The group kicked off the smoke-filled epileptic’s nightmare with an ominous air raid siren. With the band emblem of an upside-down triangle painted on her face, the Florence-esque singer performed like an Olympic standard dressage pony. Dark Horses have the stage presence and aura of a much more widely established band. In the hearty performance it’s clear to see their big stage experience, supporting Kasabian at Brixton academy for their third ever performance, and many elements of their show translated really well to the intimate crowd. The audience-grabbing psychedelic act transported the audience to the early 90’s, and built on the air of Yeah Yeah Yeahs the band carry with them. At times the routine, which was plainly constructed and well rehearsed for a big stage, didn’t really render well in the Green Door Store, but their ambient tones and crescendo-packed tunes managed to keep the enthusiastic crowd entertained. From the eloquent hand gestures of the singer to the monochrome 8mm film projected backdrop, it’s transparent that art is heavily influential in their work. This band is reminiscent of Andy Warhol’s Velvet Underground, but Andy has been replaced with video genius, Wizz. Style probably comes before substance for this group of 50s looking Grease rockers, they were pretentious and arrogant in a good way and their confidence demanded the full attention of the entire crowd. They are vain, but it works for them. Even without one of their members on stage they managed to pull off a full performance, and the entirety of the Green Door Store was sucked into their vibe. I brush my teeth to this shit.

Dark Horses
The Green Door Store
Friday 22 April 2011

Words by Bill Robinson