Performing two raucous sold-out shows, IDLES brought the heat to the San Francisco Bay Area over the weekend. The first show on Friday the Fox Theater in Oakland was the perfect start to the weekend and the Saturday show at The Warfield was even more exhberant. B-Sides captured the Saturday show and by all accounts, IDLES made the show just as special and unique as the show from the previous night.
Kicking off the set with “IDEA 01” from their latest album “TANGK”, the audience went wild and started the moshing that would last throughout the entire two-plus hours. Following up with “Coloussus” and “Gift Horse”, the band took it up a notch as guitarist Mark Bowen leapt into the pit to crowd-surf while playing. The setlist was well-balanced with songs from the band’s catalog of ‘CRAWLER’, ‘Joy as an Act of Resistance’ as well as ‘Brutalism’. Lead singer Joe Talbot was energetic, interactive and charismatic as he shared personal anecdotes about his struggles with mental health, sharing his political stance regarding geopolitics, at one point, Talbot lead the chant of “F*k the King” and he even invited a fan on-stage who gave him the Welsh flag(Talbot’s birthplace). It was a touching moment that was brief as the fan proceeded to stage-dive back into the crowd and leading the moshpit below.
