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| The Darkness |
The Darkness recently reformed with their original line-up, after a hiatus of five years during which lead singer Justin formed Hot Leg and battled a cocaine addiction and the other members played in the Stone Gods. The band has a very dedicated fan base, evidenced in this tour selling out every venue booked, so the excitement to see the Hawkins brothers and co. return to the stage was palpable in the Academy.
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| Crown Jewel Defence - it's a dick joke, geddit? |
The first support were Crown Jewel Defense. They were full of American gusto, but unfortunately were more scarf than substance. Their stage presence was a bit lacking, with long silences between their songs and then overblown "C'MON YEAAAH!"s when they did talk. Their songs didn't do much for me either, largely being quite cliche'd 80's influenced stuff.
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| Foxy Shazam - Eric running around the stage on all-fours not shown |
Thankfully second support were the irrepressible Foxy Shazam. Foxy are a strange beast, a concoction of glam, post-hardcore and psychedelic pop, with a live show a bit like if Iggy Pop had been in Queen instead. They play and sing maniacally, vocalist Eric Nally slams the microphone into the floor, runs around the stage like a dog, falls to the ground and climbs on various bandmates' shoulders without missing a note, the trumpeter Alex plays upside-down and keyboardist Sky often plays with his feet. The liveliness of the show reflects the schizophrenic eccentricities of the music, alternating between effervescent and a sort of melancholy glamour. They played a few songs from their upcoming album among some brilliant tracks including "The Rocketeer" and "Oh Lord", and finished with a long jam ruminating on the story of a man drinking his worries away. Eric's intensity during this song makes you wonder how the band's touring schedule has affected them this year, with a long time away from home and family (especially for Eric who has two young sons).
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| Justin Hawkins emerging from the fog |
The Darkness came out with classic opener "Black Shuck", and it didn't take long to see that they'd not lost any confidence in their performance. Dan Hawkins hunched over his guitar slugging out hot riffs, while brother Justin prowled the stage, climbing the drum riser to belt out the falsetto chorus of "THAT DOG DON'T GIVE A FUCK", and heavy chugging beats from Frankie and Ed. A quick one-two of "Black Shuck" into single "Growing on Me" got the crowd going even more. Seeming confident and glad to be back onstage, looking comfortable (or as comfortable as one could be under bright lights in a catsuit), they showcased their musical competence and ability to own a stage with aplomb. The set was well spaced with fan favourites and singles interspersed with album cuts. Sophomore album single "One Way Ticket To Hell and Back" was well recieved and by now the band were well in their stride. The band's stage presence felt natural and filled the stage well, with Justin moving about as much as possible, and guitarist and bassist changing positions. It was good to see Frankie looking relaxed, as returning original members can sometimes look uncomfortable in their refound positions. Justin remained the only mouthpiece throughout however, but joked with his bandmates and his banter with the crowd was enough to engender a strong rapport.
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| Dan Hawkins engulfed in fog |
The rest of the band left the stage after "Out of This World" for Justin to play a stripped down and intimate version of "Holding My Own" with just an acoustic guitar as armour. Had the Academy's rather oppressive regulations allowed it, there surely would have been about a thousand lighters held aloft. The band returned to blast out "Love is Only A Feeling" which sounded as good as ever. Throughout the gig, both guitarists flicked plectrums out into the audience between songs, leaving many fans with a memento. A rather idiosyncratic emerged in a cover of Radiohead's "Street Spirit" given the metal treatment, complete with exuberant solo. This led into "Giving Up", described as a song about how heroin "is a bit moreish". The band finished the first part of their set with an early christmas present of their festive single "Christmas Time (Don't Let the Bells End)", with Justin in a candy-cane catsuit and confetti snowing onto the stage, the bouncers and the audience.
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| Let the bells ring out, and the confetti collect on bald bouncers' heads. |
After a brief break, the band returned for a four track encore, starting with instrumental "Bareback" before launching into a rousing cover of "Tie Your Mother Down" by Queen, proving a good homage to The Darkness' roots. It would have been impossible for them not to play the indomitable "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" and by now the audience had reached fever-point, with crowd-surfers and dehydrated fans sailing out of the pit in a flurry of bouncers arms. In a show of care for their fans, Dan pointed a bouncer to look after a fan who was worse for wear to be taken out. However, those who had thought it was the last song and thus opportunity to end up on the other side of the barricade missed a extended rendition of "Love on the Rocks" that saw all the band build up a meaty jam, Frankie's bass most noticeably. Several solos lighter, Justin jumped into the crowd and was led through the crowd still eking out notes from the higher frets of his guitar. He returns to the stage eventually and the band end with a typically massive rock ending with a jump of the drum riser into a massive open chord. The band join together and bow out to a long applause, with picks and plenty of Ed's drumsticks finding their way into the crowd's open hands. While Justin is only one member of the band, he and (his rather considerable ego) represented The Darkness as a whole quite succinctly. His departure and subsequent rehabilitation seemed to have mellowed him though, and given him a more reflective attitude. He repeatedly thanked the crowd throughout the night, making specific note that this date had sold out the quickest of the large venues. He and the rest of the band seem genuinely and completely overjoyed to be back onstage, and we were glad to welcome them back.
