Idles Brings Urgent Post-Punk and Dynamic Energy to Ruckus New York Show: Concert Review
variety.comWilliam Earl administrator It’s easy to dip into hyperbole after seeing Idles play. If you want energy, rawness and showmanship from a concert, is any other band devoting this much of themselves to the live experience in 2024?
The British post-punk quintet — vocalist Joe Talbot, guitarists Mark Bowen and Lee Kiernan, bassist Adam Devonshire and drummer Jon Beavis — is a swirling mass of passion and fiery emotion, marked by a heavy rhythm section, screaming guitars and Talbot’s aggressive shouted-sung sloganeering.
They released their fifth album, “Tangk,” in February, and quickly scaled up in profile. By inviting Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich and hip-hop mastermind Kenny Beats to co-produce the record with Bowen, the team played on a deeper sonic canvas than previous albums, letting songs breathe and the hooks get funkier in ways that still felt punk, all while getting invited to play on mainstream platforms like “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.” Toward the end of their U.S.
leg touring “Tangk,” Idles performed a ferocious set Friday night at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens, N.Y. The 13,000-capacity outdoor venue, known for inspiring scores of noise complaints from neighbors, immediately started shaking when the band took to their positions for the slow, droning buildup of “Tangk” opener “Idea 01,” before ratcheting up the intensity into fan-favorite “Colossus.” The entire show was a masterclass on stage presence, as the group’s driving rhythms allowed for controlled chaos.
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