Enter Shikari

You cannot deny the power and the passion of Enter Shikari – this is as serious as a nuclear warning and there are times on this set that are even less subtle. But you don’t go to see Shikari for the subtle interplay between the band members; you go to be a part of the mob and part of the blistering explosion.
This set doesn’t skimp on any of that but it does put you right in the middle of the action and sometimes looking straight up Rou’s nostrils as he skips around the stage and berates the crowd.

The relationship between the band and the mob is incredible – Enter Shikari are cocky and confident, stomping across the stage and jumping into and out of the crowd but you never sense that they are putting themselves above the crowd – if ever a band was a true ‘peoples band’ then they are. When Rou tells the crowd off because the circle pit isn’t big enough you get the feeling he would jump into it given a half chance and the crowd fire back the rants with all the venom that the band put in them in the first place.

The image quality and the sound quality are both first rate – they might call this a bootleg but the cameras and the recording are first rate.
You get 4 very different gigs here – Hatfield in December 2010, their hometown gig in a good sized hall with all the lights and room on the stage but on the same disk is a set from the Barfly in Camden a tiny venue with a stunning vibe and the crowd as much on the stage as the pit.
DVD 2 features a fairly useless Russian tour diary but the footage from Hammersmith is stunning and the material from Tokyo (2009) shows that their brand of hardcore translates to anywhere in the world.

Whether you need 4 versions of ‘Solidarity’ I’m not sure but the other material shows what a vibrant and truly live band Shikari are.