Photo: Nick Davarias

Live Review: Polyphia – UK & EU Spring Tour 2023 – O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London

It was clear following the popularity of their single ‘Playing God’ from their latest album ‘Remember That You Will Die’ combined with how quickly Polyphia’s shows at O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire sold out, that fans were highly anticipating the band’s return to the UK. We had to head down to check it out, here’s what went down.

Johan Lenox had the pleasure of opening up proceedings for the show, his unique classical orchestral style meets rap were on display throughout his set. It was really interesting to see how the two styles mixed together. While I’m not sure how much the Polyphia fans vibed with the music, his final originally composed orchestral-only piece seemed to go down well.

As the house lights went down, it was clear that the sold out Shepherd’s Bush Empire was ready to experience the technical prowess that Polyphia were set to present over the night. ‘Genesis’ would be a great way to open the show, captivating the audiences with its powerful and intricate guitar riffs. The fans stayed mesmerised as the band continued with ‘Neurotica’, followed closely by ‘O.D.’.

Exclaiming “I know you know what song this is” before demanding to see crowd surfers the band started to lead into ‘Goose’, stopping short of launching into the track, with Scott LePage stating that “The famous Tim Henson has stopped because there’s not enough crowd surfing”. LePage reinstated his demands for crowd surfers – Counting them as the Londoners started to ride the seas of the Shepherds Bush Empire, and the security raced to the barriers to catch them. With this newly pumped energy, making waves across the floor of the venue for the crowd surfers.

Photo: Nick Davarias

The band’s ability to get the crowd going while showing off their ungodly musical talent would continue to be displayed throughout the night as the band went through their ‘Remember That You Will Die’ heavy setlist. Polyphia created a real memorable moment before ‘Champagne’, playing a game of ‘Sing The Riff’, which led to huge cheers of the crowd reciting the riff for the song back to the band as they played through.

Polyphia’s set would end on a high with the ever popular ‘Playing God’ getting an amazing fan reaction from the crowd. The insane riffs bounced around the walls of the venue as the crowd went wild absorbing each and every note of this track. Not content with the already packed setlist, the fans demanded the band return to play “one more song”. Coming back to the stage, the band allowed the fans to forget about the outside world for a little bit longer playing through ‘GOAT’ and ‘Euphoria’.

In conclusion, Polyphia’s sold-out performance at the Shepherds Bush Empire was mesmerising from start to end, their display of technical prowess along with their top tier showmanship made for a great show. While I’m not sure the support was the best fit for the show, Johan Lenox put on an interesting set that I really didn’t expect to see. This night will forever be etched in the memories of those fortunate enough to have witnessed Polyphia’s extraordinary performance.

Photo: Nick Davarias