IDLES at Bowery Ballroom [photos, review]

Article + Photos by Will Oliver

Last night (Feb 6) IDLES made their return to New York for a surprise intimate performance at Bowery Ballroom in support of their new album TANGK, which is out next week via Partisan Records.

It was surprisingly somehow their first time playing at the historic room, with tickets dropping the day before, selling out in a matter of minutes.

There was no opener, just IDLES taking the stage promptly as promised at 8:30, kicking things off with the album’s opening cut “IDEA 01.” It was at atmospheric opener that showcased a slower side to the band, which many of the other new songs they played also had – in particular, “Roy” showcased a different side of the band, with “Hall and Oates” as an immediate live standout. The band are clearly still figuring out these new songs live and we can only imagine how fully fleshed out and alive they’ll sound at their bigger show at Forest Hills later in the year.

They played nine songs from the new album, but still found plenty of room during the set to work in all the expected live favorites, including “Danny Nedelko” and “Never Fight a Man With a Perm”, but also older cuts like “Divide and Conquer” and “Mother.” The crowd was as wild and frenzied as you could expect, which even saw Daniel Eberle of fellow Partisan Records band Lip Critic get a shot out from Joe and then crowd-surf.

It was a treat to see IDLES perform at a space like Bowery at this point of their ever-expanding career and we look forward to seeing them run amok at Forest Hills in September.

Find a full set of photos from the show posted in the gallery below.