The Abner

The Square is a dingy little youth centre in Essex. It’s full of kids and they’re all here for Enter Shikari. This band is gimmicked up to the eyeballs and so unbelievably NOW that every scenester with the internet just has to be seen to be a conspicuous participant here and here only.

The only reason* Fei Comodo and The Abner* are even on the bill is tradition: they’re local bands and are here for the express reason of warming the crowd up. They do so with due diligence, causing a couple of moshpits – the former hitting home harder and stronger with better songs played with less throwaway comedy.

It is doubtful that either band will stand the test of time in the grand scheme of things, but at least Fei Comodo look the part with their hard-hitting and unnecessarily melodic hardcore-infused metal. Someone ought to advise The Abner that songs that resemble the Incubus back catalogue muddled with heady content about supermarket prices of bananas and random unwelcome screaming will not aid their career one bit.

Enter Shikari are the latest craze; this year’s phenomenon, but will they go the same way as Pogs and Skip It or will they last as long as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and WWF? Their strategy in the current emocore trend is to blend in some trance and jungle beats every so often, introducing the wonderful new sub-genre of trancecore. Sure, there are others out there with the same idea but these guys are British and they’re doing it here. They’re doing it now.

They have a wicked selection of songs, like the epic ‘Return To Energiser’ _and the closing duo of forthcoming double-A side, _‘Sorry You’re Not A Winner’ _and the thunderous _‘Ok! Time For Plan B!’. Blending their melodies with some awesome harmonies, Enter Shikari know exactly what they’re doing. The entire venue erupts into a massive whirling dervish despite a few slapdash moments; unstoppable, growling, screaming frontman Rou leaves his synth station and races across the stage and off it in terrific crowd-baiting antics. Not one for the Wall Of Death or circle pits, Rou wants a human pyramid. He almost gets it.

The guitarist (Rory) and bassist (Chris) both have small torches attached to the machine heads of their instruments, adding to the impromptu light show that consists of the crowd’s fingers. There are mini finger torches attached to the majority of the 200-strong crowd here. It’s a rave thing. When the drum ‘n’ bass breakdown appears halfway through the set, the crowd goes wild and ES drummer Rob starts prowling the apparatus, hanging from the ceiling and speaker stacks.

The kids fucking love Enter Shikari. There’s just no arguing with it. It’s already happened at an underground level. It’s already massive there, here. The merch stand goes wild and it’s time to leave this heaving hellhole and dodge some chavs. Frying pans and fire cross my mind. It was worth it, though. Kinda.