The Darkness

The Darkness have had their fair share of unsupportive press recently- due to their second album ‘One Way Ticket To Hell…And Back’ not being as good as some people had hoped for. Admittedly in comparison to the first album, it probably has not sold as many copies, however musically it is just as good if not better than ‘Permission To Land’.

The problem is that critics don’t seem to realise that the only real way to decide if you like The Darkness is by catching them live- as that is where they get to show their fans what they are all about!

It goes without saying that the fans that had squeezed into Nottingham Ice Arena were anticipating a flamboyant rock show- and from the very beginning to the last dying notes- The Darkness kindly obliged the fans.

Vocalist Justin Hawkins opened the show by flying around on a oversized pair of breasts- it was a pleasant surprise to say the least- also it was a nice gimmick to kick start the band into the opening track ‘Knockers’.

From then on in, we were treated to all of the usual rock show cliches- scissor kicks, flames, clap-a-long songs, slow heart felt ballads. screeching guitar solos, killer hooks, and above all great music! Justin even played the opening notes to Van Halens classic ‘Jump’, and got an electric response from the crowd. At which point he asked ‘Why don’t you ever respond like that to our own songs?’ in his usual tongue in cheek manner.

The set list was a well balanced, which included all of the classic hits from their debut album such as ‘Black Shuck’, ‘I Believe In A Thing Called Love’, ‘Growing On Me’, ‘Get Your Hands Off My Woman’ , as well as the more recent material taken from their second album such as ‘One Way Ticket To Hell... And Back’, and ‘Is It Just Me?’.

As easy as it is to find a reason to criticise their recorded material- When it comes to playing live- The Darkness are in the premier league of live bands, they bring their music to life, and demonstrate that rock music doesn’t have to take itself seriously to sell out arenas.

In a live setting very few bands come close to matching The Darkness! Absolutely faultless!

FUTURE GIGS