Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms (19/04/99)
"Can you turn the lights out?" asks a confident Laurence O'Keefe (bass/vox). And duly so, the darkness reveals a string of fairy lights at the front of the stage - the only illumination remaining. But then nothing else would feel right. Dark Star aren't about the glitz and glamour of dramatic staging, and this is definitely not a requirement, judging from the quality of the band's performance. There is a definite on-stage presence. Christian Hayes (vocals/guitar) looks to the crowd, "Are you excited yet?" he asks before launching into 'About 3am'. But by far and away, David Francolini alights the stage with an energetic display of drumming prowess, with dreads and drumsticks flying, more reminiscent of the Muppets' "Animal".
Their music? Difficult to define. Dark is the obvious word to use; but stepping beyond the cliche, you enter a different realm of experimental contrast. Combining aspects of pre strings-era The Verve, the blissful epic nature of, say, Six By Seven, and the experimental psycedelica of Mercury Rev, the music that Dark Star produce is as intriguing as it is diverse. With blistering songs such as set-opener 'I Am The Sun', combined with the spacey 'Vertigo' make Dark Star an endearing new prospect. Bands should be like Dark Star and drummers should be like "Animal".