Idlewild - Exeter University - 11/10/00
4/5
By: Thomas Hannan
They only come out at night. And thank God the Lemon Grove's here in deepest Devon so they have somewhere to come out to. Tonight's rousing show from Idlewild was a perfect opportunity for us 'farmer kids' to let out some teenage angst: the music was loud, the mosh-pit was painful, and the bands top form.
Support came from recent Best Newcomers at the 'Kerrang' Awards, 100 Reasons, sounding like the Deftones with a sense of humour and ridiculous haircuts, and the smartly turned out Turn, whose wiry suited frames sent out a far larger sound than people would've thought possible. Some of the most crowd-pleasing support seen in a while, they did what a warm up band is supposed to do: entertain, intrigue and prepare people for what's to come. You could tell it was going to be big.
Opening with 'Listen To What You've Got', Idlewild immediately filled what was a tiny venue with so much energy it seemed to be reaching bursting point within the first few minutes. Like most of the songs played tonight, it was punked up to a very high extent; some songs, especially the brilliant 'Idea Track', were given such heavy treatment that some parts became barely recognisable from the original album versions.
The fact that a few favourites were omitted from the set was made up for by the inclusion of two new songs and the live debut of 'I'm Happy To Be Here Tonight', which, along with 'A Film For The Future', stood out from what at times seemed a set maybe a little too heavy as being absolutely stunning.
The new tracks were introduced by a nervous frontman Roddy Woomble, who for the rest of the gig seemed happy to be willed on by the relentless chanting of his name, but before playing these unfamiliar tracks understandably seemed to lose a little bit of his on-stage courage. There wasn't a lot of cause for concern, as the new songs aren't anything to worry about for existing Idlewild fans, and may just win over some new ones. Although maybe not sticking in the mind on the first listen (it was difficult to stand up, let alone make out lyrics) I'm sure the same could be said for songs as brilliant as new single 'Roseability' when they were debuted. Played with a distinct urgency and large helping of feeling, they threatened to leave at the end of it. Gertrude Stein had signalled 'enough'. But when you've got a room full of adoring people chanting your name, who are you to pay attention to a legendary author?
An encore climaxing in an anarchic version of 'You Just Have To Be Who You Are' was perfect. Kicking people were flying over your head the duration of the time, but once the final song had started, your neck had become numb anyway. That's rock and roll, 'farmer kids'... you don't feel the pain until afterwards.
Artists in this article: Idlewild
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