GIG REVIEWS

Idlewild
@ The Octagon, Sheffield
5th December 2002
www.vanguard-online.co.uk

 Idlewild were on great form at the Octagon, and the crowd was more than ready to worship at their altar. The band opened with blistering style whipping the assembled masses into a frenzy before launching into recent hit 'world in your arms'. True to form, the band kept us on our toes by switching mood from thrash-style punk to the balladesque. A very high-octane performance of 'These Wooden Ideas' had us spitting out words along with Roddy, and 'When I argue I see Shapes' was one of the high points of the gig, quickly followed by the more sombre 'Live in A Hiding Place', and the lighter-waving favourite 'American English'. Idlewild are clearly one of the more intelligent bands around today, but live they have a visceral rawness, and emote incredible amounts of energy, literally holding the audience if not in there arms, then certainly in the palm of their hand. Showmen to the last, the encore ended with the inevitable 'Remote Part/Scottish Fiction', perhaps a last post-modern nod to their boundary defying status?

AP