Idles enlists mosh pit army at Nashville’s Marathon Music Works

Mondays are typically not known for being the happiest day of the week. Most people associate them with gloom and fatigue, but this past Monday at Marathon Music Works in Nashville, UK punk legends Idles gave the crowd a reason to forget their Monday blues. This marked my third time seeing the band and, for the past few months, it’s been the show I’ve been eagerly anticipating.

There is something about the passion and energy of an Idles show that I have become addicted to.

Without a doubt, I would rank Idles amongst my top five favorite actively touring bands. Joining them on their North American leg of the Love is the Fing Tour is UK indie rock up-and-comers, English Teacher.

When English Teacher began their set, I couldn’t help but wonder why Idles always seems to tour with bands that are lighter in genre. It’s nothing against English Teacher: there’s no denying their talent; I’ve just noticed that Idles openers typically don’t match the intensity of their performances. English Teacher was great live, though, with a few particularly catchy songs, but I felt they would be better suited to tour with bands like Arctic Monkeys or even Oasis.

As soon as Idles took the stage, the entire audience erupted.

It only took a few minutes for lead singer Joe Talbot to split the crowd and orchestrate a wall of death. Once the breakdown toward the end of “Colossus” hit, the venue went wild. To date, it was the largest mosh pit I’ve witnessed in Nashville. It was a whirlwind of bodies whipping around the venue — a literal hurricane of movement. I could feel the air shift as people flung themselves in all directions. I kept checking to see if security would be rushing to help any injured fans. On three separate occasions, guitar players Mark Bowen and Lee Kiernan jumped into the audience to shred. Each time the crowd held them up as they kept playing through songs. 

Idles has never shied away from their political stance and they spent much of this night calling out various fascist elements within governments, while promoting unity among the people, urging the audience to embrace those from other countries instead of building walls. Chants like “Viva Palestina” were repeated many times. These messages were seamlessly mixed with their biggest hits, including “Danny Nedelko”, “Dancer”, and “Never Fight a Man With a Perm”.

The intensity of the show was unmatched and I felt like I didn’t stop moving for the entire set.

For those familiar with Marathon Music Works, one of Nashville’s larger venues, a sold-out show with constant crowd movement is no small feat. While they didn’t play a couple of my personal favorites, like “Grounds” and “Reigns”, I would still say this was one of the best shows I’ve seen in Nashville all year. I highly recommend anyone who hasn’t seen Idles live to grab a ticket — you won’t regret it.

Photography by Derek Jones

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