IDLES at Dreamland Margate, 20/7/2024

Love is the fing as IDLES bring chaos, politics and a sense of crowd community to the Kent seaside

“Are you ready for love? Are you ready to collide,” asks Joe Talbot, moments before he kickstarts a giddy wall-of-death at Margate’s Dreamland. Well, IDLES have always been about bringing people together.

The Bristol-based band first broke through with snarling, politically-charged post-punk. Despite the appetite for anthemic fury in recent years, IDLES have constantly evolved with both 2020’s urgent Ultra Mono and the snapping Crawler adding electronic flourishes to the band’s guitar-driven rage. Released earlier this year, Tangk took things even further with Radiohead-collaborator Nigel Godrich co-producing the album alongside the band’s guitarist Mark Bowen. Instead of anger, IDLES were all about togetherness on Tangk, with the mantra of “Love Is The Fing” now standing alongside their previous calling card of “Joy As An Act Of Resistance”.

And that sense of community was at the heart of the IDLES’ headline Dreamland gig as part of the Margate Summer Series. From the moody, piano-driven opener of ‘IDEA 01’ to the riotous closer of ‘Rottweiler’, the band were all about aggressive tenderness. The likes of ‘Colossus’ and ‘Never Fight A Man With A Perm’ were hulking but joyful, while newer tracks ‘Dancer’ and ‘Gratitude’ injected a sense of playful groove into the evening as fan clambered on shoulders and danced in the mosh pit. Despite the euphoria, IDLES maintained an unrelenting intensity.

Tracks like ‘Mother’ and ‘Mr. Motivator’ saw biting sarcasm undercut with plenty of heart while the hammering ‘I’m Scum’ twisted pain and put-downs into something far more ecstatic. “Please celebrate tonight by looking out for each other,” Talbot encouraged. Over the 90-minute set, he called out homophobia, racism, sexual violence, inequality, and encouraged the crowd to come together.

“A welcome change in Labour? Yes. A lot of work to do? Yes,” Talbot said of the recent election results before a cathartic ‘Divide & Conquer’ while the boisterous ‘Danny Nedelko’ was a “celebration of empathy and love”, dedicated to the “immigrants who make our country a better place”.

There was a real sense of confidence as Idles veered between snotty punk-infused chaos and sprawling moments of beauty, but that sense of unity remained a powerful constant. “Love is the fing?” asked Talbot. “Abso-f*cking-lutely”.

IDLES return to UK stages in November with their LOVE IS THE FING tour. Find IDLES tickets here

Margate Summer Series continues throughout the summer. Find tickets, and the full line-up, here.

_{All photos: Frances Beach}