Kill Your IDLES (or Don’t, They’re Pretty Cool.)
written + photographed by hunter astrid
I think that this was one of the most bizarre and unique band combinations for a tour, music wise. It involved two groups; Injury Reserve (an experimental rap/hip hop group) and IDLES (a modern post-punk bad from the UK).
INJURY RESERVE -
The first group to go on stage was Injury Reserve. Formed in 2013 in Tempe, Arizona, the group was formed by rappers Ritchie with a T and Stepa J Groggs and producer Parker Corey. In 2013 they released a concert mixtape titled Depth Chart that was based around a story of a basketball player being drafted. Although Depth Chart came out in 2013 and Cooler Colors in 2014, the group considers Live from the Dentist Office, released in 2015, as their debut EP. Their second mixtape, Floss, as well as Dentist Office was actually recorded in a dentist office owned by Parker’s grandfather. After joining the record label Loma Vista in 2019, they released their first full length album, Injury Reserve.
In June 2020, tragedy hit the trio when Stepa J Groggs sadly passed away. For a while, Parker and Ritchie contemplated on continuing the group without their friend, but in the end they stayed together and continued the legacy of their friend. In September 2021, the duo self-released their second full length album titled By the Time I get to Phoenix. Recently, they just concluded their tour with IDLES in Boston, Massachusetts.
On tour with IDLES, their set consisted of 10 out of 11 songs off of By the Time I Get to Phoenix. As stressful as it was to photograph their set, due to their lighting, being in the audience afterwards and experiencing their show from that perspective was incredible. Experimental music is most definitely an acquired taste, but I saw many of the audience members who clearly came for the very different band IDLES wholeheartedly enjoying their experience.
Visually, their set was very reminiscent of their album By the Time I Get to Phoenix; the album is fully red with a skyline of a city, most likely Phoenix, in the background. In the center is the figure of a person that appears blurry and glitched with a shiny light for the figure’s head. On stage, there was a large circular overhead light, much like the cover, that flashed often and was blinding. Their use of bright lights, strobe lights and smoke plays into the ambiguity of the album cover. Throughout most of the set, it was hard to see details of Parker and Ritchie; they just appeared as silhouettes of people.
Their set is definitely one that is hard to put into words; it’s one to experience fully in person. Ritchie even said during the set to the audience that that was the point of their music and group. It was an “experiment” the audience was supposed to “experience,” and if people didn’t like it, that was okay. If you have the chance to see Injury Reserve, go.
IDLES -
The second and last band to go on stage was IDLES. Formed in Bristol, UK in 2009, the band consists of Joe Talbot (vocals), Lee Kiernan (guitar), Mark Bowen (guitar), Adam Devonshire (bass), and Jon Beavis (drums). Although formed in 2009, they didn’t release their first EP, titled Well Done, until 2013 and their first full length album Brutalism was released in 2017. While recording the album, Joe Talbot’s mother passed away and her photo can be seen on the cover of that album. The release of this album is what really gave IDLES traction and quickly after its release it became critically acclaimed.
Their second album was released a year later in 2018 titled Joy as an Act of Resistance. Arguably some of their most well known songs come from this album including Never Fight a Man with a Perm. After touring for that album, about a year and a half later in June 2020, they released their 3rd album Ultra Mono. Songs like “Mr. Motivator,” “Grounds,” and “War” can be found off of this album.
Their fourth and most recent album, Crawler, was released in November 2021. This album was also quickly critically acclaimed. Although I did call them a ‘punk’ band earlier, singer Joe Talbot has often rejected that label. He does admit they have an '“engine-like drive” heard in a lot of punk music, but since they have a lot of songs not like that at all, they don’t choose to label themselves as a post-punk band.
Coming to their live performance I saw on Saturday, I must say the entire band’s energy is definitely unmatched. From the second they came out on stage I knew I was in for a treat. Their set can be described as ‘hectic’ and ‘chaotic,’ but in the best way possible. I’ve been a massive fan of theirs since around 2018, so my expectations for their live show was extremely high. Yet, they easily exceeded all of those expectations. I mean, in their first song a whole entire beer can was thrown towards the stage and went down my shirt and guitarist Lee Kiernan jumped on to the audience while playing. Definitely an entertaining way to grab the audience’s attention.
IDLES is one of the best bands I’ve seen live in a while and their powerful stage presence didn’t falter once throughout their show. Sometimes bands do disappoint live and their studio recorded songs don’t translate well to the stage, but that’s not the case with IDLES. They’re just as good live as they are recorded and maybe even better. 10/10, would 100% go out of my way to see them live again.
