I'm searching far and wide to find a planet to orbit: Enter Shikari, London, 25/11/17

Five albums down, Enter Shikari show no signs of stopping. Since the 2005 release of their post hardcore, punky first album, Take to the Skies, the four piece have constantly evolved.

Their latest album, The Spark, showcases another change for Shikari. While still heavily politically charged, certain singles are much 'poppier' than previous releases. 'Live Outside' has been played regularly on Radio 1, whereas 'Mothership' probably wouldn't have made the cut.

The four piece headed to London's beautiful Alexandra Palace to promote the The Spark, and it was certainly an explosive evening. Support came from Astroid Boys and Lower Than Atlantis.

Proceedings kicked off with 'The Sights' from the new album, followed by 'Solidarity' and 'Anything Can Happen In The Next Half Hour...' from Common Dreads and Take To The Skies, respectively.

Rou everywhere!

After an intense mix of songs from all albums, lead vocalist Rou Reynolds and bassist Rob Rolfe seemingly disappeared. They were found standing on the lighting rig, however, and a beautiful rendition of 'Adieu' ensued.

Moments of respite are brief at a Shikari gig, however, and soon enough Rou announced a 'power round', where they were going to play four songs in eight minutes. BPM sky-rocketed with an intense mix of 'Sorry, You're Not a Winner', 'Sssnakepit', '...Meltdown' and 'Antwerpen'.

If that wasn't enough moshing for anyone, Shikari then went straight into 'Zzzonked' and the crowd went wild. (My glasses fell off!) True to form, the crowd was energetic but kind, stopping to pick up anyone who fell down or felt uncomfortable.

Just as the gig started with a track from The Spark, the final song was 'Live Outside'. In today's awful political climate, we need lyrics that voice both our disappointment and our desire to change. 'I'm going to live outside of all of this now'.

We're going through phases

"If music be the food of love, play on." Now I've got your attention with a cheesy, over-used quotation, I can introduce myself. Hello, I'm Alice and I'll be using this blog to chronic my musical discoveries and concerts I attend.

I wish I could say that I've always had a finely tuned taste in music, but it would be incorrect. I'm unashamed to say that I go through phases. In the last ten years I've had a Twilight phase (the least said about that the better), grime phase, theme park phase and Lady Gaga phase, to name but a few.

My first live music experience was at the Cbeebies prom in the park in the early 2000s (deadly serious). The day was slightly tainted by losing my Dad halfway through which resulted in much panicking and tears, so I didn't make a lone venture into the world of concerts until I was a 'cool' (read: loser) teenager.

At 14 I dragged three friends to Shepherd's Bush's Empire to see Tinchy Stryder. I remember feeling very young compared to other attendees, but it definitely started a love affair with live music. In the years that followed I saw an eclectic mix of artists including Bullet for My Valentine, Ke$ha, Gorillaz and Lady Gaga.

When I finished sixth form, I moved to Paris for my degree. A few months after my arrival, I saw The 1975 play at a tiny venue (La Maroquinerie). This made me realise just how much I prefer intimate venues and since then I jump at the chance to see up-and-coming artists just for the experience itself

While 2016 was truly an awful year for a myriad of reasons, it also turned out to be 'the year of the gig' for me. I entered some competitions and was lucky enough to win tickets to a few concerts including Låpsley and a tiny Enter Shikari acoustic set at the Deezer HQ in Paris:

The night before the acoustic set, a friend and I saw Shikari at Le Trabendo. This was the polar opposite to the chilled out Deezer set, and probably the most fun gig I've ever been to (it also helped that we'd had quite a lot to drink beforehand).

While in Paris I also got the chance to see Hozier, The 1975 (again) and attend a UK grime night which was super fun. Shortly before I left in September, I went to Rock en Seine - a three day festival in the Bois de Boulogne (a huge park on the outskirts of Paris' bourgeois 16th arrondissement). Particular highlights of the festival included CHVRCHES, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Anderson .Paak, Little Simz, Sigur Ros, Bring Me The Horizon, Birdy Nam Nam and Peaches (look her up if you don't know her, you won't regret it).

I'm lucky enough to live about 30 minutes from London, so once back in the UK I kept buying tickets for various concerts in the capital. I saw Jamie T and Jack Garratt which went well, and then I finished off 2016 with an 'epic' three day weekend consisting of The Cure, The Front Bottoms and Los Campesinos!

LC! are my favourite band (I talk about them far too much for them not to be). This was however the first time I'd seen them live and I wasn't disappointed. It took place in The Moth Club, Hackney, which was a great intimate venue. I got the chance to chat to lead singer Gareth at the merch stand and loved the fact we could talk so easily. I don't know many other bands who invest such time in their fan base.

So now you're a little more up to speed with my music tastes, I can start to get excited about what 2017 will bring. Tonight marks the first gig of the year for me, I'm heading up to London after work to see Two Door Cinema Club at Alexandra Palace. I've never been there for live music so looking forward to seeing how it goes.

I'll write up tonight's gig comments over the weekend. In the meantime you can check out the other events I'll be attending by clicking here.