WARNING: This post may contain unnecessary fangirling and extreme bias. Apologies.
It's been nearly six weeks since Enter Shikari released their fourth studio album The Mindsweep and as I may have already mentioned, it's amazing. Since then, I have been to three of their live Mindsweep shows, so I thought I'd give you all an idea of how they've gone down. Spoiler: they're insane.
Album Launch Show, Rose Theatre, 18/01/2015
The first glimpse of live Mindsweep was insane. The Appeal And The Mindsweep I, Slipshod, Myopia, Never Let Go Of The Microscope and Anaesthetist were all tested out along with some old classics like Gandhi Mate, Gandhi, Mothership and Radiate. In such a tiny venue, Rou was free to roam through the crowd and stand on whatever he wanted and as usual all four of them were full of energy and passion. This gig was a reminder (not that a reminder was needed) of how incredible Enter Shikari are as a live band, I mean they had been away from the UK live circuit for around a year after all! Despite having gone to the signing before the gig, I also went to The Mindsweep pop-up shop the day after and that was a treat. Shikari not only put on killer shows but they are beautiful souls as well.
The Mindsweep Tour, Night Two, Y Plas, 17/02/2015
My god, a crowd have never been so loud! Before the boys came on stage the crowd just kept chanting “Shikari!
Shikari!” and it actually left me stunned. They burst on stage to begin with The Appeal And The Mindsweep I and it immediately kicked off. It was incredible. For the full two hours Enter Shikari played,
the crowd were a constant sea of energy only fuelled more by the noise these four men
create. The lights were amazing, the setlist was amazing, the musicianship was
amazing. Just as the Motherstep intro was about to drop into Mothership there was a powercut which was pretty funny but it didn't phase Shikari; they just cracked some jokes and played some funny tunes. Then there was Batty C getting into the moshpit for Paddington Frisk and Rou smashed an actual vase during Slipshod which was great. Rou also gave some moving speeches about the crowd and them being a community, the fact that we as Earth are like a spaceship and that "if you think you're standing still you're not." All very educational but the best moment of the night was when Rou took to his “old Joanna” for a delicate and overwhelming Dear Future Historians. Rou
cried and I think pretty much everyone else in the room did too, it was truly special and a gig that will go down in Shikari history.
The Mindsweep Tour, Night Nine, Camden Roundhouse, 26/02/2015
The same setlist, the same men, the same show and an equally incredible atmosphere. Despite more sound problems (maybe I'm a bad omen for them) they put on another insane show. Roundhouse was full to the brim with a crowd abundant in love and energy and it was just stunning. Highlights included Chris doing a cowbell solo and Rory C being crowdsurfed out of the venue as Sssnakepit ended. The Mindsweep Tour has been an incredible one, and let's face it, Enter Shikari are an incredible force. Here's to hoping they'll be back for round two soon!
The same setlist, the same men, the same show and an equally incredible atmosphere. Despite more sound problems (maybe I'm a bad omen for them) they put on another insane show. Roundhouse was full to the brim with a crowd abundant in love and energy and it was just stunning. Highlights included Chris doing a cowbell solo and Rory C being crowdsurfed out of the venue as Sssnakepit ended. The Mindsweep Tour has been an incredible one, and let's face it, Enter Shikari are an incredible force. Here's to hoping they'll be back for round two soon!
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