Review: Enter Shikari made their Los Angeles return inside the Regent Theater
"It's been far too long," Enter Shikari vocalist Rou Reynolds said in front of a packed crowd at Los Angeles' Regent Theater on Thursday. For those in attendance, the feeling was mutual.
Before the pandemic, Enter Shikari toured the country before recording their sixth studio album Nothing Is True & Everything Is Possible. By the time it was released, however, the world was a few weeks into the pandemic. While the band weren't able to properly tour off the release, it didn't stop them from celebrating it online with fans. The band remotely recorded Moratorium (Broadcasts from the Interruption) followed by the release of Reynolds' book A Treatise On Possibility: Perspectives On Humanity Hereafter.
The band were slated to finally return to the region this spring, but the trek was postponed to the fall. While fans had to wait a few more months to catch Enter Shikari live, it was well worth the wait with the packed audience waiting to sing along to their favorite cuts. Unfortunately, drummer Rob Rolfe couldn't head to the region due to their visa not arriving on time. The band did manage to find a suitable replacement with Death By Stereo drummer Mike Cambra.
This trek marked the first time the band performed songs from Nothing Is True & Everything Is Possible in the United States. Backed by pulsating lights, Enter Shikari kicked off their set with the towering opener "The Great Unknown." Fellow album tracks "modern living.," "the pressure's on.," and satellites* *, which was dedicated to the LGBTQ community, were met with rousing fanfare.
As expected, the band went through a slew of fan favorites from their previous records. The band teased the intro to "Sorry, You're Not a Winner" several times before launching into the beloved cut with guitarist Rory C. towering over the crowd before the symphonious handclaps kicked in. Rory didn't stop just there with getting close to the audience; for "The Paddington Frisk", which wasn't played on this tour before the Los Angeles stop, Rory and bassist Chris Batten made the pit their temporary workplace while fans rapidly circled around them. Reynolds also launched themselves in the pit for "Mothership," which found the singer being swarmed by fans looking to scream into the mic.
The past two years did a number on health workers worldwide. The band dedicated the track "Anaesthetist" to everyone in the hospitals who had to take care of endless people during the pandemic. Taken from their 2015 studio album The Mindsweep, the track dives into Britain's privatization of their National Health Service. Towards the end of the song, the band decided to shake things up by dropping Reso's remix of the tune.
Enter Shikari also performed their new collaboration with fellow British band Wargasm titled "The Void Stares Back." Wargasm were originally slated to appear on the spring tour. While they weren't at the show, their energetic presence was felt with the sweaty crowd.
For the encore, Reynolds jokingly stated, "I'm gonna play a song from someone you've never heard before," before covering David Bowie's "Heroes." Closing things with "{The Dreamer's Hotel}" and "Live Outside," Enter Shikari managed to give the Los Angeles crowd what they called "the temporary suspension of normality."
Enter Shikari setlist
The Great Unknown
Destabilise
Juggernauts
modern living….
Anaesthetist
Anaesthetist (Reso Remix)
satellites* *
the pressure's on.
Arguing With Thermometers
Rabble Rouser
Sorry, You're Not a Winner
The Void Stares Back
The Paddington Frisk
Gandhi Mate, Gandhi
Mothership
Solidarity
Encore:
"Heroes" (David Bowie cover)
{The Dreamer's Hotel}
Live Outside