Live review: Idles – Aragon Ballroom at Chicago & PJ Harvey – MGM Music Hall at Boston: Photos

It’s an incredible magic trick when a lead singer can take all of the energy of a sold out crowd, absorb it, then give it back. Such is the case with every band member. Feeding off the palpable anticipation of the audience, lead singer Joe Talbot entered the stage pacing like a wild tiger on the loose.

Idles released their 5th full length album, Tangk, earlier this show and continue to outdo themselves after 15 years, showing a primal sort of angst. Underneath a more aggressive fast paced exertion is a slew of intelligent lyrics giving insight into politics and expressing a love for all people. This is a band who has taken active stances against homophobia, sexism, and racism and easily get their devoted fans to chant out their political ideals as well.

Idles began their colossal two hour long set with a deep brooding “Idea O1,” the first track from their newest album. However, the band quickly delved into anthemic fast paced gems like “I’m Scum,” for example. “Never Fight a Man With a Perm” unleashed an unmatched adrenaline. You could literally sense the temperature of the crowd rising and the heart rate speed up when Talbot belted out lyrics at the front of the stage or when guitarist Lee Kiernan crowd surfed while playing simultaneously. “Divide & Conquer” was especially intense and “Mother” was as flawless as ever. “War” couldn’t have been more perfectly executed. “Samaritans” was as charged with the immensity of Talbot’s insights as it was with the pounding of the instrumental accompaniment. The entire audience was scream crying all of the memorized lyrics along with them. Excellently timed, this was followed by “Crawl!”

Talbot also showed his love for Chicago, wearing a Chicago Music Exchange sweatshirt and dedicating “The Wheel” to Steve Albini. He also talked about his love for immigrants and writing songs from a place of despair and had the crowd exclaiming “He’s made of flesh, he’s made of love. He’s made of you, he’s made of me” during their song “Danny Nedelko.” At one point later on in the set, Talbot also sang unexpectedly sang an a cappella version of All I Want For Christmas is You before singing the very last song, an anti fascist ditty cranked up to 11 “Rotweiller.“ It is truly a revelation to experience both this level of intensity and gentleness of a human in the very same night. Talbot’s capacity for a such a depth of emotion is what makes each song feel genuine and exceptional both live and on album. This is no ordinary band or live show and you will be changed by listening.

Even with these wholesome moments mixed in, the momentum didn’t ever seem to die down. There is some anger here but it’s understandable and wholly relatable as a sort of super charged abrasive poetry. Fighting injustice with art is, after all, an act of resistance in the same way as Joy. Idles will prove to us with every breath that punk rock is alive and well. Can I get a Hallelujah?!

Let me say one thing right out of the gate. If you are within a two hour drive of an upcoming PJ Harvey tour stop, clear whatever obligations you may have and make this the number one priority.

Harvey’s been a fearless artist her entire career, and the arc has carried her away from the abrasive guitar-centric music of her early records into a more introspective and methodical mode.


Last year’s grammatically challenging I Inside The Old Year Dying (featuring song titles such as “Seems an I” and “Lwonesome Tonight” but also the confounding tandem of “I Inside The Old Year Dying” and “I Inside The Old I Dying”) somewhat mirrors Radiohead’s decision to leave the guitar anthem alt-rock for a more nuanced and measured approach. The reason for the unorthodox syntax stems from Harvey’s poem “Orlam,” which is written in Dorset vernacular and formed the foundation for this record.


The stage set up was simple, almost as if it was designed for a play. A small desk and chair with a glass of water was at the center, just off to the left of Jean-Marc Butty’s drum kit. To his left was Harvey’s typical side kick John Parrish and also playing guitar on the other side was Giovanni Ferrario, and rounding out the band was Gallon Drunk founder and Bad Seed member James Johnston who alternated on guitar and keys with an occasional stint on violin.



Prior to the show starting, field recordings of chirping birds were played, lending a bucolic and dreamlike feeling. The pace of the record, played in its entirety, is deliberate and assured. Even the clothing was planned out in painstaking detail.

“Connecting the band to the content for the album was key. They would be not only providing the music, but they would represent all the characters of the album; the soldiers, ash wraiths and chalky children.”

Closing track “A Noiseless Noise” capped the album performance with discordant guitar leading the way to the finish, like a hurried passage through a thorny thicket before finding home. Since this was billed as an ‘evening with,’ there was no support act and the second half of the evening took a sweeping journey through her earlier work, not fixating on any particular record and instead giving a sampler from seven different records. Not sure how I missed the “Summertime Blues” reference on “The Words That Maketh Murder” but it was clear as day tonight. “Send His Love To Me” saw Harvey meandering across the stage as in search of something. A stark reading of “The Desperate Kingdom Of Love” from 2004’s Uh Huh Her featured just Harvey and an acoustic guitar. The spacious venue was silent, held in rapt attention; you could have heard a mouse scurry across the floor.


Old favorites such as “Man-Size” (featuring Johnston’s scraping violin) and her debut single “Dress” were played, hard to believe that song is 32 years old but it belies the timeless quality of her talent. One last observation is how similar her vocals are to Patti Smith, in timbre and delivery. Every single aspect of this performance was planned and executed to perfection, the lighting and sound were among the best I’ve experienced and really showcased Harvey and her band in the best possible way.