The acclaimed quartet chose to play the Glider as part of a short tour, saying they wanted to visit ‘more intimate venues’, including ‘towns often overlooked by more traditional major tours’.
For context, earlier this year, they completed their biggest ever headline tour of UK arenas, playing the likes of London’s OVO Arena Wembley.
All 1,400 tickets for Saturday’s performance were snapped up within two days, with some travelling from as far as Scotland and Portsmouth for the gig. With guests, the crowd stood at an estimated 1,500.
Among them was Pia Couling-Weston, formerly of Boston, but now of Holbeach, who described the show as ‘phenomenal’. She said she has seen Enter Shikari about 20 times and ranked Saturday’s performance as ‘one of the best’.
“I loved the venue, it was intimate but charming,” she added of the Glider.
The Gliderdrome has a rich music heritage, having previously played host to such global stars as Elton John, Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie, and Stevie Wonder – their names, and others, adorn the edge of the Starlight Room’s balcony in large lettering.
That legacy was not lost on Enter Shikari, who treated the audience to a burst of Elton John’s Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting – a song for which Boston is often credited as the inspiration.
Frontman, Rou Reynolds, hailed the Glider as a ‘wonderful venue’ and said they were ‘honoured’ to be there.
He also said if he ‘could just make one change to this wonderful place’, it would be to have the band’s name added to the Starlight Room.
“Right next to Bowie, please,” he said.
Andrew Malkinson, one of the owners of the Gliderdrome, told The Standard that after the gig a deal was struck with the band to do just that, on the condition that they return.
“They really got the history of the venue,” he said.
He said he ‘loved every single minute’ of the show and thanked Lincoln’s Red Shoe Entertainment for being key in making it happen.
Asked about what it means to have had Enter Shikari play the venue in terms of attracting other big names, he said: “It can only help me.”
1. Enter Shikari play Boston's Gliderdrome
Frontman Rou Reynolds at the front of the stage as the band play to a 1,500-strong, sold-out audience at Boston's Gliderdrome. Photo: David Seymour
2. Enter Shikari play Boston's Gliderdrome
The front of the queue outside the Gliderdrome 30 minutes before the doors opened at 7pm. Photo: David Seymour
3. Enter Shikari play Boston's Gliderdrome
Alternative rock band Teenage Wrist, from Los Angeles, California, were the support act on the evening. They warmed the crowd up with a thunderous set. They thanked for the audience for 'coming early' and would go on to thank them for their 'kindness' and 'respect'. They list Smashing Pumpkins among their influences. Photo: David Seymour
4. Enter Shikari play Boston's Gliderdrome
Enter Shikari make their entrance with Bloodshot from their chart-topping 2023 album A Kiss for the Whole World. Photo: David Seymour