Enter Shikari @ Club Capitol,Perth (19/09/10)

Mon 20th Sep, 2010 in Gig Reviews

If you were lucky enough to catch Enter Shikari earlier at this years Soundwave Festival, you can imagine the kind of show they’d put on for a crowd of solely their own fans. Originally from Hertfordshire, UK, Enter Shikari pulled such an impressive crowd in each city in February that Soundwave Touring lined them up with their own headlining tour less than 9 months after their last visit down under.

Even before the sets, Club Capitol was buzzing from front to rear, curtain to bar and every inch of the upstairs balcony occupied by a pair of elbows. The atmosphere was buzzing, and circle pit fans were ready to pull their sleeves up for Melbourne based House VS Hurricane as they showcased their own progressive rock and electronica tracks from debt album Perspectives, including We, The Reserveless and Forfeiture from their EP. The crowd seemed to appreciate the similar genres between each band, and House Vs Hurricane earned respectful cheers and the occasional “Fuck Yeah!” throughout their entire set.

From the moment the music and lights ceased after their set, a deafening roar of excitement came from the crowd and long intertwined introductory track Common Dreads was played as Enter Shikari slowly made their way to the stage. There was appropriate cheering for each member, but possibly the loudest of all reserved for vocalist Rou Reynolds who bounced into sight in an open red flannel shirt and screamed “Here tonight, I clock a thousand heads. Here to unite, Common Dreads!” and straight into second track Solidarity exactly like the debt album.

It seems impossible to believe that the band gained more energy with each song; swinging off high speakers and two stepping with a bass guitar ( Chris Batten’s finest moment during The Jester) and security worked their hardest to help the poor girls in the front row from becoming part of the stage during Zzzonked which possibly sparked the biggest circle pit Capitol has ever seen.

Maybe the only criticism was the overuse of constant bright flashing lights and not enough use of the word Fuck, but both things were made up for with intense stage dives, guest vocals from the crowd and all the human pyramids that were made during everybody’s favourite Sorry, You’re not a Winner, the last song before Okay, Time for Plan B as the ironic encore.

Whether you left the venue drenched in sweat or as calm as you were when you entered, you’d be stupid not to think to yourself, “That was fricken’ awesome”. It’s safe to say Perth looks forward to their next tour.