IDLES have grown from strength to strength, from seeing them in Exeter in 2016, they have gone on to fill festival stages, produce (in my opinion) one of the finest debut albums in the world ever and manage to sell out a tour of the United Kingdom. We caught them playing at The Hub in Plymouth, read on to see how the evening unfolded....

The Hub in Plymouth was sold out and the crowd (having been well warmed up by another Bristol based band called LICE) anticipated a great night ahead. They roared as Joe Talbot strode onstage and prowled up and down like a caged tiger with a manic glint in his eye and a Jack Nicholson-esque smile on his face. He knew what they were about to unleash.

They dived straight in with "Heel/Heal". The intensity of the music was even greater live and Idles delivered it relentlessly. Next were "Idles Chant" and "Faith in the City", the crowd loved it especially when Lee left the stage to join the pit.

Not only was the music great, the energy of the on (and off) stage performance of the lads (Mark just doesn’t stop!) just added to a super atmosphere. Everyone just wanted a good time and Idles were up for ensuring they got one. "Mother", "Queens", a post-Brexit number (GREAT it’s called I think!) & "1049 Gotho" followed and they just kept ratchetting the atmosphere up.

Not only are Idles a superbly talented set of musicians, they give a social commentary on the issues in today’s world. Joe introduced songs with some personal insight, whether that be about depression, relationships with loved ones or Brexit. These guys really stand for something. Maybe that is “challenge what isn’t right around you but don’t be afraid to have a good time whilst you do it”.

They led into the brutal "Divide & Conquer" with Joe explaining this was created around concern for the state of the NHS. This was my personal highlight of the evening. You could feel the rage in Joe’s lyrics and Mark & Lee’s crunching riffs were driven on by Adam’s bass and Jon’s drums. The crowd were bouncing as the electric atmosphere coursed through the veins of everyone in attendance and although I couldn’t see them, I’m sure Adam’s grandparents, who were at the gig, were rocking out too!

Next came "Date Night" then "White Privilege". Joe got down into the crowd and made his way to the back of the hall as we all sang “Dance ‘til the sun goes round”. The tempo was ramped back up with "Samaritans", "Exeter", "Love Song" and "Well Done". The intro to "Exeter" got a great cheer from the Plymouth crowd “Here’s a song about a shithole.”, purely a case of knowing your audience and the rivalry between the two cities!

 
They finished the set and brought the house down with "Rottweiler". Fantastic entertainment. As Joe signed off for the band, he came across as being humbled that the gig had sold out and by the love they’d received. It left me feeling that they felt privileged to perform for us. For me, it was a privilege to be there and they are undoubtedly a ‘must see’ live act and based on what I’ve seen and heard, bigger crowds will be feeling the same about Idles very soon.

Review by Gary Williams