Enter Shikari's Notes From The Road: Partying Hard In New York

It’s the St Albans takeover of New York City!

Our city’s two finest exports – us, and The Zombies – both play the Big Apple this weekend.

For us, the day is a complete whirlwind of press, meeting people, saying the wrong things and sweating profusely.

In my first radio interview at 10am, after very little sleep, one of the presenters compares my hair to Boris Johnson’s. My immediate sleep deprived reflex is to just simply tell him to “fuck off”, so I do so. Boris’ mop is a contrived, 'I’m not a bastard, look at me, I’m a slightly unkempt, blathering, fluffy bear, honest!' Except he’s a nasty haystack-headed, narcissistic and incapable arsehole. Whereas my hair is sick. My mum even cuts it, so if you don’t like it then you take it up with her. She’s well ‘ard.

Talking of people who are well ‘ard… (also, you shouldn’t swear on live radio, especially not drop an F-Bomb as they call it here), I later find out that the presenter of the radio show who made this unfortunate comparison is the founder of New York’s Guardian Angels (the crime prevention organisation from the 1980s) and is the type of old-school New Yorker you probably should not tell to "fuck off". Ah well, you live and learn! He was a legend though, and we’re all glad to meet him and part ways as good pals.

Tonight’s show is the sweatiest of the tour by miles; we’re walking to the stage and there are beads of communal sweat on our foreheads immediately. The tiny venue – the excellent Saint Vitus bar in Brooklyn’s Greenpoint – is rammed full. We feel awfully confined by the limited space on stage, so the show feels like we’re Duracell bunnies who’ve been stuffed down an emo’s drainpipe jeans.

This is the first of two New York shows, and is put on specially for Kerrang!. It's being filmed too, so will be online for your delectation soon!

New York shows are always high-energy. People travel in from New Jersey, Connecticut, Long Island and (of course) from The Five Boroughs themselves, and they're looking for a good time. Bars generally stay open here til 4am, so people are used to partying hard. And tonight is no exception. We opt for our 'heavier' set, as the surroundings aren't really conducive to the subtleties of Airfield and its ilk. The room erupts, and despite the conditions being more cramped than us or our New York fans are maybe used to, every inch of space gets used, even if its just filled with sweat.

But the night does not end with the show.

Afterwards, the venue turns over to a club night, playing the likes of Depeche Mode, Kraftwerk and other "80's Alternative", so we decide to stick around for a few hours, taking advantage of the strong drinks they mix over here, catching up with family and friends.

At 3am, we eventually roll out and onward to Philadelphia - another North American city that has been so kind to us in the past - where we're due to play a sold out show approximately (gulp) 18 hours later. Tomorrow could possibly be a struggle...

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