THE horrors / ipso facto

A similar thing happens at Klaxon gigs, except the followers are neon not black, and they sleep in their mum’s house as opposed to coffins. Tonight the destination is Electrowerkz and the neo-gothic mass are ever more intent on drawing blood as London hasn’t had a live performance from the Horrors since April. The four ladies that comprise support act IPSO FACTO are definitely ones to watch for 2008. Their melancholy psychedelia infiltrates the brains of even the most unwilling audience member. Lead singer Rosalie Cunningham possesses much of the sultriness of Kate Jackson (Long Blondes) but she’s obviously discovered Siouxsie Sioux and the black and white Horror movie. We have waited long enough. Let the show commence. Dressed in the customary Dickensian Goth cloth, THE HORRORS take to the stage with firmly placed messianic arrogance. Faris, favouring a leather jacket tonight, towers over his pandering audience and urges them to “jump to the rafters!” Opener ‘Jack The Ripper’ sets a suitable tone of crowd-surfing frenzy. However, the majority of the set blurs into one long meandering journey of reverb. As far as I can remember, ‘Strange House’ wasn’t a 45 minute long one-track Pink Floydian concept album with ‘Count In Fives’ and ‘Sheena As A Parasite’ stuck on as bonus tracks at the end. Yet that’s what tonight’s show suggests. As teen hysteria reaches its high, Faris cranks it up a notch by jumping into the audience. His black t-shirt is seemingly inhaled by his androgynous fans, leaving him to do the remainder of the gig ‘topless.’ *blush* Members of the audience sieze the opportunity to take to the stage and remind us that even though they may look and dress like their idols, there is only one Faris. In true Horrors style there’s is no encore tonight. The mini-Munsters of the audience are to go back to their coffins yet again wanting more.