Pop Break Live: Enter Shikari at House of Independents in Asbury Park, NJ
I’ve attended at least seven Enter Shikari shows and their performance at House of Independents, Asbury Park’s gorgeous new venue, was perhaps the band’s most subdued to date.
For a group known for chaotic stage presence as much as music, this may raise a red flag to fans. Fear not—with a set spanning five albums and over ten years, Enter Shikari more than did justice to their one-of-a-kind sound. The lads traded in crowd-surfing and speaker-climbing for tighter performances that retained all of the power and passion evident in frontman Rou Reynolds’ songwriting.
Just as on their new album, The Spark, Enter Shikari wisely chose to open with the anthemic bounce of “The Sights” before jumping back and forth across a relentlessly adventurous discography. There was something for every fan, from the crushing breakdowns and ravey synths of “Anything Can Happen in the Next Half Hour…” to the tender ballad “Airfield”. The latter was a particularly daring and effective live number, its brief solace uplifting the rest of the show rather than halt it.
At this stage in their career, it’s safe to say Enter Shikari is incapable of playing a bad show. Their tours are can’t-miss affairs for any open-minded fan of music.
Setlist (via setlist.fm):
The Spark
The Sights
Solidarity
Anything Can Happen in the Next Half Hour…
Take My Country Back
The Last Garrison
Radiate
Undercover Agents
Arguing with Thermometers
Rabble Rouser
Airfield
Anaesthetist
“Quick-fire” medley: Sorry, You’re Not a Winner / Sssnakepit / …Meltdown / Antwerpen
Zzzonked
Encore:
Redshift
Live Outside
