IDLES — Paramount Theatre
Seattle, Washington • May 7, 2024

By Lola Hart

There are energetic concerts, there are chaotic concerts, and then there are IDLES concerts.

On May 7, 2024, the Bristol post-punk powerhouse stormed Seattle’s Paramount Theatre and delivered what may have been the most intensely energetic performance Seattle Sound Scene has ever witnessed. From the opening moments to the final eruption of “Rottweiler,” the room never seemed to stop moving.

This wasn’t simply a crowd watching a band perform. This was a packed theater becoming part of the performance.

The evening began with the dark, atmospheric introduction of “IDEA 01,” but any sense of restraint disappeared almost immediately when IDLES launched into “Colossus.” Frontman Joe Talbot prowled the stage like a man preparing to lead an uprising, gradually pulling the audience into the song’s enormous, slow-building tension before everything detonated.

Guitarist Lee Kiernan wasted little time destroying the traditional boundary between performer and audience. During “Colossus,” he launched himself into the crowd with his guitar, playing while being carried above a sea of hands. It was an early warning that absolutely anything could happen before the night was over.

“Gift Horse” and “Mr. Motivator” pushed the energy even higher, with Talbot commanding the Paramount through every barked lyric, pounding rhythm and rallying cry. The floor became a constantly shifting mass of jumping bodies, raised fists and swirling mosh pits. Even from the edges of the room, you could feel the physical force of the audience moving together.

IDLES’ music is confrontational, but its purpose has never been empty aggression. Beneath the noise is a message of compassion, inclusion, vulnerability and resistance. Talbot repeatedly turned the evening toward community, reminding everyone that the chaos only works when people look after one another.

That combination of fury and empathy gave songs such as “Mother,” “Car Crash,” “I’m Scum,” “1049 Gotho” and “The Wheel” tremendous emotional weight. These weren’t songs being politely performed from a stage. They were being thrown into the room and returned by thousands of voices.

Then came one of the wildest scenes we have ever witnessed at a concert.

During “Benzocaine,” guitarists Mark Bowen and Lee Kiernan both crossed the barricade and charged directly into the frenzy with their guitars. The audience opened an enormous circle around them in the middle of the floor, creating a human ring of movement, noise and total disbelief.

There they were—two members of IDLES, surrounded on every side by a surging Seattle crowd, still hammering away at their guitars as the song tore through the Paramount.

It was completely unhinged.

It was also absolutely brilliant.

For a few unforgettable minutes, the center of the audience became the center of the entire show. There was no stage, no separation and no safe distance between the musicians and the people. There was only a huge circle of bodies, two guitars and a level of electricity that felt almost impossible for one room to contain.

Once Bowen and Kiernan finally emerged, Talbot humorously encouraged his wandering bandmates to return by serenading them with a bit of Foo Fighters’ “My Hero.” It was a hilarious release of tension and another reminder that, beneath all the intensity, IDLES never lose their sense of fun.

The newer material from TANGK fit beautifully beside the band’s heavier classics. “Gratitude,” “POP POP POP,” “Roy,” “Jungle” and “Dancer” brought different textures to the performance without sacrificing its physical force. The songs may explore love in unfamiliar and sometimes abrasive ways, but inside the Paramount, their message felt perfectly clear.

One especially touching moment arrived during “Samaritans,” when Talbot dedicated the song to James, a father attending the show with his eight-year-old child. Amid all the sweat, political conviction and controlled chaos, the moment captured the heart of an IDLES concert: dismantling harmful ideas about masculinity while creating a space where tenderness and strength can exist together.

The final stretch was relentless. “Crawl!,” “The Beachland Ballroom” and “Never Fight a Man With a Perm” gave way to “Dancer” and the enormous communal celebration of “Danny Nedelko.” IDLES even slipped into an unexpected burst of Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” before unleashing “Rottweiler” as the night’s final act of beautiful destruction.

By the time it ended, the Paramount looked and felt as though it had survived a storm.

IDLES gave Seattle more than a concert. They created a shared release—loud, sweaty, compassionate, political, funny and gloriously unpredictable. After witnessing countless bands and photographing more shows than we can remember, it takes something extraordinary to leave us genuinely stunned.

This show did exactly that.

It was crazy. It was cathartic. It was unbelievably good.

And it may have been the most energy we have ever witnessed inside a concert venue.

Seattle Sound Scene would also like to extend a very special thank-you to fellow photographers Tom Ham and Pablo A. Martinez. Sharing the photo pit with talented photographers who understand how to capture this level of chaos makes an unforgettable night even more special.



🎸 IDLES — Paramount Theatre, Seattle — May 7, 2024

Setlist

• IDEA 01

• Colossus

• Gift Horse

• Mr. Motivator

• Mother

• Car Crash

• I’m Scum

• 1049 Gotho

• Roy

• The Wheel

• Jungle

• War

• Wizz

• Benzocaine

• Gratitude

• Divide and Conquer

• POP POP POP

• Television

• Samaritans
  (Dedicated to James, the father attending with his eight-year-old child)

• Crawl!

• The Beachland Ballroom

• Never Fight a Man With a Perm

• Dancer

• Danny Nedelko

• All I Want for Christmas Is You
  (Mariah Carey cover)

• Rottweiler