Weather Morning: 7°c Mostly cloudy Afternoon: 8°c Sunny spells

Music

London,

Enter Shikari, The Blackout, The Academy Is

Description: The St Albans post-hardcore rock band perform with The Blackout and The Academy Is.



Rating: 3 out of 5 André Paine's rating
Rating: 5 out of 5

Reader rating

Your rating

one star two star three star four star five star

Click on a star to rate

Hammersmith Palais Shepherd's Bush Road, W6 7NL

Phone: 0208600 2300

Website: www.hammersmithpalais.com

Transport: Tube: Hammersmith Transport for London

Enter the 14-year-olds

Hard to take seriously: Enter Shikari's set included tawdry comments directed at female fans and infantile banter
Hard to take seriously: Enter Shikari's set included tawdry comments directed at female fans and infantile banter

By André Paine
12 Mar 2007


Even before Enter Shikari arrived on stage for their second of two Palais shows, the anticipation among their fans was intense, with hundreds of children running around in loud trainers and hoodies.

The band arranged their tour so 14-year-olds could get into the gigs, and the young MySpace followers brandished glowsticks and chanted for the St Albans four-piece.

That fever pitch wasn't obviously reflected on last night's chart, where Enter Shikari's single Anything Can Happen in the Next Half Hour scraped into the Top 30.

Significantly, though, the band have done it themselves, creating a riotous combination of hard rock and euphoric trance, then sidestepping the record companies and setting up their own label.

"It's like a vole in a rabbit hutch," was singer Rou Reynolds's way of describing their chart debut.

That was one of many bizarre on-stage comments during several meandering moments, although they didn't dent the teenagers' excitement, which was sustained thanks to the adrenalin rush of tunes such as Labyrinth.

But for anyone over 25 the rave sections of the set - where the drummer danced Bez-style with his top off at the front of the stage - were hard to take seriously. There were also some tawdry comments directed at female fans and tedious infantile banter.

Reynolds's dexterity partly made up for the flaws, though, especially when he gripped his keyboard, threw his legs in the air and, briefly, seemed to float. A thrilling moment - and not just for the 14-year-olds.

Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.

Reader views (1)

 Add your view

AMAZING GIG!

- Charlie Childs, London, 13/03/2007 01:02
Report abuse


Add your comment

 

Terms and conditions Make text area bigger You have  characters left.

We welcome your opinions. This is a public forum. Libellous and abusive comments are not allowed. Please read our House Rules.

For information about privacy and cookies please read our Privacy Policy.


 

Music top five
Cher Lloyd
Cher Lloyd

IndigO2
SE10
Apr 8, 7pm

Chris Rea

HMV Apollo
W6
Apr 5, 6.30pm

Miles Kane

HMV Forum
NW5
Apr 28, 7.30pm

Example

The O2 Arena
SE10
Apr 27, 6.30pm

Lightning Seeds

02 Shepherd's Bush Empire
W12
Feb 18, 7pm