On a Monday evening (October 21st), English rock bands Enter Shikari and You Me At Six made a deafening stop on their North American tour at the historic Théâtre Beanfield in Montreal. This venue, originally built for silent films over a hundred years ago, was now shaking with anticipation—and the music hadn’t even started yet.
You could feel the excitement in the air. This was night nine of an almost non-stop tour. For Enter Shikari, it marked their triumphant return to Montreal, a city that hadn’t hosted the band since 2018. And for You Me At Six, this was their last chance to step on a Montreal stage, having announced their final tour before disbanding in 2025.
Before the co-headliners took the stage, Australian pop-punk band Yours Truly had the honour of opening the night. The crowd was already packed and buzzing with energy as the band, fronted by Mikaila Delgado, launched into their set. Reminiscent of Paramore’s early All We Know Is Falling era, Yours Truly delivered songs that made the audience want to jump and dance—and that’s exactly what they did. The band did a stellar job warming up the crowd, leaving anyone unfamiliar with them eager to add them to their playlists.
Fans didn’t have to wait long. The lights went out, and the crowd erupted as You Me At Six walked on stage. This was the last time most of the audience would get to see the band live, and you could feel the emotion in the air. After twenty years of music, saying goodbye can’t be easy, but they were determined to go out with a bang. At one point, lead vocalist Josh Franceschi mentioned that despite having a rough day, the show and crowd had completely turned things around for him. If this was him on a bad day, it’s hard to imagine what he sounds like on a good one; his vocals were flawless, effortlessly hitting every high note.
Though You Me At Six’s setlist wasn’t long—roughly 13 songs—they delivered fan favourites like “Room to Breathe,” “Save It for the Bedroom,” and “Underdog.” Two standout moments included a snippet of Mr. Brightside by The Killers and Enter Shikari’s Rou Reynolds joining them on stage for “No Future? Yeah Right.” Sadly, their set came to an end, leaving the crowd feeling a mix of nostalgia for their last You Me At Six show and anticipation for Enter Shikari.
Finally, it was time for Enter Shikari to take over. Lights off, music on, and Rou Reynolds’ voice rang out—but he wasn’t on stage. A spotlight revealed him in the upper right balcony, opening the show with “System / Meltdown.” The energy in the room skyrocketed and stayed high for the rest of the night. During “The Jester,” bassist Chris Batten and lead guitarist Rory Clewlow leapt off the stage to crowd-surf, sending the audience into a frenzy.
Enter Shikari, no strangers to mosh pits thanks to their years on the Vans Warped Tour, kicked up the intensity during “Losing My Grip,” creating one of the wildest circle pits I’ve ever seen. They balanced the chaos with “Gap in the Fence,” a slower, more intimate moment where Rou serenaded the crowd solo. But the night wasn’t over—there was still plenty of energy left. They closed with a three-song encore: “(pls) set me on fire,” “Sorry You’re Not a Winner,” and “A Kiss for the Whole World x,” bidding farewell to a clamouring crowd that would’ve happily stayed for ten more songs.
With a roughly 20-song set, Enter Shikari kicked off the week with jumping, screaming, and moshing. As we headed home on that Monday night, we were left wondering if anything else this week could possibly match the energy we felt standing in that crowd, singing along to some of our favourite songs.
Review – Ilse Martínez
Photos – Andres Amaya
