It was a rock and roll party this weekend in Charlotte as The Darkness had the sold out crowd at The Underground “dancing on a Friday night.” The British rockers made a stop in the Queen City on their “Tour de Prance” bringing a high energy show that tore the roof off The Underground.
The energy in the venue was palpable as the lights dimmed and the crowd began to roar in anticipation as the members of The Darkness hit the stage. Drummer Rufus Tiger Taylor, son of Queen drummer Roger Taylor, was first to come out and take his spot behind the kit. Bassist Frankie Poullain strutted out in his gold suit straight out of the seventies and guitarist Dan Hawkins ran out turning his back to the audience pointing at his Thin Lizzy satin jacket. Arriving last but certainly not least was frontman Justin Hawkins decked out in his leopard jumpsuit complete with cape as he posed and dazzled the audience before the band kicked into gear with “Open Fire.” Their sound is straight up seventies hard rock and glam and they do it extremely well. The band sounded tight as they ran through a set that was a mixed bag of old and new consisting of five songs from their 2017 release “Pinewood Smile” and nine tunes from their debut album “Permission To Land.” The atmosphere was like being at a party with friends that just happened to have a kick ass rock and roll band playing. Justin is a more than capable vocalist and can still hit his high falsettos and is an extremely comedic frontman interacting with the audience as much as possible. A fan handed him a note about it being her birthday and he led the audience in a round of singing “Happy Birthday” to a very lucky young lady named Lisa. The fun didn’t end there as a rousing sing along of “Friday Night” continued the evening’s festivities. This was my first time seeing The Darkness headline a show and I was incredibly impressed with their sound as well as their top notch showmanship. They are not only terrific musicians but they know how to perform and make sure the audience has the time of their lives. At one point, Hawkins got on the shoulders of the crowd up front , hung off the lighting rig, and proceeded to do pullups as he swung over the audience like he was on the monkeybars at a playground. As the lighting rig began to sway a little too much, security came to the rescue and helped him back to the stage. A few fans were shouting to do it again and Hawkins explained that he better not because he didn’t think want to have to whisper “you are my hero” into the ears of the security personnel again. Justin then chanted “Three More Songs” as he told the elated crowd they would play three more songs off their first album to close out the evening in fine fashion. Once the shouts of “Dark-ness, Dark-ness!” began in earnest the band returned for a hip shaking, toe tapping three song encore finishing out with fan favorite “Love on the Rocks With No Ice.”
The Darkness are everything a great live band should be. They rocked, they rolled, and they got a little crazy making sure the crowd came along for the ride. Do not miss the fun filled rock and roll adventure when The Darkness hits a town near you.
Set List:
Open Fire
Love Is Only a Feeling
Southern Trains
Black Shuck
One Way Ticket
Givin’ Up
All the Pretty Girls
Barbarian
Buccaneers of Hispaniola
Friday Night
Every Inch of You
Solid Gold
Stuck In a Rut
Get Yer Hands Off My Woman
Growing On Me
Encore
Japanese Prisoner of Love
I Believe In a Thing Called Love
Love On the Rocks With No Ice
We would like to thank Renee Harrison at Publicity Please for the credentials to review the show.
