Live Review: IDLES, City Rose

With two sold-out Sydney shows, IDLES have certainly made a strong hit on the radar of local music fans, primarily on the success of last year’s album Joy As An Act Of Resistance. In an insanely hot and jam-packed Darlinghurst club, the response of both band and audience suggested that all expectations were met or exceeded.

City Rose played an assured opening set that was absorbing in the ways they played with different elements of noise, post-punk, alt-rock and goth. There was a Bauhaus and Birthday Party aesthetic in much of what they did - all of it with intensity and serious application. The inclusion of a sax player gave the music a Stooges vibe at times, lifting it out of the dark claustrophobia (in a good way) that much of their music projected.

IDLES are renowned for their live shows, the inclusiveness and exuberance of the interaction between audience and band, and the passion of all involved. That was clear right from the outset as they took the stage and began the slow build of single Colossus, the crowd singing along with every word. As the song ignited into its metallic surge and squall, the band members flung themselves to all corners of the stage, guitar necks flailing, like Angus Young attempting a straitjacket escape. 

From there it was a near 20-song run through their catalogue with barely a breather – an impressive performance in that sense, given that Oxford Art Factory was at absolute boiler room temperatures, making for one the hottest gigs this reviewer has ever experienced. Bassist Adam Devonshire was down to just his boxers, singer Joe Talbot was fetching in a Mary J Blige shirt and gym shorts, and one expects guitarist Mark Bowen is perpetually without a shirt when on stage, given his audience incursions and general whirling dervish approach to his instrument.

Talbot proved to be a compelling singer, punk-spirited frontman and compassionate bloke. Capable of unleashing a torrent of microphone fury, sprayed saliva and fervent chest beating one second and then spreading the message of love and safety among the audience the next. He was a fascinating focal point amid the controlled chaos of the music and the rest of the band. Humour was never far from proceedings either, a crucial element that balanced the intensity and intelligence of their music. 

Television, Danny Nedelko, White Privilege and the absolute jet engine tsunami of I’m Scum were all highlights of a set that became more and more unhinged as it progressed. There were mass stage invasions, a punter pulled up to show his handmade sign to the crowd and another given a guitar to play before everything came to a crescendo with piss-take snippets of The Bad Seeds' From Her To Eternity, Bon Jovi's Livin' On A Prayer and The Chats' Smoko - all folded into the sweat-drenched haze of bodies and high volume rock'n'roll euphoria.