Darkness photo by Simon Emmett
Smoke machines. The neon ‘The Darkness’ logo above the stage. Stage lights that will blind you temporarily. The dramatic entrance accompanied by ‘Rock and Roll Party Cowboy’ can only send shivers and excitement into the onlookers as The Darkness show the audience how a rock n roll entrance is made. The intro to ‘Growing on Me’ instantly excites the audience and the band deliver it just as electrifyingly as they did over 20 years ago, Justin even has some fun showing off his guitar playing in the middle of it. After trying to apologise to the crowd for the show being delayed, Justin is interrupted by a fan who’s mum cried when the original date was cancelled, he then apologises for this and says “I’m gonna make them cry in a different way” to many flirtatious woos. Then we jump straight into ‘Get Your Hands Off My Woman’ which Justin perfectly nails that ‘MOTHERFUCKERRRRRR’ line, you can tell there’s a lot of life in him yet. ‘Mortal Dread’ from the new album, Dreams On Toast, is up next. That riff rips right through the stage and the crowd, the thudding drumbeat vibrates through the stomach, the hands start clapping along to the last chorus, perfection. The guitar intro to ‘Motorbreath’, which always reminded me of ‘Ace of Spades’, echoes throughout the room. Rufus’s drumming never fails to impress, especially on this track, and live it’s even better to listen to.
After ‘Barbarian’ and Justin grilling Mumford and Sons in a very comedic way (“we shouldn’t boo Mumford and Sons, they’re making music, shit music”), and grilling the band’s record company in, again, a comedic way, we are treated to another song from the new album, ‘Walking Through Fire’. It’s a brilliant song about the band not giving a fuck what they’re up against, at the end of the day Justin “Can’t help falling in love with rock n roll”. And after the monologue beforehand, it makes the song sound even sweeter in the O2 Apollo tonight. They waste no time powering through ‘Love Is Only a Feeling’, the crowd waving their arms from side to side in time with Justin, a true anthem for the fans to sing along to (yes, that includes me). After a quickfire run through the upbeat ‘The Longest Kiss’ and the slower, heavier ‘Heart Explodes’ (a brilliant live rendition of it may I add), we see Rufus step down from the drums to centre stage to sing a heartwarming rendition of ‘My Only’ in what seemed to be a tribute to his dog according to the visuals in the background. ‘Friday Night’ was dedicated to Karen (the mum that cried when the show was originally cancelled) and to start it off Justin requests that only he and her sing the chorus together, the showmanship is off the scale, you can’t dislike Justin, he’s just too wholesome. Now the rest of the band have joined in and the whole crowd is singing that chorus so that everyone inside (and outside) the Apollo can hear. Now the moment that everyone has been waiting for, “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” is blasted through the hall, everyone singing in unison, Justin’s vocals sound like they did on the record 22 years ago, the band play like it’s their last night on earth, it’s a glorious showcase of rock ‘n’ roll music.
Now for an encore! We are treated to another new song from the album, ‘Weekend in Rome’ featuring some vocals from Justin that make me think of ‘Barcelona’ (he really does sound like Freddie live), and Frankie Poullain on a lovely Spanish guitar (When in Manchester!). And finally, we get the thumping and aggressive glam metal of ‘I hate myself’, one of the best tracks from the new album and even better heard live, the self loathing lyrics come across even more comedic when paired with Justin’s old man dance moves on stage. If there’s one thing I’ve learnt from this Darkness concert, it’s that they have never stopped being The Darkness, the glam metal band that will continue to positively slap you in the face with some of the most enthusiastic stage presence and tight musicianship in the 21st Century, and I think the rapturous applause from the people in the O2 Apollo on the way out proves that even further.
