28-06-2007 Enter Shikari

Supports: The Mighty Roars; venue: Melkweg
By: Wouter van de Kamp

For those of you that have read my review of last Tuesday, it should not really come as a surprise that I was looking forward to this gig again. This time in a sold out Melkweg. The same type of young kids again. And they all had to wait this lengthy support act called The Mighty Roars. At least that’s what it was like, to me. Upon entering the hall when they started playing I wanted to run out as fast as I could, but damn… I had to take the pics. Perhaps Enter Shikari took this London-based band to support them. If so, I’d advice them to leave them home next time. Punk rock in the style of PJ Harvey, Yeah Yeah Yeah’s and
The Pistols is totally not my thing and definately not a way to warm the audience up for what Shikari was about to show us. It was solid as a rock, boring as a rock and left me completely stonecold. I was happy to leave the hall after I had taken the pics.

Then it was time for THE myspace revelation of 2007, the Esmee Denters from London. The dream come true of every starting band. I will not go and repeat myself what this band is like. Read Tuesday’s review for that! The temperature had risen to a quite uncomfortable height and the mosh pits already started when the first notes of the intro took the crowd in its posession, not letting go until the last note from this energyoverloaded band. This were the perfect ingredients for one of those legendary ‘crowd-goes-extremely-wildconcerts’. And yes, that was exactly what happened. I stood on second row and was squashed from all sides by all these teens going wild on their not much older idols. To make things even worse the singer jumped right into the crowd during the first song already. Shikari treated us on an equally energetic performance, but a much wilder crowd. The same jokes in between the songs e.g.: “If I don’t see 41 stagedives during the next song, I’ll be vexed”. Compared to their gig in Waterfront the Tuesday before Amsterdam taught Rotterdam a lesson in going wild. It was as if Slayer played a onetime reunion gig, after ten years.   Superlatives do not suffice to describe this infernal experience. Fortunately, as is to be expected from this band that got its fame from the internet, you can get a little grasp of what was going on this night out in Melkweg on Youtube (see links below). Unfortunately I have to accuse Enter Shikari of a lie. Ot’s the song called “No Sssweat”. Sweat and adrenaline joined the overload on testosterone from the pit, on their flight through the hall, sorry for that, guys. Crowdsurfers and stagedivers all over. The band was obviously overwhelmed by all this. They even had to bring one song to a halt due to too many people onstage. For those of you going to Lowlands Festival: go check them out and live the hype. If you’re not going there then take advice in the Shikari’s song “Ok, Time for Plan B”: they will play Tivoli, Utrecht on 8 October. That will be a very good plan B for you!

Enter Shikari:
 

More pictures of this gig available here

Links:
Melkweg
Enter Shikari official
Enter Shikari Myspace
The Mighty Roars Myspace

Youtube 1
Youtube 2
Lowlands festival
Tivoli