The Darkness:

NEC Birmingham on 08/12/04

By: Gaby

 This was a gig that I was highly looking forward to and though enjoyable and entertaining left me feeling somewhat wanting. To begin with the set was simple and non-fussy and the laid back style of the band un-compromising and to be honest somewhat boring.

 All the classics taken off their multi-million selling debut album “Permission to Land” were performed to studio perfection, but that is where for me the concert finished. None of the new stuff they played was especially good nor for that matter unique or interesting and much of their gig was filler with Justin Hawking prowling the stage acting a bit of a buffoon and howling at the audience to participate.

 Surly if the band is good enough the audience will participate. No need to give them permission or to tell them. This is the band’s job, not the audience.

 Perhaps this was just the band’s own insecurity, I’m not sure.

 Musically the band at its best is tight and at it’s worse a little rough. This was all too well noticed when they played all their chart hits and then started to go into more un-known and un-challenged territory.

 What “The Darkness” do particurly well is bring back to life all that 70’s / 80’s glam that rock music used to be all about, whilst delivering catchy pop/rock tunes that ride around your head for a very long time.

Nothing wrong with that, but for me it takes something a little more than humble nostalgia, spandex jump suits and riding around the arena on a big Siberian Tiger to turn a band from a 1 or possibly 2 album success to a band of living legends status.

 Sure, they brought back in the music charts something more resembling rock that much else before it in recent years but I suppose it felt at times for me somewhat false and over-indulgent and though I can’t really pick much fault with the band musically. Their style. attitude and songs could just be a passing fancy rather than anything more. I look forward to their follow-up album to prove me wrong.

 So overall I would say this was a good but not by any chance brill performance and at times was rather ragged, poorly polished and all together un-inspiring leaving me feeling under-whelmed and somewhat disappointed.