Somerset House has to be the loveliest venue in the world. The white
stone walls blushed by the setting sun and the sky sparkles with stars,
while from the stage blasts good old-style, brick hard rock. Idlewild
clearly agreed about the setting. Taking the stage, lead singer Roddy
Woomble looked around and in an whisper declared: "Isn't this
beautiful?" He seemed, for a moment, awed by the place.
Support act Nine Black Alps had warmed up the chilly August night
nicely. A year and a half constantly on the road has been rewarded by a
tight sound that lifted them above the usual Brit boy grunge band. The
hard guitar riffs and pedal to the mettle distortion sounded fresh,
despite the clear influences of a long dead rock star on songs such as
Not Everyone and Shot Down. The band delivers its angst with good old
fashioned guitar rock, and there is nothing wrong with that. It makes a
refreshing change from the current glut of melodic pretty boy sentiment
played by the likes of Jonathan Rice.
Idlewild blasted onto the stage to deliver a tight, energetic set
that showcased their new album Warnings/Promises, though there
was a liberal sprinkling of old tracks to please the blokey crowd out
front. They kicked off with Too Long Awake, and the gloriously named
Woomble's vocals soared above the searing guitar. This was followed by
A Little Discourage from 100 Broken Windows, which remains
the band's best album to date. The biggest roar though came for Love
Steals Us From Loneliness, the first single from the latest album and
the REM influenced Roseability.
Though the emphasis of the gig was on rock with a capital 'R', there
were plenty of muted moments, such as American English. On El Capitan,
the new single, Woomble's vocals sounded positively Morrissey-like,
against a Celt rock backdrop. But Woomble, while an engaging front man,
does not exude the raw charismatic power needed for real rock and roll.
The rest of the band, guitarists Rod Jones and Allan Stewart, bass
Gavin Fox and drummer Colin Newton, play well, and, hold their own
space on the stage. Again, Idlewild's months on the road have been
rewarded by a strong sense of community on stage, which helps power the
music to an audience growing chilly in the English summer.
This is bloke rock though, and while there was variation in the set,
at times it was hard to differentiate between songs or get really
excited. Maybe that is the fault of the venue. Somerset House is
beautiful, but it dominates whatever is on stage in a way that can
drain the energy of performance. For me the venue works for bands such
as Air, where the milky white music blends well with the milky white
stone, but for a rock band playing lowdown and dirty rock, it just
does not fit right, especially when the audience is dominated by
nodding blokes of a certain age clutching their beer and looking
around self-consciously before deciding against dancing.
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