Live Review – Enter Shikari

There’s just something special about an Enter Shikari show and it’s even more special when it’s paired with a sold out Scottish crowd. Having done their residency tour in intimate venues a year ago, it was great to see them rightfully take to the stage in bigger venues across the country and with only one Scottish date in Edinburgh – it was a chance for the capital to represent the nation and bring the party. Despite it being a cold and wet Monday night, the queue was quickly growing before doors had even opened as flocks of the Shikari faithful were soaked in the Edinburgh rain. It was nice to be back in the Corn Exchange (now re-branded as the O2 Academy) after a lengthy time missing from the iconic venue, a show of this magnitude made the trip north from my seaside town worth it.

With doors open and in typical Scottish fashion the rain stopping as it was time to enter, the place began to fill quickly as London’s high flying NOAHFINNCE took to the stage a short 10 minutes after doors. His high energy is instantly infectious and had the crowd in the groove from his opening track ‘Growing Up on the Internet’. “If you like pop-punk you might like this one, if not my bad” he says before playing latest single ‘3 Day Headache’, a hooky banger that gives off MGK vibes. It’s an interesting choice as an opener to have a series of pauses in the set where the group depart to hydrate and recharge before songs however with pre-recorded packages criticising the Tories it was always going to be well received up here. Their encouragement of crowd participation with frequent clap alongs and joining in the “la’s” of punchy banger ‘Lalala’ is well received and people are quickly headbanging and dancing along to his the feel-good vibes – A perfect booking to bring the positive and energetic vibes to a room.

Next up we have a band that come with quite the punch – it’s Californian justice punks, Fever 333. The four-piece pack catchy hooks, political rap and nuclear hardcore energy into a set that is truly a spectacle to witness. The crowd were certainly up for this set from the get go as singer Jason Aalon Butler’s energy was matched by all who stood on stage – bassist April Kae must have covered every inch of the stage leaping from one side to the other with a constant smile on her face. The bands purpose is clear, standing against inequality and having a blast doing it. Butler gives a shoutout to the Scottish faithful praising that his mum was raised not from far from the capital and shedding nothing but love & admiration for her.

Ending on such a banger like ‘Hunting Season’ is mammoth enough, however they just had to add that extra spark to what was an already flawless set as Butler grabs a large set of ladders and places it in the pit between the stage and the crowd and begins to climb and throw himself into the rowdy audience – crowd surfing his way all the way to the back of the room before the band close and exit the stage. Now that’s one way to end things.

To follow a set that strong would take some doing however when you’re Enter Shikari and you produce the the kind of shows that they do, this is a gauntlet they are more than ready to face. Rou emerges on to the stage solo for a passionate rendition of System as the screen behind provides an animation to accompany the tale. The vocals from the crowd are on point and ready for whats to come as this flows into Meltdown…. And all hell breaks loose.

There are very few bands that can switch up a set quite like Shikari do – the remixes of their own songs constantly keep you on your toes wondering what will happen next. Following on from ‘Anaesthetist’, Rou questions if they should test the sound system out before lashing into a dubstep remix producing one of the finest light show productions of the night. The effort that has went into this show is nothing short of a masterclass and may well be the best production I’ve seen them do. Encasing the stage in beams of light acting as prison bars for Reynolds to rupture in ‘Jailbreak’, or a museum-set tour of all of their albums through the years, we were taken on a journey through the bands illustrious career and it was emotional to witness.

You can tell from the floor just how happy the band look and they have rightfully earned the status they possess. The return of FEVER 333’s Jason Aalon Butler for colab track ‘Losing My Grip’ escalates the high energy in the room even further as he bundles around the stage in his typical fashion sparking more chaos. The classical take on ‘The Pressures On’, ‘Juggernauts’ & ‘Gap In the Fence’ was a special moment – it’s not often you get to hear such tracks in the manor Rou produced tonight.

A rowdy finale was in store, ‘Mothership’ causing one of the biggest pits of the night followed by a full room bounce to ‘It Hurts’. LGBT+ track ‘Satellites**’ leads into ‘The Dreamers Hotel’ as the screen lights up again with a big message thanking the fans for staying in the hotel. The band then reappear after a short break, “oh shit” cries Rou as the ‘clap clap clap’ anthem kicks off with that familiar electro intro paired with a sick all green laser show – ‘Sorry Your Not A Winner’ always goes down a storm and even more so when they kick in with the Pendulum remix version.

It was sadly time to close and to end with ‘A Kiss For the Whole World’ was a fitting way to bow out. It was the last chance for a very sweaty room to give their all one last time and to that they did not disappoint. Tonight has shown that Shikari are at their very best. From a number one album last year to selling out their biggest tour to date – it’s an incredible time to be following this band and even 20+ years into their career, things are only looking to get bigger from here.

Words by Craig McInnes

Photos by Rachael Sweeney