Whether you’re a fan of rock music or not, there is one band who you will no doubt have heard at one point or another. That band is The Darkness and tonight (Friday 14th March) they bring their iconic rock sound to Liverpool. With support from alt rock band Ash it’s sure to be a fun night!
Kicking the night off is Ash. Ash first formed in Northern Ireland back in 1992 and quickly found success through their mix of alt rock, indie and grunge. Through out their career they’ve had multiple hit songs including Girl from Mars, Burn Baby Burn, and Shining Light. Many bands who started around the same time have either split up or dropped off but it’s good to see that Ash are still going strong and still releasing new music.
Shortly after taking to the stage the band start the night off with Goldfinger followed quickly by Angel Interceptor. As it is with any band playing the support slot, sometimes it can be difficult to get the crowd engaged but that doesn’t seem to be an issue here as they work their way through a setlist which for the most part takes the best songs from the duration of their career and plays them with the sound turned up to 11.
On stage the band are fun to watch, bassist Mark Hamilton in particular stands out from the rest of the band as he dances on stage often pulling poses and breaking the stereo type that bassists are often boring. Closing out the set with their biggest songs Girl From Mars and Burn Baby Burn gives one final blast of energy and sets the tone for the rest of the night.
It’s now time for the main attraction here tonight, let’s jump back a few years. Taking things back to the summer of 2003 where I myself was nothing more than a primary school kid who had been stolen his mums new CD. I’d been told I wasn’t to listen to it but I couldn’t help myself. That CD was Permission To Land by The Darkness and the impact it had on me changed my music taste entirely. Fast forward 22 years later and The Darkness are still going strong with a new album on the horizon.
The band kick the night off with Rock and Roll Party Cowboy. Opening with a new song is always a little hit and miss but they stick the landing in style with this one and have the room clapping along from the first riff before heading back to their older material with Growing On Me. It’s clear even just from the first two songs of tonight’s set that the band are here to have fun and deliver an epic night of rock and roll. Front man Justin Hawkins feels somewhat larger than life on stage, backed by chunky riffs and slick bass lines his voice sounds phenomenal. His performance oozes confidence as he struts the stage between vocal lines, making for a truly enjoyable watch.
The atmosphere in the room is electric tonight as fans of all ages dance, jump and sing along. For the band tonight is all about advertising their new album, something Justin talks about on stage a number of times but when your new album is in with a real shot of getting to number 1 in the charts against some big names of course you want to show it off and build that excitement. Whilst the new songs are mostly well received the energy in the room doubles every time the band play anything from their earlier albums. It’s something to be expected, these are the songs that made the crowd fans and they are huge rock anthems but seeing the fans moving and dancing to newer material is a sign that the band have won them over.
As the night continues Justin and the band have the crowd in the palm of their hands, commanding them in dances and clapping along to the songs. As the song draws to its end the moment the crowd have all been waiting for as the band finally play the hit song I Believe in a Thing Called Love. As expected the excitement in the room hit new levels but early in the song Justin brings the song to a halt, requesting that the crowd put down their phones. Once the phones are gone they take it from the top making for a truly memorable moment for all in attendance. Ending on this song would of been a great end but as with many bands these days an encore gives the crowd their final chance to enjoy the night before it all comes to a close.
Tonight’s show has once again proven that The Darkness are still one of the best British rock bands around, channelling the stars of old and delivering a true night of rock and roll. The old songs still sound huge and the new material sounds exciting, leaving me (and I’m sure many others) excited to check out the new album when it drops. In an age filled with pop artists repeating the same songs and rock bands with no fresh ideas its good to know that bands like The Darkness still exist and are still keeping rock and roll alive.
Will Robinson
