Enter Shikari
May 6, 2016
Baltimore Soundstage- Baltimore, MD
Baltimore MD; I’ve heard so many good things about each band that is on the bill for The Mind Sweep Tour that has made a stop here in Baltimore, MD at Soundstage.
Starting off the night was a local band Mother Moon. A Post Metal band from Baltimore, MD warmed up the crowd to get ready for a night full of music and great bands.
Second on the bill was The White Noise who really got the crowd moving. I’ve never seen a band with a lead vocalist who had so much energy. Shaun Walker, the lead vocalist, gave such an chaotic, aggressive and speedy set which happened to create a huge circle pit in the middle on the crowd. Walker, was very interactive with the crowd throughout the entire set as he jumped onto the barricade at least 4-5 times a song, which the fans didn’t mind one bit. With The White Noise being the “heaviest sounding” band on the entire bill, they created such a momentum which led a positive vibe for the next bands. The band who just recently released a new EP called Aren’t You Glad, played many new songs which the crowd sang and head banged back to them without hesitation.
Next up was Australian band, Hands Like Houses, who truly have been making a name for themselves recently. Honestly I can see them doing a full headlining tour soon here in the US, they’re that great live and the feedback from the crowd was amazing. Throughout their set they played many songs from their latest album, Dissonants, which was released back in February. Their setlist was made up of a majority of that album with a few of their older tracks mixed in such as Wistera and Introduced Species. This being my first time seeing them live, I would love to see them again and again.
As the end of Hands Like Houses set came to an end you can tell the crowd was impatiently waiting anxiously for Enter Shikari to take the stage. As the band made their way on stage, echoing the room was a playback of lyrics crying “and still we will be here, standing like statues”. There was nothing but screaming and clapping as the band finally all were standing there on stage staring at the crowd smiling ear to ear. During their 17-song setlist they played newer songs and even old school favorites such as Sorry You’re Not A Winner, which everyone in the crowd knew word for word. The band also factored in songs taken from The Mindsweep with their Hospitalized remixes and mixed them together beautifully into two different halves of a setlist.
Throughout the night Enter Shikari took total control of their time and put on a show that made them such an captivating act to see as they performed. This band definitely knows what their doing and they most certainly know how to woo their fans. Very well. You definitely do NOT want to miss this tour if it comes to a city near you!
Review by: Alyssa Howell
Enter Shikari
Hands Like Houses
The White Noise
