When Idlewild take to the stage they are met with an excitable reception, almost congratulatory, before what feels like an expectant pause. The question of whether they will start with the album is answered with the opening guitar of Little Discourage ringing out as the band spring into action. Four more songs from 100 Broken Windows follow before Roddy Woomble breaks to introduce the main event. From this point on the crowd starts to loosen up, with permission from the front man. “You're allowed to dance and move around”, he encourages before A Modern Way of Letting Go. A section of the audience complies and before too long there are crowdsurfers being lifted over the barrier.
“You know what comes next; the element of surprise is lost” Woomble concedes as the band ascends with a sparkling and emphatic performance of one of their biggest ‘hits’, American English, a song usually reserved for much later in the set.It's just that way with The Remote Part, it plays almost like a greatest hits with so many songs still featuring in recent set lists. The crowd sing along and mean every word, belting it out like it's Flower of Scotland. Yet it's the lesser played songs, especially the back end of the record, that really shine and the crowd engagement on Out Of Routine and Stay The Same, with hands in the air and voices raised, reinforces the depth and strength of this album. It is thoroughly adored.
