Idlewild - O2 Academy 2 - 26/4/2010 (Gig)

Most indie fans will have seminal bands, those with a big role in shaping their tastes in their formative days, and for me, like many others, Idlewild were one of those bands. Tonight a completely crammed Academy 2 sees them on their final tour before an indefinite hiatus. It’s a strange night, because it serves as a reminder of the brutal creative force Idlewild once were, and the lifeless shadow of their former selves they eventually became. However, dips into the last three records are thankfully infrequent in a set which is heavy on 100 Broken Windows. The likes of ‘Idea Track’, ‘ Little Discourage’ and ‘Roseability’ are glorious throwbacks, searing flashes of anger which are brilliant examples of the bracing energy of Idlewild at their best. Not that all their post-2000 work was dreadful, mind you. When ‘American English’ closes the main set, it is genuine lump-in-the-throat stuff. Really, the best way we can remember Idlewild, is illustrated by the mid-set one-two-three of Hope is Important songs. They are delivered with a particularly savage intensity, and go a long way to eliminating the limp radio rock of recent years. For these wonderfully visceral moments, we will remember Idlewild fondly.