Holy shit, I thought being a Wednesday night in Sydney I would be walking into a half filled metro but that is not the case as for it is brimming with eager punters awaiting a night of metalcore mayhem with new comers Hacktivist exposing our ears to there unique brand of rap metal and the ever awesome Enter Shikari
The floor boards are now full through the speakers The Prodigy’s breathe can be heard as the crowd chants Enter Shikari ! like they are at a Premiere League match. This is clearly a band who have built a loyal following over the years and a more then festival favorites, I must admit I myself make sure i catch them when ever possible last time i saw them on this very stage they were amazing and tonights show would be even better.
Things open with some reprise dialogue that introduces some cool specific stage and lighting effects and you get the feeling that you are witnessing more tonight then just a band stage show the crowd chant ‘standing on statues and still we be here !’
From the opening track Enter Shikari the crowd would look like a sea of human bodies awash and moving freely like a wave of energy across the metro floor this would not stop as we go into Solidarity then crowd pleaser Sorry Your Not A Winner. Stage light’s flicker and strobe in white and blue, It’s like lead singer Rou Reynolds would hardly haft to even do his part as so many lines and verses the crowd would be there taking over and singing louder then all the rest. Rou would hold the keys above his head sing an run about the stage the guitarist would Stand at front of the speakers and dual out there chords assaulting our ears
Before playing One Truth Rou reminds us that they control the pitch and rhythm to manipulate emotions and what a brilliant job they are doing. Our singing duties would be commended and we would be taken on a journey as they played Garrison and mixed into it would be No Sleep tonight there musicianship is one of absolute perfection. During the melodic moments on tracks the crowd would raise an upside down triangle significant of the bands emblem.
Slipshood and Paddington frisk would create the biggest circle pits of the night and on the outro to Torn Apart Rou would play the trumpet, wow what a show it had been so far absolutely phenomenal the set ends with Mothership. People would mosh bodies go over the barrier the crowd would chant and stomp floorboards Rou would climb on top of the speakers, the whole thing would end in hard hitting flashes of light and their sound was amazing. But of course the crowd wasn’t ready to let them go home for the night getting straight into it but instead of chanting one more song there was clapping and shouting ‘I would still be here standing with out you !’
Of course things wouldn’t end there out they come to play Redshift followed by Anaesthetist some how during which the mic would become stuck in the roof, thats right no one goes as hard as Enter Shikari the temporary delay would just get every one ready for the last track and before it gets played Rou asks ‘do we have any mind sweepers in this house’ the crowd would roar in response and in what would be our last three minutes to show our appreciation an already energetic crowd found its final moments of glory amongst the guitar swirling heavy drum beats that seems to beat right thru you. And with that it’s thank you very much and good night and what a good night it was.