2020 has been by far the most weird and strange year, with a global pandemic where everyone is missing attending live music events, IDLES decide to do something special for their community with live stream of a studio session divided into 3 sets at the Abbey Road Studios in London.

Over the past few years, Bristol’s IDLES have acted as a counterweight to the continuous rush of despair and sadness emanating from every corner of the media.
With their third album “Ultra Mono” few weeks away (September 25th), the excitement that develops within IDLES fan base ahead of this three-part stream weekend is really big, especially due to the economy situation that we are all facing in 2020.
The event is broadcast live from Abbey Road and £10 ticket gives you access to a 40-minute set of your choosing or, if you are a super dedicated fan, you can opt for the whole lot for £20. And to make your experience even more memorable, you get a limited-edition shirt with the phrase “Haven’t Been There, Got the T-Shirt”. Definitely something unique to have!
The whole set up looks great in my opinion, with a lingering shot from above that alternates with close ups on all the band members. The anxious tension in the room is palpable and I think that’s totally normal considering the global situation over the last few months. Even if watching this via your laptop is not the same as being in front of the stage, I can confirm that they still are a relentless force of churning energy and tumultuous sound.
Frontman Joe Talbot’s gravel-dredging klaxon of a voice towers over the mix, whilst the scabrous clash of Lee Kiernan and Mark Bowen’s guitar meshes perfectly. Thought they are angry and with good reason, their sound and playing is brilliantly tight and closely bound together as they always have.
As it’s one of smaller studios at the Abbey Road and with all the intense emotions scattering from Talbot and the band, almost make it feel even smaller. But then, he gives his bandmates a look and they launch into an immaculate rendition of the pummelling “Heel/Heal”, mastered down to perfection through years of live execution. After months and weeks of Instagram lives, it feels like a real luxury to witness something so beautiful and more intimate.
Every member of the band is highly involved throughout the whole performance and guitarist Lee Kiernan is jumping around the room. At the centre of it all, Talbot wears his nervousness most plainly, nursing a leg injury and clearly in his head about the strangeness of the situation.
One of the songs played is “Kill ‘em with Kindness”, the first live outing of the “Ultra Mono” cut. Although it sounds much more vibrant live that it does on the record, his head remains low until “Mr Motivator” that suddenly remind him that he means to have fun. Almost at the end of the set he finally admits that he is inconsolably nervous and starts climbing over the drums with a second set of sticks to pound out some of the frustration.
In a weekend where they should have been sub-headlining the second biggest stage at Reading & Leeds, they still tried to make is special for their community and show once again who IDLES are.
And if you want to have a chance to catch them live, there are still tickets available for their 2021 UK & Ireland Tour, so make sure to check their website out!
This seems to be the “new way of doing gig” this year and it has definitely been and interesting experience!
Setlist:
• Heel/Heal
• Never Fight a Man with a Perm
• Stendhal Syndrome
• Kill Them with Kindness
• Gram Rock
• Date Night
• I Wanna Be Sedated (Ramones Cover)
• Mr Motivator
• 1049 Gotho
• Television
• Rottweiler
With their third album “Ultra Mono” few weeks away (September 25th), the excitement that develops within IDLES fan base ahead of this three-part stream weekend is really big, especially due to the economy situation that we are all facing in 2020.
The event is broadcast live from Abbey Road and £10 ticket gives you access to a 40-minute set of your choosing or, if you are a super dedicated fan, you can opt for the whole lot for £20. And to make your experience even more memorable, you get a limited-edition shirt with the phrase “Haven’t Been There, Got the T-Shirt”. Definitely something unique to have!
The whole set up looks great in my opinion, with a lingering shot from above that alternates with close ups on all the band members. The anxious tension in the room is palpable and I think that’s totally normal considering the global situation over the last few months. Even if watching this via your laptop is not the same as being in front of the stage, I can confirm that they still are a relentless force of churning energy and tumultuous sound.
Frontman Joe Talbot’s gravel-dredging klaxon of a voice towers over the mix, whilst the scabrous clash of Lee Kiernan and Mark Bowen’s guitar meshes perfectly. Thought they are angry and with good reason, their sound and playing is brilliantly tight and closely bound together as they always have.
As it’s one of smaller studios at the Abbey Road and with all the intense emotions scattering from Talbot and the band, almost make it feel even smaller. But then, he gives his bandmates a look and they launch into an immaculate rendition of the pummelling “Heel/Heal”, mastered down to perfection through years of live execution. After months and weeks of Instagram lives, it feels like a real luxury to witness something so beautiful and more intimate.
Every member of the band is highly involved throughout the whole performance and guitarist Lee Kiernan is jumping around the room. At the centre of it all, Talbot wears his nervousness most plainly, nursing a leg injury and clearly in his head about the strangeness of the situation.
One of the songs played is “Kill ‘em with Kindness”, the first live outing of the “Ultra Mono” cut. Although it sounds much more vibrant live that it does on the record, his head remains low until “Mr Motivator” that suddenly remind him that he means to have fun. Almost at the end of the set he finally admits that he is inconsolably nervous and starts climbing over the drums with a second set of sticks to pound out some of the frustration.
In a weekend where they should have been sub-headlining the second biggest stage at Reading & Leeds, they still tried to make is special for their community and show once again who IDLES are.
And if you want to have a chance to catch them live, there are still tickets available for their 2021 UK & Ireland Tour, so make sure to check their website out!
This seems to be the “new way of doing gig” this year and it has definitely been and interesting experience!
Setlist:
• Heel/Heal
• Never Fight a Man with a Perm
• Stendhal Syndrome
• Kill Them with Kindness
• Gram Rock
• Date Night
• I Wanna Be Sedated (Ramones Cover)
• Mr Motivator
• 1049 Gotho
• Television
• Rottweiler