YOU have never been in a sweatier, damper room than the Coal Exchange on Monday night, October 24.
Hundreds of excitable, pumped-up 17-year-olds crammed into what is essentially an old village hall to catch a glimpse of their favourite bands and have a bit of a mosh as well.
Supporting the St Albans titans, Enter Shikari, were LetLive and Your Demise, who were frankly a little underwhelming but seemed to please the crowd no end. Very talkative, that’s all I’ll say for them. The support guff was soon over and we waited eagerly for Enter Shikari to take to the stage. The PA system had the Prodigy on repeat and it was quite sweet to see many first-time gig-goers singing along.
Then the lights dimmed, the smoke machine kicked in and out came Enter Shikari. There’s no mistaking these lot when compared with their peers. Their stage production is much crisper, more unified and – dare I say it – sophisticated.
I’ve seen them before, some five years ago at an indoor festival called Give It A Name. Their set was a lot shorter back then but they made a lasting impression, with the biggest mosh pit I have ever seen (bigger than Download Festival) and a trance-tastic light display which would put Armin van Buuren to shame.
The combination of heavy screamy rock, dubstep and dance music works alarmingly well and new tracks ‘Quelle Surprise’, and ‘Sssnakepit’ from the forthcoming ‘A Flash Flood of Colour’ sit perfectly alongside their older favourites.
If you ever get the chance to see these guys, do – but maybe take a can of deodorant for afterwards.
Tickets: Pomona