Enter Shikari with Tokky Horror and Higher Power at the Manchester Victoria Warehouse.

Enter Shikari are on their third and final round of this UK tour, which has been split into three different months taking on the same cities, in more intimate venues. For most acts New Century Hall would be classed as a huge venue, but for Shikari its smaller compared to places like Victoria Warehouse.

This is a sold out show, and from the second I get to the venue it’s fairly packed out already as the opening supports Tokky Horror take to the stage.

Tokky Horror may not seem like the type of band that would support Shikari on tour, but with their more recent sound that’s been coming out the past few years, it fits perfectly. With a sound that’s taken inspiration from legends The Prodigy it’s the perfect start to a night, if you need your energy to be lifted after a hard week this is the perfect way to go about it. For most people this might not be for them and not their cup of tea, but if you’re into more electronic rock then this is something that might be up your alley. For me I was raised on classic rock and The Prodigy so this was something that I was used to and really enjoyed.

It was fun and gave me a really good taste of 90s nostalgia, they had the energy that flew throughout the entire crowd. You could see people start to warm up and get into the spirit of things. For those who might think they didn’t work or the sound wasn’t right, both members took the time to remind the crowd that they were the emo kids in school right in Manchester, and they actually grew up listening to Enter Shikari and that performing on this tour is a next level dream of theirs that they never thought was going to come true, they even got a little emotional during this part. They blew the crowd away and the entire room turned into a rave and with the incredible light display that goes throughout New Century Hall it worked with the theme of things. They added in some insane covers with a mash up of Black Eyed Peas’ ‘My Humps’ and ‘WAP’ by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion which just added a lot more fun to this amazingly chaotic performance.

Higher Power were next, and they opened with a band with ‘Rewire (101). Which is the more fast paced track of their set, and it’s very hard to tell from the get go what kind of sound they’re going for, you can’t tell if they’re grunge or going into more punky vibes. But with the craziness or Tokky Horror they had some insane shoes to fill. Considering their energy was a little lower and was further away from the electronic feel the crowd’s energy seemed to differ a little bit at some points, although Higher Power managed to bring the crowd back to life with their closing track, ‘Seamless’. This time throwing in gritty guitar riffs and a brilliant breakdown that hit towards the end of the track, this added in with a theme of grunge taken from Deftones it made it a standout song for the set.

Finally after a break that seemed like an eternity, the lights dimmed down and Enter Shikari were ready to take to the stage. The stage was filled with light tubes that surrounded the setup, with a mixing desk that looked like it was pulled out of the 70s adding to the theme of the show. An amazing choreographed lightshow began as each member took to the stage and took their places. They launched immediately into ‘(pls) set me on fire’, from their upcoming album A Kiss For The Whole World. The show started with this banger and two confetti cannons shooting over the crowd.

The fan favourite ‘Juggernauts’ made a very early appearance which was something the crowd was not expecting as they all erupt into cheers. You can’t have a show personally without some throwbacks, as they go back to their debut album, 2007s Take to the Skies, for ‘Anything Can Happen in the Next Half Hour’, the entire set took you back and forth between the different sounds they have tried and tested over the years, giving everyone in the room the perfect combination for an Enter Shikari show. The entire performance was full of energy from start to finish, there wasn’t a single part of the show that could be considered slow, and a time to take a breather, ‘Satellites’ probably provided the quieter moments of the show, which gave the crowd a chance to sing along to every lyric. The band took the time to goof around with the audience and talk to them in between songs, which you get with a lot of shows but this felt more personal like they were talking to old friends they had known for years. Which resulted in a chant from the crowd, a chant you might have heard at festivals over the past decade normally you’d hear “Oh Jeremy Corbin” which switched to “Oh Enter Shikari” if you know the chant you know how it sounded.

An epic Quickfire Round joined in with the set list, which featured four of the group’s fastest hard-hitters in seven and a half minutes. This included a remix of their most known track, “Sorry, You’re Not a Winner” which I’m not going to lie made me feel weird, because there was no Clap, every emo known what the Clap is, you have to do it to that song if you’re holding something you drop it or make it work to do the signature *Clap, Clap, Clap*. It didn’t feel right. Guest Cody Frost contributed to renditions of “The Last Garrison” and “Bull”.

“Bloodshot” was the last of the latest album’s singles to feature on the set list for the night. The band returned for an encore to the audience’s Enter Shikari chants, they joked with the crowd before thanking each member of the band, at this point in time Rory has ditched his leather jacket long ago, his red button up shirt and is now left in a black vest and skinny jeans. They ended the night with the iconic “Stand Your Ground; This Is Ancient Land” along with “The Dreamers Hotel”. This was an amazing performance and this was also my first time seeing Enter Shikari live and I loved every second of it, I can see why a lot of my friends go to every single live performance of theirs when they hit Manchester.

If you want to check them out, I highly recommend it their new album A Kiss For The Whole World is out now, and they’re also headlining Slamdunk Festival at the end of May.

Set List: