15 April 2013 (gig)
19 April 2013
New Brighton, a humble seaside town on the Wirral peninsula and home to the Floral Pavilion theatre overlooking the River Mersey. Considering this venue has also previously held many conferences and antique sales, you wouldn't be the first shocked by the announcement of a rock concert within the theatre’s very own walls but then again not all rock bands are like Enter Shikari.
The exceptionally intimate Return To Energiser Tour has been creating havoc in towns up and down the country, leaving no stones unturned and on Monday the 15th of April it was of course New Brighton’s turn to unleash their craziest dance moves.
Providing a tantalising tease of what was yet to come, Baby Godzilla of Nottingham descent took to the stage…but not for long. With more band members ending up in the crowd rather than on the stage, the quartet certainly made a remarkable impression on the onlookers with their auditory pandemonium. Circle pits kicking off with full vigour and each member pulling their weight, the audience were in the palm of the bands hands. Keep an eye out for Baby Godzilla as they promise the most adrenaline fuelled, enthralling performance you will ever see!
Succeeding the Nottingham newbies and perpetuating the crowd’s all important approval came the arrival of Hacktivist. A band whose music is laden with thunderous riffs and lyrics so deep you could drown in them; Hacktivist are not afraid to split opinion and conceive something revitalising. Of course the whole rap/metal amalgamation has been tried and tested by many before but not all successful unlike the Milton Keynes five-piece who bring something more to the table. It is evident from the expression painted on vocalist Ben Marvin’s face that there is nothing else he would rather be doing; even when J Hurley is rhyming you can see Marvin mouthing along with every ounce of devotion he has to offer. Winning over the audience was effortless as arms moved back and forth to the cutting edge djent that was presented from the Southern quintet. If you’re not quite sure who to see on the Sunday of Download Festival then make your way to the Pepsi Max stage to have a look for yourself.
Finally, the moment all zealous crowd members were waiting for, or Enter Shikari’s ‘Lions’ as they may be better known; the rock juggernauts at long last graced the stage with their presence. An explosion of visual gratification drove the sweat sodden crowd to endure the almighty temperatures of the Blue Lounge which the ventilation system couldn't quite seem to battle against. Setting the ball rolling with the tracks System logically followed by Meltdown nothing could have decelerated the band that were just going from strength to strength.
Frontman Rou Reynolds, Chris Batten, Rory Clewlow and Rob Rolfe came here on a mission and by the look of things that mission was demolition. The speakers, the monitors, the divide between band and fan, everything to this band is tangible and just another barrier to break or object to shout on top of. When he’s not scaling the scaffolding holding up the stage lighting or announcing that he is in fact an alien, Rou is running through the crowd to scream in practically everyone’s face. Cracking out just about every hit and having showcased their latest single, The Paddington Frisk, it was transparent that Enter Shikari were in their element with nothing to inhibit their invasion.
It’s more than fair to say that Enter Shikari can hold their head’s high with pride and triumph after their mind-blowing performance that left everyone with a warm smile on their face (and possibly a couple of bruises from those circle pits). It’d would be unforgivable to miss seeing these boys who are still continuing their tour until early May or later on in June when they headline the Zippo Encore stage at Download Festival on the Saturday. There are no boundaries for Enter Shikari and let’s face it even if there were they’d probably break them regardless!
Setlist:
1. System...
2. ...Meltdown
3. Sssnakepit (Hamilton Remix intro)
4. Sorry, You're Not A Winner
5. Gandhi Mate, Gandhi
6. The Feast
7. The Jester (Second half only)
8. The Paddington Frisk
9. Destabilise
10. Havoc B
11. All Eyes on the Saint
12. Unite
13. Mothership (Motherstep 2.0 intro)
14. Arguing With Thermometers
15. Zzzonked
