IDLES / Injury Reserve @ the Factory in Deep Ellum, Dallas, TX

Words and photos by Kayleigh S.

IDLES' show was one of the most exciting and fun concerts I have ever been to. The show began with opener Injury Reserve, an abstract hip/hop group who played music that wasn’t like anything else I have heard. They got the crowd hyped and ready for IDLES to enter the stage. The five-piece from Bristol were minus their lead guitarist, Mark Bowen, as he was back home with a newborn and would be temporarily replaced with Christina Maynard for the tour.

They began their set with their song “Colossus”, from their 2018 album Joy as an Act of Resistance. This was the perfect song to get the crowd excited for the show. It started off calm and then got louder and louder. They then played their song “Car Crash”, off their latest album Crawler. It was amazing being able to hear their new music live.

My favorite song of the night was “The Beachland Ballroom”, the first single of the aforementioned Crawler. All of their music is very raw and full of emotion but their song, “The Beachland Ballroom” takes it to another level. I saw some people in the crowd with their eyes closed during the song just taking it all in and even a few people with tears in their eyes.

The show went back to raging when they played “Never Fight a Man With a Perm". There were tons of mosh pits and crowd surfing throughout the night. Even guitarist Lee Kiernan crowd surfed while continuing to play guitar. IDLES has a great audience and everyone always takes care of each other during the show. It also has one of the most diverse crowds I’ve seen. There were people as young as 10 and people as old as 70 at the show.

IDLES always puts on amazing shows and they never disappoint. If you have not seen them live I would definitely add them to your list of shows to see. I cannot wait for them to tour again.

Photos of the show are below:

Injury Reserve