Photo: WENN
We're three songs into Hurts' set when the opening line of 'Wonderful Life' turns the chattering crowd into a mass of singing voices, and Hurts become backed by a pauper's choir.
Theo Hutchcraft's vocals hover above, elegant and understated, and we find ourselves watching a spectacle which continues for the rest of the night - one where we're immersed in Hurts' world and every detail seems orchestrated by the band.
From our viewpoint on the balcony high above the crowd, we can attest that Hurts are best watched on widescreen. A settling fog and beautiful, ever-changing lights highlight the emotional nuances of each song, adding another dimension to more subdued tracks from their debut album, such as 'Evelyn', and blinding and shocking in time with the industrial instrumentals in new single 'The Road'. It is Hurts' intense live performance of this song in particular which will leave you breathless, and it's undoubtably where the recent comparisons to Depeche Mode and Nine Inch Nails are coming from.
However, with songs like 'Blind', we can see that not all the band's new material is in this vein, and it's the grand, sweeping choruses of 'Illuminated' and 'Stay' which further inspire a swell of voices.
At this point we imagine Hurts playing on the main stage at festivals, and notice yet again the show's slick production: 'Better Than Love' is signalled by a hollow tick-tock, each stroke picked out by an ominous beat of a bass drum, while for 'Illuminated' a murky mist descends. Theo Hutchcraft prompts bright phone screens to be held high and arms reach up, looking like hands of the dead grappling for some light, which comes in bursts between patchy shadows.
Hurts are performing as though they're in an arena, yet there is still a club-tour intimacy about their set. We're sure their devoted fans would see them on either stage, and on the strength of tonight, so would we - we just can't wait to see what they'll do next.
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