Always
happy to tack on a late addition to the Spring Dance Card, especially given
that this one was the return - after a 4-year absence, which itself followed a
near-7 year hiatus! - of live faves Idlewild! Odd to consider, then, that this
would be only the 3rd time in 11 years that I would be availing myself of their
widescreen, windswept and cerebral REM-like indie pop, given that Rach and I
had seen them on multiple occasions (13 for me, maybe more for my dear lady
wife and avid Woomble-fan), including 3 times on our 2005 California honeymoon!
When these dates were announced, as late as mid-Feb, it was also very much a
case of "tix first, logistics later", as not only was our closest gig
at the horrible-to-park-at Anson Rooms, but it also fell on a busy Easter
Weekend, when Rach was already out in Bristol on Friday... and Saturday
afternoon!
So
I set off, shorts-clad on an unseasonably hot Easter Saturday, Rach having
stayed overnight in Bath with our friend Kate after Friday’s PWEI/Neds
double-header at the O2, then having travelled back down to Bristol earlier today
to meet up with friends Laura and Lizzie for an afternoon show and pre-gig food
and beverages. Leaving early meant a decent parking spot just along the main
road from the venue, a short wait for doors at 7, then an opportunity to catch
up with a svelte and affable Idlewild drummer Colin, on the merch stand early
doors, reminiscing about previous encounters and particularly their final,
frenzied and drunken LA show and their support that night Mutilated Mannequins,
easily the worst band I've ever - ever! - seen! Grabbed a space in the barrier
in the very quiet hall, chatting to some fellow front-rowers, including Julian,
whom I've bumped into at Nada Surf gigs. Some muso chat with this fellow
veteran rock aficionado passed the time until Rach arrived, electing to watch
the support with the girls from their bar table, resting up after 2 moshpits
last night. That's my girl! Support Blackaby were on for 8, a 3 piece with a
Carlos Santana lookalike bassist and a tousled vocalist with a reedy, lilting
voice somewhere between Jeff Buckley and Dean Wareham. They weren't bad, their
varied-tempo material having some good melodic choruses and a hazy, early 70’s
California soft rock feel, but much of it was either unremarkable or a little
discordant, off-key even, particularly during their earlier numbers. Their last
2 songs - a cover of something I didn't recognise, and a Sparks-ish closer
which also nicked the descending verse refrain from the Gigolo Aunts' "
Weird Sister" - were their most upbeat and best, and they at least got
through their short set without any equipment failures - unlike last night,
apparently!
Rach
joined us on the barriers as the place filled up; nowhere near a sell-out,
though, and plenty of space down the front to dance throughout. OK, I get that students
are off for Easter, but it still felt a poor turnout. C'mon Bristol, sort it
out! Still, it didn't seem to bother Idlewild, as from the outset, these
Scottish veterans were on it; new number "Dream Variations" was a
robust glam stomp opener with some lovely 3 part harmonies and some effective
mirror-ball lighting, adding to its' twinkling feel, then an extended
"Roseability" was utterly superb, lengthy guitar intros and outros
adding to its' drama and power, and giving guitarist Rod Jones scope to jump
about energetically and Zebedee-like (as he was to do throughout). Vocalist
Roddy Woomble, be-suited and clean-shaven and shorn, looked annoyingly young, harking
back to that skinny gauche young boy of 1998, impervious to the ravages of
time, and often delivered his conversational vocals standing sideways-on to the
audience, thence retreating to the wings, content to watch his bandmates take
the limelight and deliver the rock. And they duly did, the set beautifully
chosen (partly the consequence of an Instagram poll, according to a fellow
punter) and representing their entire canon, and played with crisp, economical
yet punchy style and substance, and the relaxed insouciance of experience.
Roddy
was also in relaxed fooling, commenting that upbeat newie "There's A Place
For Everything" was, "about how no-one likes to do the
washing(!)" and introducing "Readers And Writers" as being from
the oft-overlooked "Post Electric Blues" album, then, following audience
cheers, deadpanning, "popular in Bristol but nowhere else!" The
candyfloss fairground melody of "Same Things Twice" was a mid-set
highlight, before they brought out the really
big guns; "American English" was a rousing and soaring sing-along,
almost matched by "Love Steals Us From Loneliness" for its’ epic,
widescreen feel, the splendid "When I Argue I See Shapes" featured a
lovely looped acapella break, and "El Capitan" was probably my
highlight of the night, stark and towering as the mountain itself. Some oldies
for the encore too, a by-now jacketless Roddy (displaying a jazzy patterned
shirt and quipping, "we need to wear snazzy shirts - we're at that
age!") introducing a frantic, garbled "Everyone Thinks That You're So
Fragile" as "late 90's punk rock", then profusely thanking all
and sundry before the rampant closer "Modern Way Of Letting Go".
So
great stuff overall, from a band who may be a couple of albums past their
absolute finest recorded output but who still know how to put on a superb
"live" performance. Set-list, farewells then gathered the girls
(including a now wiped-out Rach, 3 moshpits in a shade over 24 hours!) for an
unimpeded drive home. A late addition maybe, but always welcome and a lucky -
and rather superb - 13 from Idlewild!
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