Musicians who don’t falter when it comes to getting into the faces of their fans while screaming their lyrics certainly leave a massive fucking impression and this turned out to be a key feature of the sets that took place at Irving Plaza on Friday night.

At The Skylines started the night with a bang louder than that of a pirate ship’s cannon. One of the band’s vocalists sported a Nicki Manj shirt and before my mind could enter the realms of bewilderment the band were already well into exerting their energy onto the crowd, a mere two seconds into entering the stage as well. The band mentioned this was their first ever New York City show and seeing how the crowd moshed during their songs must have left a feeling of accomplishment on the members of At The Skylines once their set ended. Their guitarists were massive standouts as well, posing with their instruments while thrusting their faces into the people of the front row, most opening acts provide such entertainment but At The Skylines were successful at standing out from the typical opening acts most people are used to by skipping the bullshit and providing a truly kick-ass show.

Letlive took the stage next and to say that they simply played a great set would be a disgusting understatement. I truly have never seen a band do what they did on stage; to play with such ferocity yet to stay on point with each track was an amazing feat in its own right. But of course I’d have to mention the bands front-man Jason Aalon Butler, a man who truly deserves an award for being such an incredible fucking front-man. When I was photographing the band members my friend nudged me to point me in the direction of an area left to the stage where Butler had climbed to and started screaming into his microphone. Both me and my friend looked confused…we saw him on the stage literally seconds ago! How did he get there that fast?!?! Such moments continued throughout the night as Butler made his way all over the stage, photo pit, near the ceiling and even up on to the second floor of the venues balcony area, causing both security and fans to go absolutely batshit crazy.

After their set an elevated triangle in the middle of the stage started to shine red and before anyone could ask questions a loud chorus of chanting began to fill the venue. Lyrics of various Shikari songs such as “Common Dreads” and “Gandhi Mate, Gandhi” could be heard and grew louder and louder as the members of Enter Shikari entered the stage of Irving Plaza. The band played a set which compromised mostly of songs from their new album ‘A Flash Flood of Colour’ which didn’t seem to bother fans at all. Gandhi was the massive stand out of the night, especially when front-man Rou Reynolds decided to also climb to the venues second floor and sing the majority of the tune. Another stand out was the human pyramid that was made in the middle of a mosh-pit during one of the band’s earliest singles “Sorry You're Not A Winner” and another great moment was when the band thanked the crowd of Irving Plaza for their first ever sold out United States show. After seeing the carnage and pure enjoyment that took place from the fans of Enter Shikari the question obviously came to my mind; what took it so fucking long for this band to sell out a gig in the states? And how much of a fucking crime that was.

EnterShikari,letlive,&At The Skylines Display Ferocity in NYC