’ll be alright as sometimes that’s necessary too. Just don’t harm other humans. We can’t wait until the next time to feel this way.
