The Darkness + Ten Benson
Edinburgh Corn Exchange, 9th December 2003
What d'you get if you cross '80s Scots rockers the Almighty with '80s shock rockers Zodiac Mindwarp? Answer: Darkness support band Ten Benson. Clad in matching black string vests and oil workers' caps, these self-styled tattooed love gods treated us to a lean, mean set of bass heavy, riff-driven rock, spiced with a dash of white trash humour. The result? Instant appeal, even though we had never heard of them before.
Of course humour, self-parody and instant appeal are things the Darkness know all about. Last time we saw them, at Guilfest in July, they were just on the brink of stardom, with debut album Permission To Land due for release (and a stint in the number one slot) the following week. Now they're so huge and so popular they're already inviting a critical backlash - always a sign that you've made it.
I must say I find this sudden resurgence of glam rock wonderfully exciting but also somewhat baffling. Sure, the Darkness are a fantastic band, but why are they so universally adored by folk who would turn up their noses in horror at any of their cock rock predecessors. I don't hear Jo Whiley playing David Lee Roth, do you? Oh well, I'll sit back and enjoy it until Radio 1 and the NME get sick of them and they can retreat into the hallowed shades of rock obscurity and take their rightful place in the Pantheon of Glam.
The problem with a stratospherically successful debut, however, is that suddenly you're headlining sell out shows at pretty big venues and you only have one album of material to draw on. Well, if you're too cool for school like the Strokes you can always fob the audience off with an hour long set, but the Darkness are too canny and conspicuously 'for the people' for that. The solution, then? Play the whole damn album (apart from 'Holding My Own' - boo!) and draw out each song for as long as possible with ker-razzee audience participation, then throw in a couple of new songs and B-sides (one of which sounded suspiciously like AC/DC's 'Thunderstruck') and keep going off stage to change your spangly jumpsuits, leaving the crowd to chant for a few minutes. I'm just thanking my lucky stars there wasn't a drum solo.
There's no denying that Justin Hawkins is a fantastic frontman, with the kind of OTT stage presence that can only be achieved by many hours practice before a mirror with a hairbrush. He leaps and cavorts, he jokes and tells anecdotes, he wears a See You Jimmy hat, he allows himself to be carried through the crowd still playing his guitar (although he does complain of a ruptured testicle afterwards). However, there's only so much (he sings) 'wooah-oh!' (we sing) 'wooah-oh!' (he sings) 'woo-eee!' (we sing) 'woo-ee!' nonsense you can take and occasionally you find yourself wishing he'd stop pratting about and just ROCK!
Because, as their website would have you know, the Darkness rock. A marvellous melting pot of '70s and '80s influences, from Thin Lizzy to Skid Row to the aforementioned Diamond Dave, when they're really going for it they sound fantastic, like the rock gods they claim to be - and like rock gods, they sure know how to end a song, all flashing lights and power chords and exaggerated poses. Justin may dominate the action but better-looking brother Dan is a whizz on the old geetar whilst '70s porn film reject Frankie Poullain is a rock solid bass player. Oh, and there's a drummer too…
An exuberant hour and a half of songs, spandex and swearwords and it's all over. Time for the Christmas single, then: not exactly their finest moment musically (it's basically a Thin Lizzy riff with some seasonal lyrics and chiming bells over the top) but played with gusto and accompanied by falling snow and glitter (what else?) it makes the perfect end to the show.
My verdict? You can knock the Darkness all you like but they sure as hell know how to put on a show. They're putting the fun back into rock music, they're garnering new fans for the genre and they're having the time of their lives doing it. For that they can only be praised. Just don't let the bells end…
The Darkness + Ash, 27th November 2004
Guilfest 2003, 4th-6th July 2003
