Live Review: Enter Shikari at Corn Exchange

Enter Shikari have built their reputation on live shows, so this was always going to be a good gig, but they don’t half frustrate me at times…

Having seen the band four times previously, I knew exactly what I was getting into; high pace, high energy and sweat. So much sweat. The Corn Exchange seemed to have transformed into Sunday night Life by the time the curtain closed on proceedings.

Forever on your mind

It was the last week of the UK Tour promoting their fourth album, ‘The Mindsweep’. I prepared myself by listening to the album on repeat for a week before the show, but I’m still not sure I like it. It’s good, but it just isn’t Enter Shikari to me.

Shikari opened in style. The grime and heavy bass of ‘Destabilize’ was followed by the melodic sing-along ‘Radiate’ and the classic shout-fest that is ‘Gandhi mate, Gandhi’ (though I’m not sure the great man would be shouting along with the rest of us). Front man Rou worked the crowd calling for “the sound of war cries” and a quite simply brilliant mash-up of ‘The Last Garrison’ and Juggernauts’ followed.

Things were slowed down considerably as the new album began to take over proceedings. ‘Never let go of the microscope’, ‘Myopia’ and ‘Torn Apart’ were played back to back as the whole gig went a bit Radiohead-esque.

Enter Shikari frontman, Rou Reynolds

Fortunately, drummer Rob summed up the thoughts of the crowd perfectly when he said he’d “had enough of this slow acoustic shit” and the unmistakable sound of the ‘Mothership’ intro rang out. This was what the crowd (and I) wanted. They have yet to disappoint with an album, but nothing will be as good as the original. I think that secretly they know this; they’re just too stubborn to accept it.

Great show and a great performance, but next time lads listen to your fans and play more of ‘Take to the Skies’. Like The Hangover movies, your first one is the best and it’s nothing to be ashamed of.