UTG PHOTOS: Enter Shikari’s ‘The Mindsweep Tour’ in NYC (4/3/15)

Under The Gun Review sent new photographer MJ Rawls to the Gramercy Theatre on April 3, 2015 for Enter Shikari’s ‘Mindsweep’ tour.

If you happen to go to an Enter Shikari show, for one, I hope you get a lot of previous cardio in – you already know you’re in for a very chaotic and unforgettable experience. I had previously done photography for the band at the South by So What?! festival in Grand Prairie, Texas and some set highlights included guitarist Liam “Rory” Clewlow playing inside a massive circle pit and vocalist Rou Reynolds literally jumping into the crowd and singing an entire song.

On Friday, April 3, I got to see the band once again, at one of my favorite venues in the city, The Gramercy Theatre. It’s just big enough where you can catch a seat and watch the show, or if you choose to partake in some moshing and crowd surfing, there’s that option as well.

The first band of the night was I The Mighty who I was watching for the first time, although I had been keeping up with their music. They were pretty much all business, playing a six-song set that drew from their previous Satori album and Karma Never Sleeps EP. The band recently released a new single, titled “Playing Catch With .22,” which I was interested to hear live and was glad to see that it translated really well. Their performance has me interested in listening to the whole record.

Next up was A Lot Like Birds, who caught me off guard, but the eccentricity of each member made for a great set. There was an experimental rock flow mixed with a little Glassjaw. Fans were tuned in to their performance and it seemed like they had a lot of local support which was cool to see.

I’ll probably never get to shoot Rage Against The Machine, so New York natives Stray From The Path were a bridge to that energy. I’ve been listening to their Anonymous single, “Landmines,” on repeat for a while. It reminds me of that Tom Morello distortion in the beginning. During “Death Beds.” vocalist Drew York did a swan dive into the crowd that would make wrestlers in the WWE proud. Being from New York, the band did a good cover rendition of The Ramones’ “Blitzkrieg Bop” as well.

Last, but definitely not least, was Enter Shikari, who from the start of the first song, “The Appeal and The Mindsweep I,” left it all out on the stage, much like they have when I’ve seen them many times before. Little quirks about the performance, like the old-style game show countdown before the band came out and the strobe lights that seemed to accentuate the frantic nature of their music, definitely worked for the venue. There was even a moment where Reynolds and bassist Chris Batten went back and forth on the exact miles it took them to get from England to New York. I like when a band makes their own unique mark on an audience and every sweat-drenched fan got that from this show. If you have not been to an Enter Shikari show, I would definitely suggest you head to one soon.

 

I THE MIGHTY

Click on the photos to enlarge them.


A LOT LIKE BIRDS


STRAY FROM THE PATH


ENTER SHIKARI

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