Enter Shikari / Yourcodenameis:milo / Chinese Finger Trap
Cambridge Junction
26.03.07

Enter Shikari are currently the 'next big thing' in music, choosing to turn down various record labels whilst recording their debut album 'Take To The Skies', they've managed to gain great success, whilst keeping the DIY ethic that helped them gain their huge fan base in the beginning. The question is though; can Enter Shikari step up to the big league?

Chinese Finger Trap are the first band to take to the stage tonight, they provide the standard shout/quiet/shout emo songs that bands such as Funeral For A Friend made famous, but there is really nothing that makes them stand from the crowd, despite managing to open up two pits in the first song. http://www.myspace.com/chinesefingertrap

Next band up are impressive Newcastle outfit, Yourcodenameis:milo, who send the crowd absolutely off the rails. They are heavy, they are melodic, and they are very very good. The whole crowd is jumping the second the riff kicks in, and there are no fashion statements with this band, just pure old-fashioned heavy music, and I don't think we'll be able to avoid them soon. http://www.myspace.com/yourcodenameismilo

Next up it's the headline act and The Junction really is something to see, glow sticks fill the air and bring to life a venue that can sometimes feel emotionless and hollow. Shikari tease the crowd by making them wait for the huge entrance, but when lead singer Rou explodes onto the stage and unleashes the first techno beat of the night, the wait has been made so worth it. Opening with the ferocious 'Enter Shikari', the band are on fire, and every set of lungs in the building are being put to good use. Rou's screams sound much more raw than on the album, and bassist Chris complements them brilliantly with his smooth, melodic vocals. All of the songs are strong, hard-hitting anthems (Jonny Sniper, and Anything Can Happen In The Next Half Hour in particular), they've honed their live show to include in-between song banter (we get tales from their travels and mockery of their new found fame), which is accompanied by a top light show that makes Enter Shikari a more promising prospect than ever before.

They will always have their critics, but if they carry on like this, it is actually impossible to fault Enter Shikari. http://www.myspace.com/entershikari

Joe 90


Read a rather different Enter Shikari review here