Idlewild return to Oxford for the first time in many a year on the back of their finest album in a similar time scale; Post Electric Blues. Disproving the theory that comfort is the enemy of creativity, the band that arrive onstage to an uncharacteristically boisterous Oxford reception are comfortable in the band they have become, playing an array of material that stretches the length of their career.
Fellow Scots Xcerts open proceedings and are in contrast to what follows a band desperately scrabbling for an identity amid predictable power chords and hollow bluster. It’s wholly unspectacular emo-tinged FM rock and the warm reception it’s afforded seems more due to the prevailing excitement ahead of tonight’s headliners.
It may be October but thanks for some thermostatical mismanagement the o2 Academy has become something of a sweatbox and it’s with anticipation, but also relief, that Idlewild take to the stage. After a couple of ballads it’s onto exuberant recent single ‘Readers and Writers’ and then into ‘Actually It’s Darkness’ which sparks the inevitable singalong
Roddy Woomble is rake thin and thick bearded, and engages in well honed banter thoughout the set and while he’s at ease between songs or delivering his trademark tongue-twisting tirades he frequently lopes into the shadows during instrumental breaks to observe proceedings with a School-masterly air while the rest of the band seize the opportunity to rock out.
The real strength of tonight’s set is that the band no longer feel the need to limit themselves to celtic folk or cacophonous punk and find space in the set for offerings from each of their studio albums from the nihlistic simplicity of ‘Annihilate Now’ to the R.E.M-esque jangle of ’Younger Than America’. Woomble is in fine voice, and is ably backed by the harmonies of Rod Jones. Jones is a whirling ball of energy, flailing and slicing his guitar through the air on ‘These Wooden Ideas’ and and a ferocious and rapturously met ‘Roseability’ that sees many running for the mosh pit, even on a Sunday night.
And the hits just keep on coming; ‘You Held The World…’ brings drums like explosives and still sounds as majestic as it did on first listen and ‘When I Argue I See Shapes’ conjures memories to tracks taped from Steve Lamacq and if ‘Idea Track’ is slightly sloppy it is a perfect reminder of the dedication this band have inspired since their very first releases as it’s dedicated to some girls in the crowd you’d requested it after travelling down from Scotland for this evening.
The band are willed back onstage to deafening cries from the audience and rip into ‘A Modern Way Of Letting Go’; a highlight that sees them at their furious best musically while Woomble winds one of his obtuse lyrics to great effect and despite cries for long lost rarities with only time for one song they opt for a timeless ‘American English’ to soften the blow the end of the weekend brings.
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I saw them at the Underworld last Friday and was MASSIVELY disappointed. The crowd was awful – they only wanted to hear old stuff – Roseability, Captain and Modern Way got the biggest cheers, and the new stuff was barley audible over the talking and shouts for older stuff.
The band just seemed like they couldn’t be arsed too – Rod Jones didn’t look up for the entire show. Clearly I got them on a bad night – the Oxford show sounds much better!
nice shot there
It was a shot taken by Mr. Thane at a Cambridge show a couple of year’s ago…
yeah thanks for the photo credit there, hughes
Idlewild were great when Is aw them a few years ago. Glad they’re keeping up the good work in that department, even if the recorded stuff isn’t quite there. Which it really isn’t…
THIS REVIEW IS COMPLETELY INNACURATE! What gig were YOU at exactly Mr G? It surely wasn’t the recent Idlewild one in Oxford. The Oxford date was the 3rd one I went to on the current tour and the Oxford crowd were by FAR the coldest, most rooted-to-the-ground bunch of people I’ve ever shared a gig with. There was no boisterous movement, or deafening cheers from the crowd. Sure enough, a decent cheer between tunes, but I stood 2nd from the barrier right in the middle all night and had someone bump into me ONCE in ONE tune. The crowd pretty much ruined the gig, certainly compared to the Camden show a couple of days before. The band themselves looked to be laughing at the non-action at a couple of points, and it certainly makes you wonder why their blog has no mention at all of the Oxford show. I doubt they’d rush back. The majority of that crowd doesn’t deserve them either.
I would guess, like me, you are a big Idlewild fanboy….but I would also guess, unlike me, you had your review written before the show – your version of events simply didn’t occur. Not a case of perception or opinion, just simple fact. Sweatbox? Were you there?? Did you hear the band say how “freezing” (yes mister, that’s a quote) it was on stage at one point? Did you stand 2 from the front and barely break a sweat all night? Were you actually AT the gig, I wonder?
And the XCerts? I can’t say I’d heard of them before the ‘Wild show on the Friday, but I was impressed and bought their album the next day (it’s VERY good!). They certainly aren’t scrabbling for anything, they’re just 3 young guys who write a very good song with some thought out content. Unspectacular? To you maybe, in your pre-show written review, but they were once again very good. Fair play to them – I like their ‘identity’ and I shall listen some more.
From your writing it sounds like you’ve been reading too much NME and are something of a wannabe. Unfortunately, give a person a keyboard and ‘net access and they’re a ‘reviewer’. Your review is untrue and, frankly, bizarre. A bit like the show ACTUALLY was.
Haha calm down Keith, a difference of opinion is exactly that, The xcerts were very poor and if you’ll remember correctly then Roddy joked about it being too hot before the venue buffoons turned the air con on to the max and made the place freezing and then he said it was freezing in a tongue in cheek ‘spoiled rock star’ manner, a shame when these things need spelling out. It may have been boring at the front but i was a few rows back and it was hot and exciting, maybe that’s because I don’t judge the quality of a show on how many people jump into me – the more the better? I must be getting old!