IDLES appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Thursday night (Spoon originally was on the schedule) and turned in a TV-ready, blistering performance of “Crawl!”
IDLES, who are appearing today at Coachella — explaining why their guest spot on Colbert was so primed for the cameras — rammed Crawl! down viewers’ throats in a performance reminiscent of a possessed Stooges from the ’70s.
The band, presumably on a sound stage somewhere in Indio and utilizing their full stage setup but without a live audience, kicked into “Crawl!” with drummer John Beavis pounding on the kit as the camera flashed on guitarist Lee Kiernan’s effects rack (which included a POG2 pedal for all you gear nerds) and singer Joe Talbot screamed, “So Alive …”
Everything a punk rock fan could hope for is right there in the opening moments of IDLES’ Colbert performance, which altogether was a mesmerizing visual whirlwind.
The band just performed in San Diego the night before (April 13) with a 20-song set that included “Crawl!” right in the middle as the 10th song of the night. IDLES performed an almost identical setlist on April 1 at the BBC Radio 6 Music Festival in Cardiff, Wales, which leads one to believe they will turn in a similar set today at Coachella.
