SOUNDTRACK: IDLES-Tiny Desk Concert #858 (June 28, 2019).
I had heard of Idles from All Songs Considered. On the podcast, Bob Boilen raved about seeing them live. Like this:
My first time seeing IDLES ended with guitarist Mark “Bobo” Bowen frenetically dancing on a bar, his guitar still keeping time, until the swinging neck suddenly shattered some low-hanging, glass lighting fixtures. The band’s set at South by Southwest was fierce and I knew it’d be a challenge trying to figure out how to bring that cathartic rage behind my desk. There was talk for a while of some members of the band strapping on pocket-sized guitar amps and beating on a single drum. But a week before this bunch of British madmen arrived at NPR, the instrument list had grown and what ensued was just about the loudest, most fun and most raucous Tiny Desk Concert in memory.
This is all true, for sure. But this Tiny Desk, as amazing as it is, doesn’t come close to showing how incredible their live show is. Idles live is a truly unforgettable experience.
However, seeing all of that energy and fun contained in a small place is awesome and this is one of my favorite Tiny Concerts as well.
The first song “Never Fight A Man With A Perm” opens with a siren sound from keyboardist Jeremy Snyder and the main constant of Idles’ music–steady bass from Adam Devonshire. Add in the thumping drums from Jon Beavis and you have the ground work for Joe Talbot to start his singing/yelling.
The band also has two guitarists. Mark “Bobo” Bowen thumps on the floor tom while Lee Kiernan jumps around, slashing at chords.
The title sounds funny and it is, but the song is a serious indictment of male aggression.
What lead singer Joe Talbot and his mates bring to their shows is a mix of love and outrage. Their songs are often bursts of fury, but the message is insightful and not intended to incite. Joe Talbot says their opening Tiny Desk song, “Never Fight A Man With A Perm,” from their album Joy as an Act of Resistance, is an “exploration of the horrid corners of my past.”
The chorus of “concrete and leather” thumps around before the song returns to the verses, with some cockney slang:
Brylcreem
Creatine
And a bag of Charlie Sheen
A heathen from Eton
On a bag of Michael Keaton
Bobo is a ton of fun to watch–shirtless, wearing American flag spandex pants, he climbs on everything: amps, desks, and other unseen things.
“Mercedes Marxist” starts with a thumping single bass note which will remain unchanged for two and a half minutes. Snyder takes over on the floor tom while Bobo and Lee trade off guitar sections.
The song is almost entirely that one bass note (with all kinds of guitar melodies and riffs swirling around it). Until a big chorus comes near the end. Through it all, Talbot is directing the fun with his scary vocals.
It only took a few seconds for Joe’s face to turn blood-red; as he growled, it stayed that way for the next 13-minutes, even as he curtseyed at the end of the first song and bounced his way into the second.
The one thing that this Tiny Desk misses is Talbot’s love and generosity.
Despite his tone and the roughness of the music, his kindness and consideration is paramount to the band. Hearing him wish nothing but love on everyone is a pretty wonderful feeling especially after he sings “dirty rotten filthy scum.”
“We are not the Jonas Brothers,” Joe Talbot explained before their final tune. “People get confused.” He said this with his charming smile and began to run in place while singing “I’m Scum,” just to make it clear who they are.
Before the songs, he asks, what song are we doing? Someone says “Scum.” He smiles, “I like this song.” Before it even starts he begins running in place, knees high as he chants “hey! hey!” The energy of this band is incredible and certainly hard to contain.
watching the hyperactive movements in this confined space, it’s actually hard to believe that so few things broke.
Mid song Bobo leaves the desk area to grab someone on the crowd. He gives her percussion instruments to bang. Then Bobo grabs somebody else and he takes over percussion as well. Then Bono crawls around on his knees, climbs on the desk and is having a great time. As is everyone else.
I thanks All Songs Considered all the time for the band they’ve introduced me to, but Idles might be the best find ever.
[READ: July 1, 2019] “A Crowded Memory”
The Summer 2019 issue of The West End Phoenix was a special all comics issue with illustrations by Simone Heath. Each story either has one central illustration or is broken up with many pictures (or even done like a comic strip).
Each story is headed by the year that the story takes place–a story from that particular summer.
1988: This story is written in paragraphs with drawings in between.
It is the story of a 7 year-old girl going to Hong king for the first time.
She was spending a month in Hong Kong without her immediately family. She would be living with her Nai-nai and Gong-gong.
The place was total culture shock. She had never heard only Cantonese before. She had never seen so many Chines people. There were street vendors and apartments and the colors and smells were overwhelming. Everything feels to loud, too big and too hot. (more…)
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I saw Idles two years ago and the show was amazing. A raw, raucous punk show with all kinds of slam dancing, crowd surfing (including the band), and shouting. But also an incredible feeling of warmth and love from the band.
