Words & Photos by Nathan Katsiaficas
Arguably one of the UK’s best exports, Enter Shikari are currently trekking across North America in support of their latest release The Mindsweep, with direct support from Long Island hardcore act Stray From The Path and openers A Lot Like Birds and I The Mighty. As a band that is rather hard to label to one specific genre, it’s not surprising that Enter Shikari would put together such an eclectic lineup of bands from different genres. I caught up to the tour on April 6th as it came to Boston for an intimate show at The Paradise Rock Club.
It took a bit for the venue to fill up but it was packed by the time openers I The Mighty came on. For an opening band they put on an energetic set and had several fans in the audience enthusiastically singing along. During their performance, it was mentioned that they’ll be doing a headlining tour soon this summer–this night surely will have won them some new fans to come out and support that run.
A Lot Like Birds took to the stage next and very quickly upped the energy level in the venue. It would be disingenuous and also downright difficult to try to describe their sound by comparison to another band as, much like the night’s headliner, they really are in a genre of their own. Vocalists Kurt Travis and Cory Lockwood deliver vocals ranging from multilayered melodies to pissed off screaming the next, all combined with reverb-laden guitar riffs that creates a really different and unique soundscape. Hopefully this tour is helping boost their fanbase as I know I’d really like to see them again, perhaps with a longer set.
Stray From The Path followed with a killer set that pulled from across their discography and featured many a ‘bleh!‘, kicking things off with the fan-favorite “Negative and Violent” from 2009’s Make Your Own History. While the crowd had been moshing a little during previous acts, Stray From The Path definitely got the biggest pits so far that night, motivated in part by the urging of frontman Drew York. The band continued, delving into their more recent releases, with “Death Beds” off of 2011’s Rising Sun, and one of my favorite’s, “Landmines” off their 2013 full length, Anonymous. As the opening notes of “Bring It Back To The Streets” rang out, the crowd went nuts and the mosh pit seemed to double in size. Their set featured lots of crowd participation as York happily shared the mic with fans that had crowd-surfed their way up to the front. This continued as they went on to play another of their hit songs, “Damien” and later a cover of the Ramones song “Blitzkrieg Bop.” As their set was coming to a close, York told the audience how important it was to know their rights, before launching into their last song “Badge and a Bullet.”
The audience was definitely amped up and ready for Enter Shikari by the end of Stray From The Path’s set. A prerecorded track began to play as the band’s crew finished changing over the stage, announcing that Enter Shikari would be performing in 10 minutes and counting down periodically for the rest of that time. The venue was abuzz with excitement as it neared showtime, erupting into a loud roar as the band appeared to the opening notes of “The Appeal & The Mindsweep I,” the first track on their newest release. The crowd shouted every line of the spoken-word intro along with frontman Rou Reynolds, and continued as the synth kicked in, screaming, “I AM A MINDSWEEPER! FOCUS ON ME!” It would be a night full of sing-alongs, crowd interactions and spontaneous fun, with Reynolds making the first of many forays into the audience within the first few songs. They followed up their first song with “Radiate” and “Destabillize,” before Reynolds made his way back into the crowd for “Gandhi Mate, Gandhi.” Guitarist Rory Clewlow and bassist Chris Batten got in on the action too, crowdsurfing around for the first part of the track. Having returned to the stage, Rou and his bandmates returned to newer material with the incredibly-catchy track “The Last Garrison.” Highlights of the rest of their set included onstage banter discussing the merits of the emperor penguin as well as tracks “Never Let Go of The Microscope” and “Myopia,” both also from The Mindsweep, and “The Paddington Frisk,” for which Reynolds made his way into the crowd again, having fans circle-pit around him. The crowd interaction continued during their encore as Rou made his way up to the balcony to the soundboard for “Slipshod,” perching on the balcony ledge at one point and clutching an over-hanging pipe for balance as he belted out each guttural note. They closed with “Sssnakepit”, leaving a satisfied audience to nurse their sore necks the next morning (mine is still on the mend). While many headlining acts might disappear to their bus after their show, Rou, Chris, and Rory were all standing outside to hang out with fans right after the end of their set–what a class act! If you haven’t caught The Mindsweep Tour yet, you’ve still got until April 28th! The remaining dates are listed after the photos below!
The Mindsweep Tour (Remaining Dates):
Apr 08 Virgin Mobile Mod Club – Toronto, ON
Apr 09 The Crofoot Ballroom – Pontiac, MI
Apr 10 Fubar – St. Louis, MO
Apr 11 The Bottom Lounge – Chicago, IL
Apr 12 The Granada Theatre – Lawrence, KS
Apr 14 The Marquis Theater – Denver, CO
Apr 16 Murray Theater – Murray, UT
Apr 17 Knitting Factory – Boise, ID
Apr 18 Hawthorne Theatre – Portland, OR
Apr 19 El Corazon – Seattle, WA
Apr 21 Ace of Spades – Sacramento, CA
Apr 23 House of Blues – Los Angeles, CA
Apr 24 Soma Sidestage – San Diego, CA
Apr 25 Nile Theater – Mesa, AZ
Apr 26 Launchpad – Albuquerque, NM
Apr 28 The Korova – San Antonio, TX