IDLES / CROWS | LIVE REVIEW
Tramshed, Cardiff, Wed 27 Mar
The Tramshed is rammed. Doors have been open for over an hour and still glitter-clad patrons are queuing down the road. Anticipation is at peak levels. After getting physically closer to some strangers than I have friends and family in recent years, I secure a spot in the already nearly full venue. Opening the show, and the only support act of the night, are Crows, who recently released their debut album Silver Tongues on Idles frontman Joe Talbot’s [above] Balley label.
Having been earnestly told by multiple people attending that I “needed” to see the London-based quartet, Crows [below] don’t disappoint. Delivering an intriguing strain of postpunk mixed with pop sensibilities, frontman James Cox commands your attention with the prowess of a veteran performer, adding further variety to the already awesome set by alternating his standard vocals with the use of an effect heavy 1950s microphone. With each song the applause increases and the atmosphere intensifies. People are ready for Idles.
Bassist Adam Devonshire, drummer Jon Beavis and guitarists Mark Bowen and Lee Kiernan take to the stage, welcomed with rapturous applause. The ominous opening chords of Colossus, the first track on Idles’ 2018 album Joy As An Act Of Resistance, ring out and on walks Talbot, his pent-up energy clearly visible. This band are a bottle of pop about to go off in the best possible way.
They blast through their back catalogue at a relentless pace, dipping in to Joy… again for Never Fight A Man With A Perm and I’m Scum, before returning to 2017 debut Brutalism for their breakthrough track Well Done; the set continues to draw from both throughout, satisfying fans old and new. There’s even a nod to the band’s Meat EP with the inclusion of its opener, Queens.
All members give everything they have and leave nothing but sweat, and a lot of spit, on the stage. Their intensity never wanes. Talbot does the running man for an impressive amount of time while Kiernan ventures into the crowd, guitar still in hand. Bowen runs around like a madman as Devonshire shows off some impressive dance moves, while ensuring he never veers too far away from his rhythm section brother Beavis – who at one point bangs the skins so hard it wouldn’t be surprising if he hit his way through the floor.
It’s not just the songs that entertain tonight, though. Talbot is on form with the crowd banter. After receiving some boos when admitting to the Cardiff crowd that he’s originally from Newport, he responded that an Idles show has space for everyone: “sectarian thinking is for Sleaford Mods gigs.” Closing track Rottweiler is introduced as a reaction to the “racist” press in this country. “Don’t read The Sun, it’ll give you cancer.” He does not give a fuck and it is glorious.
Idles are amazing at being Idles. They march to the beat of their own offbeat drum. They played for an hour and a half, giving a taste of all their releases, entertained with a physical as well as musical performance, and most importantly preached and practiced inclusivity. Everyone in the room was part of the show, some even pulled on stage to play instruments. From the twentysomething man to my left who did not stop headbanging until the final note rang out, to the middle-aged woman to my right fighting to keep her just-right-for-her-5ft-height spot, joy is an act of resistance and tonight Cardiff refused to have anything less than a beautiful communal experience.
words LAURA ELIZABETH JOHNSON photos DALI POULSOM