IDLES Performs Sold Out Show at Franklin Music Hall

Written and Photographed by Emilio Herce

There’s probably not a better place to see IDLES (outside of their native Bristol, UK) than Philadelphia. The city, which gave us such working-class heroes as Rocky, Senator John Fetterman, and Gritty, welcomed the propulsive, pro-proletarian UK band with open arms at their sold-out Franklin Music Hall show on June 20th.

I took a last-minute Amtrak to see them, after being talked into it by a friend (but really talking myself into it). I had missed their set as part of the touring Re:Set festival (they played at Forest Hills the same week, supporting Jamie XX and LCD Soundsystem), but much preferred seeing them perform their own show, even if had to travel to another state to do so.

After an opening set from Mannequin Pussy, who played a stunning hometown set, IDLES took no time tearing up the stage. Opening with "Colossus" a slow burner that dialed up the tension before it engulfed the crowd (which by then had become a massive, writhing moshpit). The band maintained the intensity throughout, running through a barrage including "Mr. Motivator," "Mother" (drummer Jon's mom was standing next to us and very proudly singing along with every song. It was very cute), and Crawl!. The concert felt, in a sense, like a long festival set. The band pulled songs from across their catalog, and while songs off their new album, the excellent CRAWLER featured prominently in the set, there were highlights from across their discography. 

IDLES songs are decidedly working class, and openly political (specifically anti-fascist), and while they had toned down the rhetoric with their latest album (not that I ever minded it), a more introspective and personal record, that didn’t stop Joe from leading the crowd in a “Fuck The King" chant (which would have likely gone over equally well at Philly's 1787 Constitutional Convention, though the assembled this night were markedly less white and wigged). 

Their performance was a vital and for lack of better words, wholesome affair. For a band that errs on the louder side of the audible spectrum, their songs openly encourage self-love and self-acceptance (the t-shirt I bought read "hard rock for softies") and a highlight of their set included them playing "Television,"  a song about treating yourself with the same grace you extend to others, and "A Hymn" about how everyone is deserving of love, both which felt especially appropriate in the city of brotherly love. 

Perhaps this is an explanation for the band's rapid growth. As aggressive as the show may seem to an outside observer, it is a safe space for all. I walked into the mosh pit mid-set, if only to prove that I still had it from my DIY days, and at one point a woman fell in the commotion. The crowd immediately split and numerous hands reached out to help her back up and make sure she was ok. Once everyone made sure she was unharmed, we all went back to dancing.