I don’t know that it’s the adjective they would most hope to be described with, but I find IDLES adorable – watching them perform is always a real joy. So it was exciting to learn that they were offering the opportunity to watch three sets over the long weekend, all from the comfort of one’s own living room. The streaming was accompanied by an audience chat room, with audience members around the world perplexed to discover that when they though they were typing their first message, they were in fact entering their username (cue users called ‘YEEEEEEEEE’ and ‘so does it just start at 9?’) – luckily the very amiable Bec from Melbourne as sharing the knowledge that CTRL + R allowed you change username. I think it was about 5am down under, so props to her for being more civil than I usually am at that time. Highlight of the pre-show chat was the user who replied to someone’s third or fourth complaint that the site didn’t support Chromecast with ‘ why don’t you just marry Chromecast?’
Set 1 (9pm Saturday) opened, like debut album Brutalism, with Heel/Heal. It’s an odd affair watching a band play live in a studio, a bit like eavesdropping on a rehearsal. I wonder what it was like for them to play. They certainly warmed to it, although singer Joe Talbot apologised for the lack of chat during the first set (he did manage some choice comments about guitars Mark Bowen’s orange suit though). Each set comprised a mix of tracks drawn from their two albums to date and some newer numbers, plus a cover. For Set 1 this was a downtempo version of Ramones classic I Wanna Be Sedated, ginormous lyric sheets on the floor. Closer Rottweiler ended in big rock and roll style with Bowen smashing his guitar, Talbot having joined the ever-smiling Jon Beavis on the drums.
Set 2 (11:45pm Saturday; opener: Colossus) sees an extended love song medley vocal appearance during Love Song by Mark Bowen, now in a floral shirt and green trousers) found IDLES much more relaxed and playful, perhaps especially guitarist Lee Kiernan who I think might have been over-tired and acting out, a constant mischievous glint in his eye and a tendency to go walkabout around the studio, climbing to any available high point (Bowen’s chorus of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds very quickly becoming rendered as Lee in the Sky with Diamonds). The cover this time was an extended wig out version of Reptilia by The Strokes.
Set 3 (12pm Sunday, opener: new number War) closed, appropriately enough given the venue, with a cover of The Beatles‘ Helter Skelter (with a line or two from Placebo‘s Pure Morning for good measure). This weekend has been a treat – the sheer exuberance that IDLES exude is contagious (there’s something really satisfying about seeing rock-steady bassist Adam Devonshire chuckle as he catches sight of a bandmate’s antics), and the sets have been a great reminder of the strength of IDLES’s catalogue.