Walking through the doors, the upstairs of The Hope, I was met by the smell of incense and walls plastered with pictures of the band – work by the talented 6th member of Dark Horses, Ali Tollervey. This was the start of the Dark Horses experience.
I was initially surprised to see how empty the venue was, judging by the amount of buzz I was hearing about the band, especially to see them perform in such an intimate setting. With the crowd eventually filling in, and at least 6 photographers holding the front spots nearest the stage, I was starting to feel the anticipation and the high expectations of the surprisingly middle-aged sprinkled crowd.
 
A man with a tranced look took to the stage performing a pagan like ritual, drawing the distinctive Dark Horses emblem to the four walls of the stage with incense. Then a foreboding and sinister monologue of the HATE and LOVE speech from the 1955 American film The Night Of The Hunter bursts out of the PA. Dark Horses had announced themselves at which point they started creating a brooding swirl of reverb before going into ‘Saturn Returns’, enveloping everyone in the room. A truly fantastic and powerful start.
 
The band all dressed in black, with lead singer Lisa Elle standing out in a crisp white jacket, were draped in a psychedelic mix of monochrome and colour. There was no lighting – only a strobe, smoke machine, disco ball and 5 projectors which created a dark, mysterious and mesmerising atmosphere that could have been found in Andy Warhol’s Factory.
 
This was turning into a breath taking show, with a blunt uniqueness that could not be put into a single genre. Their perfectly constructed set would flow from raw all-out rock like ‘Live On Hunger’, to the shoegaze sound of ‘Radio’, or a beautifully powerful ballad like ‘Anna Minor’. You could not ignore the thrilling prowess of Lisa who excelled as a frontwoman. She created a haunting yet enticing façade – like calling out to the unknown when phone feedback went through the bands speakers. That said, she knew too well that her mystical and charismatic performance would be nothing without her band. She stepped into the audience for a dramatic ending of ‘Western’ to appreciate the bands phenomenal display.
 
This was a well-rehearsed and faultless show. Ending on their cover of The Doors ‘Hello, I Love You’, for me it was nearing on legendary. The crowd was stunned and had to wait a few moments to gather themselves after such an electrifying and intense performance. I feel immensely fortunate to have seen them in such an intimate venue and I am sure they will be touring to massive crowds very soon.
Iain Lauder