Brixton Archives - Full Pelt Music

Brixton Academy, London

Wednesday 6th July 2022

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JIMMY EAT WORLD – LONDON – LIVE REVIEW

After two years of waiting, Arizonian emo icons Jimmy Eat World finally arrive at what Jim Adkins refers to as his favourite venue to play. That love is reciprocated as Brixton Academy is packed tonight as fans await their heroes.

Those in the venue early are greeted by opening act together PANGEA from Los Angeles. A promising start soon begins to plod as the heat takes hold. It’s been a hot one today and as this set continues, fans begin to wilt.

Anticipation rises again for our main support act, The Get Up Kids. The influential group are given a good forty five minutes to play with, but this may end of working against them. Again the set starts well, but soon becomes samey and tiresome, with the general lethargy of the audience not exactly helping to create an exciting atmosphere.

With a crowd devoid of vigour, and energy sapping, tonight needs a kick up the rear end. Thankfully for everyone Jimmy Eat World are ready to do just that and start off their performance with ‘Futures’, ‘Pain’ and ‘Bleed American’.

WATCH ‘PAIN’ ON YOUTUBE

Jimmy Eat World – ‘Pain’

Suddenly the venue finds its voice and our headliners are able to revive the flagging audience. There is a connection between Jimmy Eat World and their fans and that means even new tracks such as ‘Criminal Energy’ from latest effort ‘Surviving’ are savoured.

The first two bands time on stage dragged, but our headline set flies past, which is always a good sign. This is a band that knows what the fans want, and they simply plough through their fantastic back catalogue.

Obvious highlights come from the sing-a-long moments such as ‘Big Casino’, ‘A Praise Chorus’, ‘Work’ and ‘Hear You Me’. The whole set tonight flows well though and by the time main set closers ‘Sweetness’ and ‘The Middle’ are aired the crowd are refreshed and able to let loose.

An encore of ‘Get It Faster’ and ‘23’ brings an end to what has ultimately been an enjoyable night which was well worth the wait!

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Idlewild

Electric Brixton, London

Sunday 21st November 2021

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IDLEWILD – ELECTRIC BRIXTON – LIVE REVIEW

“..how does it feel to be three years late?..” – ‘You Held the World in Your Arms’, Idlewild

One knock on effect of the pandemic, albeit insignificant in the greater scheme of things yet incredibly grinding to music anoraks, is the issue of Anniversary Tours. With many such as tonight’s now out of sync. Idlewild may not be three years late, but their 25^th Anniversary Tour is now in fact their not so poignant 26^th Anniversary Tour!

That doesn’t temper the anticipation from the groups die-hard following with tonight sold out in advance and, even with no support act, Electric Brixton fills up early to await their heroes.

That is exactly how they are greeted when they arrive onstage and launch straight into ‘Dream Variations’, ‘Roseability’ and ‘You Held the World in Your Arms’. This sets the rest of the night up perfectly as the band celebrate every album throughout the next incredible two hours of music.

WATCH ‘DREAM VARIATIONS’ ON YOUTUBE

Idlewild – ‘Dream Variations’

Naturally for such a tour, nostalgia is prominent throughout the evening and it’s fantastic to see early mainstay bassist Bob Fairfoull joining the band on numerous older tracks throughout the evening. Whilst all the big hits as it were are in the mix, there are also some rarer tracks which help to make the evening feel special.

Idlewild have always been a stunning live band and tonight is truly a pinch yourself moment; how can this band remain this good after 26 years! The fans certainly help, as they get more and more animated as the evening progresses.

Throughout the show you wait for the momentum to slow, for a track to fall flat, but the quality tonight is relentless. It’s therefore hard to pick highlights but ‘Little Discourage’, ‘Love Steals Us From Loneliness’, ‘Live In A Hiding Place’ and ‘El Capitan’ naturally elicit jubilation from the crowd.

The likes of ‘Collect Yourself’, ‘Everyone Says You’re So Fragile’, ‘A Ghost In The Arcade’ and ‘These Wooden Ideas’ however are equally cherished. By the time the main set concludes with ‘The Modern Way of Letting Go’ and ‘American English’ you’d be forgiven for thinking that the night has peaked.

CHECK OUT THE FULL PELT MUSIC PODCAST

What immediately follows however is a real treat for old school fans as the iconic four piece version of the line-up grace the stage for early track, ‘Self Healer’. They are gradually joined by the rest of the current band as they plough through fellow early numbers ‘4 People Do Good’ and ‘Captain’.

Once again, you’d be ecstatic to finish it there, however Idlewild treat fans to ‘When I Argue I See Shapes’ and ‘In Remote Part / Scottish Fiction’ to deliver a truly epic finale. But much like the MCU now delivers two post-credits scenes, Idlewild still have one last parting shot for the packed crowd.

Whereas those scenes usually preview the future, Idlewild return for a final encore of old favourite ‘A Film For The Future’. After 26 years tonight feels like the epic final battle against Thanos. The hope though is that it simply means that we are entering the next phase for a treasured band.

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Read our review of ‘CRAWLER’ from IDLES