Another gig in the busiest part of the year and our second visit to Barrowlands for a sold-out show within a few days. Would Enter Shikari provide as much entertainment as The Almighty on Saturday night? Their reputation very much precedes them, but preceding even that was the support band, Teenage Wrist, all the way from Los Angeles.
Credit to our photographer Alan Swan who very kindly drafted the review of the openers. Due to having to work until late I couldn’t get to the venue early enough to catch them, but I’ll be sure to check them out as I’m adding them to our Gig Review playlist on Spotify!
Teenage Wrist were squished towards the front of the stage due to the large amount of kit that the headliners had brought with them, but made the the most of what space they had. Many in the audience already knew the band, or so it seemed from the volume of the responding cheer when asked if they’d heard of Teenage Wrist before.
Their sound is a mix of post rock, post hardcore and even post metal, and features dual vocals throughout. One of the band was wearing a Bossk t-shirt, which is also likely a clue to their influences. There was a slow, melodic pace to the music with arguably a little more energy than you’ll often find in similar genres. There were some heavier, groovier passages, though overall they sounded massive!
They ended their set with “Earth is a Black Hole”, an anthem that sounded like a modern twist on grunge, with some added punk chucked in for fun. The crowd was definitely on their side, but the chaos we expect from a Shikari audience had yet to show its full potential.
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Enter the editor (and companion) to cover the headliners, Enter Shikari. Can I just say “WOW” and leave it at that? No? You want more? Fine, here we go.
WOW WOW.
OK, OK… More words. As with Sleep Token a couple of weeks ago I entered this review blind in terms of band knowledge. I did this deliberately as I’ve heard so much about Enter Shikari (all good, and in so many way) and wanted my first experience to hit me properly. As such, no streaming and no further research. I couldn’t name a single song or ping them down to a genre.
What I can say is that they’re very charitable. Prior to the tour they raffled off some gig tickets and other items in aid of a homeless charity in Liverpool. Tonight, those on the guest list were asked to pay a donation to War Child in exchange for entry. I have absolutely no issue with this, and (I hope no other publications mind me saying this, but…) more artists should do it.
Back to the stage, though. Enter Shikari know how to rock. Also dance. And definitely also put on a light show. Their light towers gave one of the most impressive mid-sized venue visual displays I have ever seen. Great quality, themed and timed to the music, bright without blinding you, and overall incredible. A mixture of patterns and images added to every one of the 18 songs they played, so my hat goes off to the band / developers who put that together.
Enter Shikari themselves have all the trappings of an indie band in terms of their appearance, but a massive one. They perform well, engage brilliantly with their enraptured audience, but do so on a “we’re all equal” level. There’s no overbearing lecturing in the between-song chatter and song intros despite their obvious political leanings, largely I suspect because they’re preaching to the converted. The fans here know the hell out of this band to the point where they’re singing for the final encore song before the gig is even fully started.
When it does start, though… ooft. I don’t think the dancefloor in the Barras has ever taken more punishment from an audience jumping at the same time. Ever. I hope someone sent structural engineers in to check things the morning after. There were smiles and raised voices everywhere I looked as the band went through songs like (and, yes, I looked these up later) “{ The Dreamer’s Hotel }”, “The Last Garrison” and “Giant Pacific Octopus”. If I had to pick a song I liked best, for some reason “Leap into the Lightning” has stuck in my head, but honestly the whole show just blew my mind.
I did particularly enjoy the countdown to the final chance to go mental during “A Kiss For The Whole World x” which worked. I thought the audience was mad before that, but it turns out that the previous 87 minutes were just a warmup for the closing frenzy.
This was one of those perfect gigs where it’s not only a band performing, but several thousand people being on the same wavelength and letting rip. Enter Shikari, as promised, provided the lights, the rhythms and the energy, but the audience (to borrow a football analogy) were the fifth band member. That audience, incidentally, was young and I loved this fact. I noticed something similar when I saw Wargasm two years ago. Most fans seemed to be at most 30 or so, and it’s a joy to see so many younger people (I’m 50 BTW), loving live music and supporting the next deluge of big bands.
So, in summary: WOW. With bands like Enter Shikari and fans like the ones they have, there is very much a future for live music. And if it’s going to be as jaw-dropping and progressive as this particular band’s output then I’m very glad I’m here to enjoy that future.
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Photos by Alan Swan
