Enter Shikari has been an integral part of Britain’s alternative scene ever since their debut album dropped in 2007. The quartet from St Albans unique blend of drum and bass, pop rock and metalcore has seen them achieve numerous milestones, which have all culminated to the band headlining London’s iconic OVO Arena Wembley. Joining Enter Shikari on perhaps their biggest headline tour to date is YouTuber Noahfinnce and Inglewood’s own Fever 333. I sadly missed Noahfinnce’s set, but he can be found touring the UK later this year.
Personally, I am a much bigger fan of Fever 333 than Enter Shikari, however with the band effectively being brand new, except for frontman Jason Aalon Butler, I’m skeptical as to the future of a band I once thought was the next big thing. Firstly, Butler didn’t disappoint, as he brought the high-octane energy the band has become known for. This being said, I couldn’t help but miss former members Stephen Harrison and Aric Improta who would match Butler’s insane energy.
Fever’s intense energy highlights the urgency of their political message and the anger and frustration towards injustice, because of this the more laid-back mannerisms of the new band, comprising of Bassist April Kae, drummer Thomas Pridgen and guitarist Brandon Davis, has thus far failed to sell me on the new direction of the band, but nonetheless, Jason Aalon Butler still remains one of the most entertaining frontmen in alternative music and is worth checking out no matter what band he is in.
When the lights finally dim and the crowd erupts in cheer, Roy Reynolds’ appears spotlit as he performs a spoken word rendition of “System…” before the rest of the band take to the stage and explode into the absolute banger that is “…Meltdown”. Much to the surprise of the crowd, and myself for that matter, Enter Shikari would follow “…Meltdown” with their usual closer ‘Live Outside’ which worked perfectly to maintain the concert start high beyond the opening song.
Throughout the night, Enter Shikari played a whopping 26 songs, whilst offering a decent spread across their 7 albums. As this tour is in support of their latest record, it’s without question that “A Kiss For The Whole World” was played off the most with 6 songs, however, due to the solid quality of their first chart-topping record, plus the insane number of songs performed, the show at no point dipped or faltered due to new material.
As refreshing as the setlist was for the night, it would’ve been for nothing if it wasn’t for Enter Shikari’s amazing production design, as well as, the performance given by the band on the night. Incorporating lasers and stroke effects you’d expect to see in a drum and bass garage gig, as well as, inventive usage of their electronic backdrop, Enter Shikari clearly went all out for Wembley and the results were nothing short of spectacular.
Specific acknowledgment has to go to a moment in which frontman Rou Reynolds, climbs atop one electronic pillar displaying a water tank, whilst on top, Rou puts his hand in, to which his hand is seen on the screen. He then shakes water off his hand onto the stage, a nice touch I must say, before falling back into the pillar, leaving us with his image on the pillar submerged in the water. My words might not do this moment justice, but nonetheless, it is perhaps the single most inventive use of a band’s stage setup I’ve ever had the privilege to witness.
Lastly and by no means least, Enter Shikari’s performance at Wembley Arena was a triumph in large part due to the fact the band made the most of the night and looked as though they were having a lot of fun. Jason Aalon Butler may have been the first to climb around the arena and mingle amongst the crowd.
However, come the second half of the set Enter Shikari spent as much time as possible experiencing the gig from all angles and engineering with fans in all areas of the venue. Wembley was a big night for Enter Shikari and it was endearing and, quite honestly, beautiful to see not just how far they have come, but to also see them enjoy a milestone moment as they well and truly deserve to.
Words by Dan Harden + Photography by Martina Antonia Liberini
