After high demand from their dedicated Dutch fanbase, Enter Shikari later added a couple of dates to their 2025 European tour, including an intimate show in a venue they’ve called “one of their old favourite venues,” the Melkweg in Amsterdam. Considering this is the tenth time they’re playing the venue, it was highly likely to go absolutely insane on this Saturday night, and they lived up to the expectations during every minute of it.
First up tonight is Lake Malice, opening the show with their mix of bombastic metal and ethereal hyperpop. With an airborne guitarist, a drummer so cool she’s not even breaking a sweat and a vocalist that doesn’t miss one note while running around the stage non-stop, they sweep the crowd off their feet with ease. Having seen them just a month prior opening in a smaller room, they’re even more at place in a venue at least twice that size, so I’d be surprised if they aren’t playing their own shows by next year.
Enter Shikari has a special relationship with their Dutch fans. They sell out arenas in their home country the United Kingdom with ease, but the hype during smaller shows like these is not to be underestimated either. Over the last couple of years, they have opted to do more a more intimate show in “their second home,” according to bassist Chris Batten. The Dutch audiences have always embraced the band, ever since their first performance in this venue in 2007, once again going absolutely crazy during every song on the set tonight. However ‘small’ the venue might be for them (it fits around 1500 people), it feels so much larger, everyone moving in unison.
The band starts the set with the song “Bloodshot” telling us they’re hypnotizing us, and the music is backed by a sensory overload. There’s six light columns on stage, featuring visuals fitting for every song. The graphics during “Juggernaut” feature the climate change that happened over the last 100 years, slowly growing dark red over time, making the lyrics, “I know that we still have time, but I do not think we’re invincible” hit even harder.
Over the last 20 years, the band built a very steady die-hard fan base through their discography, with a lot of staples on the setlist. Songs like “satellites* *” have a silly wave-dance, and obviously “Sorry, You’re Not A Winner” features the signature claps. The show is almost entirely sold out, with very sparse room left over, and the crowd practically pulses in synergy, packed from front to back, on both the floor and on the balcony wrapped around it. The mayhem caused at shows from this band is unlike any other band, as the crowd experiences something that can only be described as catharsis.
They end the set on a light and positive note, leaving us with one last kiss, after a night of “love, rage and solidarity” as Reynolds states, with “A Kiss for the Whole World x.” A lot of fans in the crowd holds up their hands in the triangle shape associated with the band, one also tattooed on Reynolds’s wrist. It’s a clear sign this band and its message means as much to the band as it does for the fans. We for one can’t wait to do this at least ten more times in this place.
The band will continue throughout Europe for the rest of the month, bringing their hypnotizing show across the continent, ending it with a no doubt spectacular show in Paris on November 11th. Tickets for most shows are still available, although some are probably sold out sooner rather than later, so get yours while you still can on https://www.entershikari.com/shows.
GALLERY: Enter Shikari with Lake Malice at Melkweg in Amsterdam, Netherlands (October 18, 2025)
