While Enter Shikari had long been the kind of band championed among their most passionate fans, they seemed to reach a new level visibility, strangely enough, during the pandemic. A testament to the artistry and inventiveness of their celebrated 2020 release, Nothing Is True & Everything Is Possible, the band only added to their prowess once live music returned - translating such a brilliant recorded effort into incendiary live performances illustrating that Enter Shikari shined in the studio, and thrived onstage.
Fitting then that the band would walk away with the Heavy Music Awards trophy recognizing their prowess as the best artist in the Live Performance category. Soaking in the win and taking stock of the couple of years, the band checked in with our own Alicia Atout to share their thoughts on the award.
No stranger to the HMA stage (Enter Shikari was also honored in 2017), the band still exuded a sense of enthusiasm to be included and weighed in the live dynamic that earned them the hardware. The guys went on to explain that the cyclical relationship between the stage and the audience that ultimately feeds one another. The band absorbs the electricity from the crowd and in turn, explodes in song - further intensifying the audience. The connection is jovial, visceral and kinetic - the kind of happening that makes a concert something much more than just a show.
Dissecting the nuanced nature of music and performance, the band milled over who they thought were among the best live bands they had experienced from the spectator's vantage point. Among the names included were The Offspring, letlive. and fellow honorees Beartooth - all hailed by Enter Shikari for their understanding of what a good live show encompasses.
In discussing their backlog of live shows, the guys also revisited some of the more "interesting" places they have ever played. They remembered an especially remote performance in Eastern Russia that took the band to a corner of the world they had never experienced prior. They also recalled a seaside town tour where Enter Shikari played on a pier that had carnival rides. Midway through the show, bassist Chris Batten was on one of the rides, still playing the set - how's that for showmanship?
Stream the interview and watch the complete Highlight Show broadcast of the 2022 Heavy Music Awards featuring all of the award winners as well as live performances by Beartooth, Holding Absence, Meet Me At the Altar and Static Dress.
