A young crowd left Melbourne’s Billboard The Venue on Sunday evening (23rd of September) mind blown after witnessing the exceptional set that was put on for them by English Hardcore phenomenon, Enter Shikari.
Formed in 2003 this band has a unique hardcore sound infused with electronica and dubstep. Enter Shikari have managed to reinvent elements of hardcore that have become somewhat clichéd such as breakdowns, which are sort of slowed heavy interlude in a song by adding these electronic riffs to them, which always managed to excite and surprise their audience.
Support band, In Hearts Wake really got the crowd going with their energetic performance. This hardcore group from Byron Bay had some of their own following there to support however, not many people really seemed to know much about them. Throughout the set the band were very engaging and managed to pull big responses from the crowd, especially during their songs ‘Departure’ and ‘Survival’. They left the crowd eager for the band they’d come to see.
After an intermission during which time the crowd grew noisily impatient, the room finally went black and figures began to appear on stage, a light came up and there they were. The crowd were absolutely beside themselves. Front man, Rou Reynolds began, back to the crowd before electrifying everyone as he turned for their opening song ‘Meltdown’. From the moment they came out to their last song, this band never seemed to stop jumping or moving both on stage and in amongst the crowd.
The band’s members Rou Reynolds on lead vocals and synthesiser, Rory Clewlow on guitar and backing vocals, Chris Batten on bass and backing vocals and Rob Rolfe on drums are the perfect example of a band that have truly perfected their craft and really know what they want to give to their audience. All were incredible live but Rou Reynolds absolutely stole the show. From his pitch perfect vocals to his jumping around like a maniac, Reynolds is truly the definition of the perfect front man.
It was so refreshing to see a band connect so well with their audience. They were comical and light hearted in both their banter and their performance and maintained interaction with the crowd continuously which included Rou’s request of the audience to create a five level high human pyramid in the pit. An intriguing idea but all attempts collapsed which seemed to provide some entertainment for the band. They managed to be so sincere in the delivery of their music without taking themselves to seriously.
A huge crowd response was evoked during ‘Hello Tyrannosaurus, Meet Tyrannicide’ where Rou made his way out into the crowd. People were practically climbing over each other for the chance to make contact with him. Also ‘Warm Smiles Do Not Make You Welcome Here,’ had the audience losing their minds and echoing Reynold’s lyrics word for word. And of course when they played was ‘Juggernauts’ and they really did crush all in their path.
A saturated Enter Shikari returned to the stage for a two-song encore where they graciously thanked the audience and played ‘Sssnakepit’ and ‘Zzzonked’. Just as rowdy as they were when they started playing.
The elaborate factors of this show from the bands enthusiasm and the way in which they carried themselves to the technical production that included an impressive stage set up and light show tied so well with the music. It was all so well put together. Enter Shikari left their audience mesmerised and as far as live bands go, these four are truly a force to be reckoned with.