“This is an anti fascist song for anti fascists.” Another beautiful Los Angeles night and another amazing concert. Modern Post Punk legends IDLES are in the middle of a massive “Love Is The Fing” North American and world tour in support of the fabulous new album Tangk, released on Partisan records this past February, with two sold out nights in one of LAs most iconic venues The Hollywood Palladium.

IDLES is a band that has been one of my favorite bands going today from the moment I watched the “Mother” music video while researching bands before Desert Daze 2018. I have seen them live six times now and each time they seem to be able to evolve and elevate their live show and this time was no exception. The lighting setup they have on this current tour is gorgeous, dynamic, and warm. Light orange lights sweeping over the crowd while blue walls framing the band dynamically on stage (to my thought this is definitely one of the lessons IDLES learned from LCD Soundsystem while opening for them on the Re:SET concert series last summer probably among many other lessons).

Their blistering twoish hour set spanned tracks from all of their albums basically without stopping and no encore (because honestly just use all of your time for music if you've earned a encore you'll know it from the audience don't make people stand their and applaud you because we know youre going to play two more songs when you could have fitted in four more.) Lead screamer Joe Talbot confidently walked across the stage as the band (made up of Guitarists Mark “Bobo” Bowen and Lee Kiernan, Bassiest Adam Devonshire, and drummer Jon Beavis) briefly warmed up and started making the soundscape that is their opening song “IDEA 01”. Someone threw a homemade “Free Palestine” hat at Joe after the first song which he wore the whole set after.

The Band also dedicated their set and multiple songs to the people of Palestine as well as other people close to the bands heart (They also started multiple “Free Palestine” chants throughout the evening. The lads proceeded to pummel the crowd with their thoughtful powerful songs about loss, love and change. Classics from “Joy As An Act of Resistance” (“Colossus” and “Never Fight A Man With A Perm”) and “Brutalism” (“Mother” and “1049 Gotho”) as well as newer bops from “CRAWLER” (“The Wheel” and “When The Lights Come On”) and “Ultra Mono” (“War”). Everything blended together into the most beauting loving and nourishing smoothie I have had in a long while. Singer Joe Talbot said while introducing their song “Benzocaine”, “This song is about drugs. Well most of our songs are about drugs,” laughing as he said the second part. All of their songs work strung together into a blistering two hours of stories of love and loss ending with an appeal to hope and a better future for everyone.

The songs build on each other and enhance/expand on their meanings. Near the end of their set guitarist Bobo exclaimed, “We’d play four nights in a row here if they let us!” IDLES are never a band to miss so please do whatever you can to get into the pit and scream “ALL IS LOVE!” Catch them live as they make their way to the east coast of NA and throughout the world till January 2025 (these dudes are road beasts!)

IDLES has an impeccable track record of bringing some of the best modern artists (Past openers that I have seen: Fontaines DC, Surfbort, and Gustaf.) on tour with them including Detroit punk icons Protomartyr (who I so happened to cover for this very website last year [link]). Singer Joe Casey, guitarist Greg Ahee, bassiest Scott Davidson, drummer Alex Leonard and the legend and occasional touring member/multiinstrumentalist Kelly Fucking Deal (of The Breeders fame) confidently sauntered their collective way through a set of some of the greatest songs that will hopefully lead to the uninitiated into diving deep into their incredibly impressive discography. Funny aside, while introducing the band's singer Joe Casey said, “This is Kelly Deal! And you don't care about the rest of our names.” Anytime that I get to hear a Deal Sister sing live I am an incredibly happy dude.

Review & Photos by: Ben LaCross

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