The Enemy have been on a summer-long high this year. Sunday, October 7th was a massive extension of that, as they performed at the Engine Shed.
The venue was buzzing with an electric atmosphere on Sunday night in anticipation of festival legends, The Enemy.
Support act, The Dexters offered up their brand of indie pop, reminiscent of acts like The Kooks, which provided the onlookers with something great to dance to.
Next up was the turn of The Antics, a five piece act from the Midlands. Despite the frontman bearing strong resemblance to Jack Black, dressed up as Russell Brand, he interacted well with the crowd.
What was most impressive however, was the sense of camaraderie between the bands. I observed members of The Dexters joining the crowd after their set to watch The Antics play.
The Antics’ set blended original songs and covers such as The Farm’s classic football anthem, All Together Now. These were skilfully used to whip the crowd into a frenzy of anticipation for the headliners.
The Enemy took the stage to an incredible reception. The atmosphere was fantastic. Fans were surging forward to catch a glimpse of their seemingly every-day heroes.
The set combined new and old tracks, containing plenty of hits from the 2007 hit album, “We’ll Live and Die in These Towns.”
The highlight of which was “This Song,” during which the band left the stage and the overly-enthused crowd continued to repeat the chorus. The band returned, appearing genuinely humbled by the energy of the crowd.
Frontman, Tom Clarke reclaimed the microphone and said: “Even though Lincoln isn’t on the main tour circuit, it really should be. You guys are just next level.”
Some memorable highlights include bass player, Andy Hopkins, stage diving towards the end of the gig. Hopkins had previously tweeted: “LINCOLN are you gonna catch me tonight @engineshed ??? #crowdsurf x [sic]”.
One excitable audience member, who had just been ejected for crowd-surfing, even managed to jump onto the stage. He was soon apprehended by the security staff, who did a brilliant job of keeping both crowd and artists safe throughout the evening.
What really stood out was the sheer joy that The Enemy seem to take out of their live show. They were all smiles. The audience saw a celebratory bow, and the musicians throwing their arms around each other, already in excitable discussion before they’d even left the stage.
It must be said, The Enemy really are a must-see live act. It wouldn’t be such a great leap to say that they sound deceptively mellow on their studio albums. They really are a fantastic band to rock-out to.