I went to see the wonderful Hurts in concert last night. The opening acts (some dreadful Icelandic groups) were supposed to come on at 20:00, so we decided to show up at 21:00, hoping they would be just about to finish. Unfortuneatly Hurts didnt come on stage until after 22.00. When they finally did, they were fantastic! Opening up with "Unspoken", they did several songs in the next 30 minutes or so (including "Wonderful Life", which they did very early in the set, and I swear that both "Silver Lining" and "Blood, Tears And Gold" sounded better live then on the actual album).
However, in the middle of a song the sound system crashed! Theo got the crowd to sing the chorus of "Evelyn" a few times, before he and Adam, along with their band left the stage. Around 15 minutes later things had been fixed and they returned to the stage to do a thunderous verison of "Sunday".
They continued the gig with tracks like "Devotion" and mentioned that they had done that track with Kylie, who "sadly they couldnt bring with them". They then introduced "their favourite song ever" - a fantastic version of Kylie's "Confide In Me". Theo then mentioned that they had never had a problem like this with a sound system before, and then they then launched into what may very well be my favourite Hurts song (and according to Music Week, their next single): the stunning "Illuminated". However, they only managed to to the first verse: and the sound system crashed again! A visibly furious Adam stormed backstage, followed by Theo and the band.
About 10-15 minutes later they returned to the stage again. Theo was wrapped in the Icelandic flag, saying that sadly the would only be able to do one more song beacuse of all the problems. He mentioned that they had filmed the video for "Stay" here, and how much they love the country and the people here. They then performed the song - and that was that. Theo later posted on his Twitter:
Iceland! Oh Iceland! A triumph & a disaster. Sorry & thank you. A wild & wonderful time as always. One of the greatest places on earth. ást!
It was a real shame how the evening turned out. Thank god we showed up late - but we still had to wait almost 90 minutes for the band to show up, and then they only played for less then an hour because of all the problems (which were clearly the promoters fault). Hurts were fantastic though (much better then they seem on the videos. They were not shot by me BTW - we were much closer to the stage).
Not hearing "Illuminated" was a big disapoinment, and also missing out on tracks like "Better Than Love". I hope I will be able to see them again - and hopefully in a concert where the promoters know what they are doing! A sound system that crashed not once but TWICE in an hour is beyond unprofessional and I felt very bad for the group when we left. I'd say the whole thing was worth it though, because they were VERY good - but the promoters should offer partial refunds or something! I will need to catch Hurts again in the future... Here is an older performance of "Illuminated":
3 comments:
Oh, how bloody frustrating! At least you had them properly amplified for most of the set... Jx
wow...maybe they will come back for a "Make up" show. That should not be happening in 2011!...So happy you got to see them though! Sounds like you made the best of the situation. Looking forward to checking out the videos later tonight! Cheers :)
Well yes, we did make the most off it. They were wonderful, despite everything. BTW, much better videos from the evening are in the newer post, which also has a statement from Hurts.
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