The Darkness / The River 68's

Give me a D! Give me an arkness!! That's right Lowestoft's finish The Darkness are back with a new album and are hitting the road once again in support. 'Last Of Our Kind' is the bands second since their 2011 reunion and fourth in total. It sees them at their over the top best and reaffirms that behind all of that showmanship and bravado, they are a great band. Guitarist Dan Hawkins, bassist Frankie Poullain and newly appointed sticksman Rufus Taylor (son of Roger) provide the solid base which allows frontman Justin Hawkins to exert his flamboyancy.

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Following two local Norwich shows to kick off the tour, the band have made the short journey to Cambridge for tonight's packed show at the city's Corn Exchange venue. Along for the ride and opening the show are two young Glaswegian brothers dubbed The River 68's. Chris and Craig McCabe serenade the audience with half an hour of their own Americana blues rock blend, winning over numerous new fans in the process. Not necessarily what you would expect a The Darkness support act to be but it works and it works well.

There's just the one support band on this tour and now it's time to await the arrival of our heroes in The Darkness. Anticipation is high as the waiting crowd stare at the large The Darkness backdrop that adorns the stage. The Darkness are now somewhat of a cult band, and it's easy to forget just how big they were. Debut album 'Permission To Land' shot the group to fame and at one point they were arguably the biggest band in England. There aren't many bands who get to headline the Reading and Leeds festivals on the back of just one album now is there? Not to mention the three Brit Awards they took home.

Although they do kick proceedings off tonight with new track 'Barbarian' the set soon becomes overrun with 'Permission To Land' favourites. This is understandable when you consider the impact of the album. The casual fan will likely only know these songs and by playing them the band are playing sure-fire crowd pleasers. Straight off the bat 'Growing On Me' and 'Black Shuck' demonstrate the end to end quality that the album delivered.

My only gripe with tonight's set list is that I'd much rather hear more new songs and in particular anything from 2012's comeback album 'Hot Cakes' which is shockingly completely ignored. There are plenty of belters on 'Hot Cakes' which could've replaced the likes of 'Givin' Up' and 'Stuck In A Rut' and freshened up the set list a bit.

New effort 'Last Of Our Kind' is reasonably well represented with the likes of 'Mudslide' and 'Roaring Waters' featuring during the first half of their set mixed in with older cuts like 'Love Is Only A Feeling' and 'Friday Night'. The River 68's also return to the stage for a festive run through of new Christmas song 'I Am Santa' much to the delight of the audience.

Whilst discussing the choice of songs in tonight's set list it's nice to see 'English Country Garden' return for the first time since their reformation. This together with the cowbelltastic 'One Way Ticket' represent second album 'One Way Ticket To Hell...And Back'. This was of course their last album before splitting and still receives mixed reviews to this day. I for one however enjoyed it and would like to see them revive a few more from it.

Justin Hawkins has certainly achieved iconic status, for better or for worse and there is no doubting his charisma and talent as a frontman. Tonight he's his usual jovial self, engaging in banter with the audience whilst frolicking about the stage in a typically outlandish suit. He is at his magnificent best tonight for 'Get Your Hands Off My Woman' and 'I Believe In A Thing Called Love'.

From start to finish The Darkness provide a full on thrilling and enthralling experience for their concert goers. Above all else this is a band that knows how to entertain an audience, and entertain they continue to do with an encore of recent single 'Open Fire', a performance of 'Love On The Rocks With No Ice' which sees Justin Hawkins crowd surfing and a final festive celebration with 'Christmas Time (Don't Let The Bells End)'.

Tonight The Darkness prove that they were not just a flash in the pan. Yes, they will likely never see the success they once earned again but they still have a lot to offer. Their two albums since reforming have proven that and as long as they can perform like they have tonight, the fans will still flock to party with them. So give me a D! Give me an arkness!!