Enter Shikari @ The Gov Review

Adelaide may have still been hurting from the cancellation of Architects and Bring Me The Horizon on Tuesday at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.

However, two days later (22 September), opposite the Entertainment Centre at The Gov, the wounds were healed by a stacked line-up including Australian hardcore act Stories, grime-djent hybrid Hacktivist and UK electronicore-heavyweights Enter Shikari.

Stories played their second final show before going on an indefinite hiatus to a small Adelaide crowd filled with long-time followers and interested newcomers not wanting to miss out on seeing them for the final time. The band may have benefited from a small headline performance at their own personal venue. Regardless, the band performed exceptionally and the intimate crowd respected the band for all their achievements and gave Stories their ears for a final farewell.

Stories (Brsbane show 20 September) - image © Ophelia Symons

The group's vocalist, Morgan Dodson, thanked the crowd for coming out to see their final performance and helping them get to experience the opportunities they’ve had in their short career. Dodson highlighted Enter Shikari and Hacktivist as musical inspirations and said it was an honour to do their final tour supporting them. Hopefully, the individual members of Stories continue their musical careers as there is too much talent in that band for it to go to waste.

Hacktivist took to the stage in an effort to warm up the timid Adelaide crowd. Their unique combination of UK grime and djent metal may have been a new sound to some of the audience. Hacktivist got the crowd moving with a heavy cover of Kanye West’s ‘Niggas In Paris’. Enter Shikari lead singer, Rou Reynolds joined Hacktivist to sing ‘Taken’ from their latest album, 'Outside The Box'. By the time Hacktivist played their last song, ‘Elevate’, the crowd was well warmed up and wanting more from the UK five-piece.

Hacktivist (Brisbane show 20 September) - image © Ophelia Symons

As Enter Shikari’s intro hit the whole room filled with a cult-like chant with the crowd screaming “And still we will be here, standing like statues”. Enter Shikari played a massive one and a half hour set with the crowd never slowing down throughout. Enter Shikari are one of the biggest acts in the UK hardcore scene and are used to playing in arenas and main stages in front of tens of thousands. It’s amazing to see a band that size play in such a small, personal setting.

Even if you’ve never heard an Enter Shikari song, the band does everything they can to make their live performance one of the most entertaining in the industry. Highlights included lead singer and guitarist, Rou Reynolds sneakily moving a microphone stand to the back of the venue splitting The Gov in two with fans watching the band on stage and watching Rou tear it up behind them.

Enter Shikari (Brisbane show 20 September) - image © Ophelia Symons

Lead guitarist, Rory Clewlow attempted to get into the middle of the circle pit for ‘The Paddington Frisk’, only to be quite literally stolen by a group of fans once he got on someone’s shoulders as they ran off around the venue. Although Rory’s face at the time said shock and horror, he got back up on the stage after and had a laugh about it.

The band finished their encore with ‘The Appeal And The Mindsweep Part II’. The closing riff filled the venue in a truly epic finish. Rory continued the riff for what seemed like a good five minutes as he returned to the crowd (this time kneeling on them) reaching towards the sky above the audience.

Enter Shikari (Brisbane show 20 September) - image © Ophelia Symons

Enter Shikari seemed to enjoy the performance as much as the fans, truly giving it one hundred per cent. Next time Enter Shikari come to Australia, do not miss them, even if you don’t know any songs. An Enter Shikari show is one of the most entertaining live performances in the industry.