Review: Hurts at Somerset House – 14/07/11

Magic. The only adjective that sums up an evening with Hurts at Somerset House. The grand, classic courtyard is the perfect place to play host to the dark Manc duo as they bring their top five debut, ‘Happiness’ to life in this iconic venue. The demographic here is varied, from young couples relishing Theo Hutchcraft’s romantic lyrics to forty-something businessmen remembering Hurts’ new-romantic style and their synth-pop 80′s influence the first time around.

The crowd know that they’re about to witness something special when the duo, completed by synth player and guitarist Adam Anderson take to the stage, dressed in their sharp trademark suits and carrying a bunch of cream roses. Their backing band appears, along with two female dancers dressed as grim reapers, waving black flags. As the opening electronics of ‘Silver Lining’ are distinguishable, and the crowd wait for Hutchcraft to begin, you can feel how in awe of the vocalist they already are before he has even opened his mouth.

The dancers take off their cloaks to reveal black tutus as they add character to ‘Wonderful Life.’ The crowd remain enthusiastic as they echo the beautiful words of hope, ‘Never give up it’s such a wonderful life.’ They proceed to play other favourites, ‘Devotion’ (minus Miss Minogue, unfortunately), ‘Sunday’, and ‘Evelyn.’ The band remain appreciative throughout their sold-out performance, with Hutchcraft repetitively clasping his hands together and holding them to his chest in admiration of the crowd’s support. While, ‘Blood, Tears and Gold’ and ‘Stay’ are well received, judging from the chanting of lyrics and the waving arms in a spiritual-like ritual, their way of feeling the ‘moment’. ‘Verona’ is enough to give anyone goosebumps as their backing tenor belts the words and Hutchcraft steps away from the microphone stand with his head bowed. It’s a truly heartfelt picture. The audience are instructed to hold their mobile phones in to the air during the aptly named, ‘Illuminated’ before they close with ‘Better Than Love’ which couldn’t have been a better choice as the last chance to leave the audience feeling speechless.

Hurts thank the spectators for giving them the support to play in the ‘special’ setting of Somerset House and it’s obvious that after tonight’s flawless show that Hurts have a deserving future ahead. They leave everyone with one inspiring last thought, ‘Remember, It’s a Wonderful Life.’