Enter Shikari @ The TLA with Hands Like Houses, The White Noise and Chasing Safety.

Text and images by Tiana Timmerberg.

British rock band Enter Shikari hit the Theater of Living Arts last week as part of their 30-stop Mindsweep Tour across the United States. Joining them were Hands Like Houses, The White Noise and Chasing Safety.

Cherry Hill band Chasing Safety are no strangers to Philly and seemed very at home onstage. They played a high energy set filled with moshing and head banging, even throwing their scrims into the crowd where fans used them as trampolines.

The White Noise had no trouble maintaining the energy level set by Chasing Safety, playing loads of heavy verses and melodic choruses. Lead singer Shawn Walker’s stage presence made for a captivating set. They made sure not to leave room for any dull moments in their set and utilized the entire stage for a medley of jumping, shredding and dancing.

Hands Like Houses’ lead singer Trenton Woodley beamed while telling the crowd how excited they are to be supporting one of their favorite bands and biggest inspirations on tour, an excitement that was clear throughout their entire set. The band played a setlist comprised almost entirely of songs from their latest album Dissonants.

The subtle smell of incense burning mixed with the band’s general happiness and excitement made for all-around positive vibes during their set. They ended with fan favorite “Introduced Species,” performing to a crowd of hundreds of fans yelling the chorus back at them.

Headliners Enter Shikari walked out to strobing lights and pulsing electronic music. The band focused on feelings, explaining that their intent was to weave the crowd through as many emotions as possible. Frontman Rou Reynolds even introduced the song “Constellations” by stating his hope that this song would make as many people cry as possible.

There was no shortage of crowd surfers and the amount kept increasing as their set got progressively heavier. They seemed to really enjoy interacting with the crowd and made clear efforts to involve them in every way possible, including sending bassist Chris Batten and guitarist Rory Clewlow into the crowd to play.

Despite it being a Tuesday night, Enter Shikari had everyone going wild.