What do you get when you have a tasty starter of Northern Irish indie rock, followed by a spectacular main course performance filled with some good rock and roll fun? A pretty great gig would be the only suitable answer in this case! And I’m sure many in attendance would agree. I went to Swansea Arena to see the legendary rockers The Darkness, who were supported by Northern Irish Indie 3-piece Ash. And I had a very good time!
Considering how long the line was to get in, it went pretty quick and I was inside in no time! But enough of the boring stuff, let’s talk about the music!
I got in just in time to catch the start of supporting band, Ash (7). I wasn’t sure what to expect because I’m not very familiar with their music, but fair play to them, they did a decent job opening the show. I wouldn’t say I was completely blown away by them, but I did enjoy their set. They played 9 songs in total and, being a 3-piece band, they sounded pretty tight. Although they played well, their songs were quite hit or miss for me. But I did enjoy Orpheus. This one had a faster heavier intro before erupting into an almost punk sounding style. Kung Fu, was another good one. It reminded me of The Ramones.
Considering how long the line was to get in, it went pretty quick and I was inside in no time! But enough of the boring stuff, let’s talk about the music!
I got in just in time to catch the start of supporting band, Ash (7). I wasn’t sure what to expect because I’m not very familiar with their music, but fair play to them, they did a decent job opening the show. I wouldn’t say I was completely blown away by them, but I did enjoy their set. They played 9 songs in total and, being a 3-piece band, they sounded pretty tight. Although they played well, their songs were quite hit or miss for me. But I did enjoy Orpheus. This one had a faster heavier intro before erupting into an almost punk sounding style. Kung Fu, was another good one. It reminded me of The Ramones.
Then out of nowhere, it was definitely the highlight of their set for me. A cover of the calypso classic Jump In The Line by Harry Belafonte. They did a great job with this cover. Speeding it up and making it sound like a mix of punk and ska. They ended their set with Burn Baby Burn and, apart from the cover, this was the only song I recognised. I think they could have done with throwing in some more energetic tracks into their set to get the crowd going but I can forgive them for maybe holding back a bit to not steal the spotlight from the main act. And they get bonus points for having a drummer who also provides some backing vocals!
So now for the main attraction, The Darkness (10). They were absolutely brilliant! Lots of lights, high energy performance, a nice selection of tracks for the whopping 18 song setlist and just overall very fun and enjoyable. This tour is in support of their new album Dreams On Toast, which is out later this month, so it makes sense that most of the tracks were from that album. But they also played 6 tracks from their much loved debut, Permission To Land as well as some of their other big hits. It was my first time seeing them live and I will gladly say they did not disappoint! In fact, I’d go as far as to say they sound much better live. The band play incredibly tight together and Justin’s voice is as good as I remember it from when I first heard them over 20 years ago.
They started the set with one of their newest tracks from the upcoming album. The very heavily ZZ-TOP inspired Rock And Roll Party Cowboy. This track is literally The Darkness equivalent of Sharp-Dressed Man. There was no stopping them from then on. They powered through track after track making it look effortless. There was a bit of a feedback issue during either track 3 or 4, but this was the only technical issue for the whole night. Everything else sounded superb.
Justin’s stage presence was really good and he did an amazing job working the crowd. Getting the audience involved with some clapping, jumping and dancing, as well as having some Freddie Mercury moments with vocal back-and-forths. He was also a good laugh, going on a rant about the music industry, promoting the new album and taking a dig at another particular group who are also releasing a new album the same week. He got the crowd marching and stomping along to new track Walking Through Fire (a great track which I can’t seem to get out of my head).
They kept the party going with some classics like Barbarian and Love Is Only A Feeling before allowing their drum tech to come on stage and play, while drummer Rufus took over on lead vocals for a track dedicated to his dog called My Only. After that, they surprised us with a performance of Friday Night, as well as playing a couple more tracks before eventually getting to the song which most people came for.
They kept the party going with some classics like Barbarian and Love Is Only A Feeling before allowing their drum tech to come on stage and play, while drummer Rufus took over on lead vocals for a track dedicated to his dog called My Only. After that, they surprised us with a performance of Friday Night, as well as playing a couple more tracks before eventually getting to the song which most people came for.
Their most well known track, I Believe In A Thing Called Love. For this one, Justin demanded people put their phones away and get involved with the singing and dancing, a fair demand in my opinion. The crowd went absolutely wild for this and it looked like everyone was having a lot of fun. They then left the stage for a few minutes before coming back out for their 2 song encore. The first of which was a slow ballad style new track called Weekend In Rome, with a little snippet of Crazy Little Thing Called Love by Queen at the start. Then they ended their show with Love On The Rocks With No Ice. A decent end to a great show!
I haven’t listened to The Darkness in a while but this show has reinvigorated my love for them so I will definitely be playing their hits again and I might even have to get their new album when it’s out. I was hoping for a couple more hits in their set like One Way Ticket and Last Of Our Kind, but it was a pretty solid set and the overall performance and production was amazing, apart from that one little technical issue with the feedback. But I will definitely be seeing them again the next chance that I get! Fantastic night!
I haven’t listened to The Darkness in a while but this show has reinvigorated my love for them so I will definitely be playing their hits again and I might even have to get their new album when it’s out. I was hoping for a couple more hits in their set like One Way Ticket and Last Of Our Kind, but it was a pretty solid set and the overall performance and production was amazing, apart from that one little technical issue with the feedback. But I will definitely be seeing them again the next chance that I get! Fantastic night!
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