By Colette Custin
British post-punk quintet IDLES brought bombast and an intensely passionate performance to the Aragon Ballroom on Wednesday for their Love is the Fing tour, and their faithful fanbase turned out in huge numbers for the spectacle.
“Tonight is a very special night,” said frontman Joe Talbot at one point, “because this is the only time you’ll see me wearing a sweater.” Indeed he was, and from the Chicago Music Exchange no less, as he graciously led the band through a twenty-six song setlist of noisy, thrumming tunes along with a couple of surprises.
The band’s onstage chemistry is mesmerizing, and the rhythm section of drummer Jon Beavis and bassist Adam Devonshire is machine-like in its stomping, crunchy song breaks and arrangements, giving guitarists Lee Kiernan and Mark Bowen room to experiment with borderline industrial riffs and song structures, particularly on “Dancer,” “Good Horse,” and the thunderous opener “IDEA 01” from new album Tangk.
Talbot dedicated “The Wheel” from 2021’s Crawler to Steve Albini while thanking the crowd for their dedication, and a cover of Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas is You” was an odd and entertaining end to a set that dealt in heavy, brooding themes for most of the evening.
British indie rock band English Teacher kicked off the night with a solid set of upbeat, piano driven tunes that called to mind bands like The Hush Sound.
Photo Gallery : IDLES – Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom (09.18.2024)
