Gig Review: ANNISOKAY at Rescue Rooms

To start the night, Norwegian band Fixation came out to an as-per-usually unresponsive crowd for the opening act. However, this did not reflect their performance and energy. Their vocalist sang his absolute heart out, hitting some crazily lengthy notes. Coupling this with his dance-like-nobody-is-watching attitude, this act was certainly a sight to see. Fixation had an air of professionalism about them, which was refreshing to see, and a palpable sense of chemistry between them.

Next up were Shields, who recently got back together after breaking up in 2017. They came to show that they meant business, however, I felt that their tracks became hard to distinguish. This, coupled with a certain strain of screamo that I just don’t gel with, made the performance kind of lacklustre. That’s not to say their energy was not spectacular, as it was clear that there were many fans in the crowd having an amazing time.

Then came headliners ANNISOKAY, who - just as they did at Rock City last November - astonished me. Queuing some Taylor Swift beforehand to get the crowd hyped up, they came out to massive LED screens with cool visuals and smoke, creating an atmosphere with awesome flair. 

I must say, I was disappointed to see that the crowd remained pretty unresponsive. However, I think this may have been due to the age range of the audience, and the presence of lots of couples, so not really the moshing type. This didn’t stop me and a select few others from getting some moshing going though, and the energy remained largely positive. 

The band kicked it up a gear when they covered Linkin Park’s One Step Closer which had the whole room bumping. They even had Rudi Schwarzer crowd surfing as he screamed a much heavier and darker version of Chester Bennington's vocals. I feel as if the crowd could have done more to match the band's energy, but ANNISOKAY still did an impeccable job of giving it their all.

ANNISOKAY performed at Rescue Rooms on 13 October 2023.