Staff Editor on May 23rd, 2019

0

“We’re IDLES.”
[cheers]
“You’re Los Angeles!”
[cheers]
“This is terrifying…”
[silence]
“…in a good way!”
[cheers]

Joe Talbot came on strong with the rest of Bristol, U.K.’s IDLES backing him up with their aggressive take on punk (that they don’t like to consider punk) at the Fonda Theatre on Wednesday. Crushing a set that alternated between their two albums “Brutalism” and “Joy as an Act of Resistance,” Talbot belted out positive lyrics about self-love, mental illness and unity, while Mark Bowen and Lee Kiernan shredded brutal guitar riffs and Adam Devonshire and Jon Beavis pounded out bass & drums behind them.

IDLES took their time between their ferocious songs to happily interact with their crowd, with one break having the entire band grabbing a mic and singing their sloppy rendition of Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” to a fan celebrating her 24th birthday. Talbot repeatedly said how welcome and at home they all felt in not only Los Angeles, but the entire U.S., as they have been spending the last few weeks spreading their aggressive positivity throughout the country. IDLES continually expressed how grateful they were for the amplified crowd by taking themselves and their instruments into the crowd to become one with the wild mass in front of them. “What most people on this side of the stage won’t tell you,” started Talbot, “is that you are 99.9% of every show. What that means is that we are fuck-all without you!”

Talbot’s “current favorite band” — which he stated while thanking them later on in the show —post-punk outfit Fontaines D.C. of Dublin, Ireland, opened the show and have been joining IDLES for their current U.S. tour.

Setlist: Colossus, Never Fight a Man With a Perm, Mother, Faith in the City, Divide and Conquer, 1049 Gotho, Heel/Heal, Love Song, Date Night, I’m Scum, Danny Nedelko, Where’s My Ice Cream, Well Done, Samaritans, Television, Benzocaine, Cry to Me (Solomon Burke cover), Rottweiler.

Photos and recap by Samuel C. Ware