Idlewild - New York Mercury Lounge - 21/5/03
4/5
By: Joshua K
In the beginning (OK, the early 1980s), God created 'indie'. Mid-paced rock n' roll that was harder than folk, softer than punk, wittier than metal, and beloved by fey student-types everywhere. These poetry-toting dreamers, as celebrated by Morrissey in every song until he decided that what he really wanted to be was a Kray, sometimes didn't know whom they loved more - the unattainable girl or boy next door - but did know that, in the final tally, neither measured up to Keats or Yeats or Plath anyhow.
Yet a unified kingdom of 'traditional' indie seemed destined never to be, as its proponents quickly split into two separate strands: the rollicking, hyper-intelligent UK jangle typified by The Smiths and the muffled, sensitive but at-times rocking Americana typified by REM. But then, out of university in Scotland in the mid-'90s emerged the great redeemers, a ragtag band of young dreamers who liked to play loud. And a great noise they made, which eventually calmed down until their fury was honed into (hark!) a hyper-intelligent, sensitive but at-times rocking sound that attracted a growing number of fans the world over.
Which brings us to Idlewild circa 2003: prepping for a Pearl Jam stadium support slot with a sold out tour of tiny US clubs. Playing for a devoted audience who know all the songs, own all the albums, lap up every slight utterance from floppy-haired frontman Roddy Womble, and forgive every last (and there are many) equipment glitch on this opening night.
So, catering to such a fanboy crowd, the set is packed from beginning to end with early-career standouts including 'I'm A Message', 'When I Argue I See Shapes', 'Little Discourage', 'A Film For The Future' and 'Roseability'. In between, the new ones (off current LP 'The Remote Part') slot in - breakthrough UK singles 'You Held The World In Your Arms', 'American English' and 'Live In A Hiding Place', plus '(I Am) What I Am Not', 'Century After Century', 'Tell Me Ten Words' and more.
Unfortunately, whether down to nerves, tech problems, the weight of expectations or what, the harder songs just aren't hard enough, the slower ones too often slip into 'typical indie' rather than transcending it, and Roddy's voice too often relies on Michael Stipe's tones rather than merely being colored by them.
Of course, one might not have even noticed that things weren't 100% if you hadn't seen them perform previously. Or if the proceedings didn't suddenly kick up a notch with set closer 'In Remote Part' - a standout display which, for the first time tonight, demonstrates live what Idlewild have shown to be capable of on record; it's a glorious and sweeping sound that builds to a crescendo as Edwin Morgan's poem 'Scottish Fiction' emerges from the speaker-stacks.
The encore follows and finally they're loose, tearing through a cover of 'I Found That Essence Rare' by Gang of Four before launching into a raging version of classic 'Wild track 'Captain'. As indie meets post-punk and art-rock for a kafuffle down the student union, you're suddenly awakened to the fact that all that's come before was merely good when it could have, no, should have, been great.
Artists in this article: Idlewild
Your Feedback
Login to post your comment