Live: Enter Shikari @ HMV Ritz

Enter Shikari
HMV Ritz
7^th October
5 stars

After spending the majority of the summer opting for an American trip on the road via the Vans Warped Tour, Enter Shikari are back on English soil, promising sold-out nights of absolute insanity. With a rather stellar lineup of bands on the bill, this tour is not for the faint hearted. Blood, sweat and bruises are an anticipated outcome, and crowd-goers were certainly far from disappointment.

After blasting sets from supports letlive and Your Demise, it feels like that could have been the entire show in itself and kids would leave happy, but they regain more than enough energy to witness what’s yet to come.

In the newly refurbished 1920’s theatre, the HMV Ritz is tested to its safety limits, as the headlining band takes over and the 1500-strong crowd erupts. Opening with ‘Destabilise’, the energetic pace continues with high consistency as the Hertfordshire four-piece belt out crowd favourites ‘Zzzonked’, ‘Havoc A’ and ‘Return To Energiser’.
Choosing to play smaller venues on this tour, they are eager to give back to the loyal home fan base who are keen for new music. This eagerness to provide fresh sounds is apparent as they include new songs taken from their upcoming 2012 release, A Flash Flood of Colour, churning out likely future favourites ‘Arguing With Thermometers’ and ‘Sssnakepit’.

Crowd participation is at its fullest- reminiscent to those that the band has witnessed at their Reading & Leeds festival slots over the last 3 years. Strobe lighting was also at its extreme, almost to the point of near blindness, adding to the notion that this is just a big rave.

With a newly announced Spring 2012 tour with fellow Brits Young Guns, Enter Shikari show total control and no signs of slowing.

Enter Shikari – Sssnakepit