Souls Nightclub, Cardiff 01/03/07

These guys seem to be constantly on tour!  This is the third time in South Wales for ES in the last six months and their biggest show here to date.  With the album Take To The Skies due for release later this month, this is another chance to show everyone what they are about.

Although ES have been included as part of the New Rave genre, this is nothing like the rave I remember, as I stood amongst all the over-excited, drunken scene kids waiting impatiently for they’re favourite new band to blow them away.  Tonight ES could play the worst show of the their career and judging by the excitement in the Solus, everyone is still going to love it.  After an impressive set from post-rock outfit Yourcodenameis:milo, soon started the chants for the trance/hardcore merchants to make themselves seen.    

Each wearing Orbital style glasses, this has to be one of the best welcomes I have heard in quite some time as they guys walked on stage to The Prodigy’s Voodoo People then mixing it into the opening track Enter Shikari.  As soon as the band started playing the place kicked off in a frenzy and the pit was off.  With the album not yet released and most people there not knowing many of the songs, each song had an amazing reception from the screaming kids who were by now either jumping around like crazy or back n’ for the toilets to be sick (that being the reason the bar was closed early).

Sorry Your Not A Winner, Mothership, Anything Can Happen In The Next Half Hour; were the tracks that got the best reception from a very start/stop set along with the final song OK Time For Plan B.  One second ES would have you throwing yourself across the crowd, next standing with your hands in the air waving a glow stick for the trance-like breakdowns.  On stage ES have to be one of the most energetic bands I’ve seen.  Singer Rou throws himself about the stage, into the crowd then back again and really knows how to get his dedicated following foaming at the mouth.

ES are certainly one of the bands of the moment and everyone seemed to love them tonight.  But when a band with so much hype gets so big this quick, it can also mean a short career.

words by Dale photos by Jay