A third live storytelling, a third choir training and a third actual live music, iDKHOW’s show was witty, eccentric and theatrical.

2021 is the year of iDKHOW’s biggest shows to date, returning to the UK after the release of their bewitching debut album RAZZMATAZZ. The album was more than well-received by fans as it shortly reached #1 on the Alternative New Artist Chart. Starting with a show in Glasgow, the duo moved on to the Reading and Leeds Festival and wrapped up in London at O2 Forum Kentish Town, where I also headed – overly excited for my first live music show since early 2020.

While of course expecting greatness, little did I know what I signed up for as the gig I witnessed was like no other. A third live storytelling, a third choir training and a third actual live music, iDKHOW’s show was witty, eccentric and theatrical. What started in an expected fashion – band walks on stage, says hi, start playing – turned into a different experience after the third song, when vocalist Dallon Weekes started speaking and drew us into a world where he was the master puppeteer. Every song was introduced by a heartfelt story narrated in a slightly cheeky way. He talked about getting stuck in Amsterdam to explain how the antisocial anthem Leave Me Alone took form and then moved on how meeting his wife gave birth to the weirdly romantic Kiss Goodnight. Weekes then switched the gears and with a funny story about blowing up three bass guitars before the Glasgow show he marked the beginning of a rather interactive second part of the set kicking off with Sugar Pills and Social Climb. From here on, the audience was involved in setting the scene for each song, practicing the required vocals and supporting the songs by singing along. I think this was one of the few crowd I witnessed which participated full-heartedly in the show and surprisingly enough, knew ALL the songs, lyric by lyric and actually sounded pretty good.

“It’s audiences like you that make me feel young again,” confessed Weekes, but this was not the most shocking reveal. *gasp* He also confessed to performing covers due to sheer love of the songs and also to using technology to introduce in their music instruments that are not present on stage… and joked about one of the reasons being that they are ‘cheap bastards’.

One of the most memorable ‘events’ from this show was when talking about consent and trusting his fans, he split the room with grandiose gestures like Moses parting the Red Sea and descended into the crowd. Walking to the back of the room and back untouched, he directed yet another ‘choir training session’ and returned to the stage to test the crowd’s knowledge of 90s music and…. I think the crowd passed the test. They. Sang. Every. Song. Right. Starting with Britney Spears’ …Baby One More Time. They encouraged people to stay safe and cooperate before ending the set with Razzmatazz to the absolute delight of the crowd.

Encore was requested and the benevolent commander returned, bringing on stage the support act Will Joseph Cook to join in a comical and satirical delivery of Nobody Likes The Opening Band where Will sang the exact opposite and added his own touch to the joke.

Choke was the truly final track and so the show ended in an epic manner and everyone left The Forum with the widest smiles on their faces… including me.

Photos: Adriana Vasile