The Darkness are set to release their latest album. Enjoying a deserved resurgence, the hard rocking quartet are still an irresistible proposition on the live stage.

Words & images: Kevin Stanley.

DE MONTFORT HALL

De Montfort Hall, Leicester, was opened in 1913 and sits adjacent to the leafy Victoria Park; both are popular with locals and visitors alike. This 2,000 capacity venue is part standing and partly seated. I’m very lucky to be sitting front row, centre, of the circle with a fantastic view, but to be honest, this auditorium is superbly designed to give everyone an unobstructed and close up view of whoever is on stage.

And this stage has seen some true greats, from the Grandfather of Rock and Roll Mr. Chucky “Johnny B. Goode” Berry to the type of acts that inspired The Darkness – Led Zeppelin – and even the great Jimi Hendrix. The list is too long to name everyone, but it basically covers off every major artist of the 20th and 21st century. The De Mont, as it’s affectionally know by the locals, is a real music venue – and unlike my beloved Rock City, in neighbouring city of Nottingham, it’s got rather plush seats and the floor isn’t sticky.

ASH

Indie-rockers, Ash, who first supported The Darkness on their legendary Permission To Land Tour over 20 years ago, could be headlining their own gig. They’re well-loved and easily one of the UK’s top rock acts. As a real power trio, they make a lot of noise for three guys.

Tim Wheeler performs triple duties as lead vocalist, and not only rhythm guitarist but also lead guitar. The percussion section is made up of bassist Mark Hamilton and drummer Rick McMurray. They’ve been around since 1992 and haven’t lost any of the energy in the intervening 30+ years. They’ve also somehow managed to retain all three founding members – a feat rarely equalled.

Ash are brilliant and they tear through a nine song set in about 45 minutes featuring some cracking tracks including openers Goldfinger, Shining Light, Braindead (from their latest album), and set closers Girl From Mars and Burn Baby Burn. Literally no time to talk besides a quick, “Hello it’s good to be here at the De Montfort in Leicester” and a “Thank you to The Darkness,” these guys are here to play as much music as they can, not talk.

Short, but very sweet.

THE DARKNESS

The Darkness begin the set with Rock and Roll Cowboy – a ZZ Top/AC/DC inspired track with a killer opening guitar hook, crunching guitars, a screaming solo, Included are the usual humorous lyrics, and in this case, very welcome, lower register vocals from Justin.

The Darkness are known as a high-energy outfit and although Justin recently had to postpone two dates he shows no sign of the chest infection that side lined him. Clearly a sensible decision to postpone, and a sign of maturity and professionalism. This band only want to perform when they can assure fans that they are giving 110% effort to the show.

Justin really does embody the roll and roll frontman; covered in tattoos, shirt already off by the third song, strutting around the stage like a peacock, interacting with the crowd. I’ve never seen anyone more at one with a guitar. This guy can really play, he knows all the tricks – which not only includes the classic rock techniques such as heavy palm-muting and finger tapping – but also his signature unique approach to attacking the strings for which he combines a plectrum with his thumb.

If that wasn’t enough, there are the stage antics of kicking a plectrum and catching it whilst playing and the injury-defying handstand on the drum riser which includes him clapping his legs to the beat. Crazy!

PERFECTION

Dan too is just perfect as the rhythm guitarist. The mannerisms, the stance, the low slung guitar – rock cliches maybe, but for good reason. He exudes style and confidence. Frankie is the cheerleader, encouraging the crowd to clap, sing, stamp and bounce around. Rufus is the perfect drummer for the band. I’ve said before, The Darkness is his spiritual home, and he knows it. The rest of the band love him and the audience appreciate his lineage (he’s the son of Queen’s Roger Taylor).

As always with The Darkness, they play a set packed with hit songs including Motorheart (a brilliant song about a sex-droid), Barbarian (a storming song that tells of the invasion of the East Coast – the home county of The Darkness – by the Dane, Ivar “The Boneless” Ragnarsson in the 800s), and Heart Explodes (a sweeping epic love song) which also
features “Radio Gaga”-like handclaps on the chorus and a sublime guitar solo from Dan.

Friday Night never fails to get the crowd bouncing up and down. They pay homage to Led Zepplin, as they often do, by playing a few lines of Immigrant Song and when someone from the crowd shouts out for them to play Don’t Let The Bells End, after initially chastising the unruly fan, Justin later relents and they play the opening verse and chorus, as Justin tells the fans he doesn’t want to stop people from interacting with them.

Rufus gets to sing his own song – an ode to his dog. Scott Whisker – the drum and bass technician (not the dog) replaces Rufus at the drum kit. Pictures of Rufus and his dog are shown on large screens. Perhaps everyone in the venue is thinking this is better than his Dad’s song about his car?

HIGH ENERGY

The Darkness always bring high-energy performances, high-pitched vocals, style and swagger. They’ve been buoyed by the intensity of the De Montfort crowd who have been playing along all night with Justin’s antics – making the crowd act along to Walking Through Fire and bounce up and down to Japanese Prisoner of Love. The upbeat, Queen-inspired The Longest Kiss has a great piano intro, and Mortal Dread, from the released-at-midnight of the show new album, Dreams On Toast, are both played.

Of course, Love Is Only A Feeling is played mid-set, and I Believe In A Thing Called Love completes the main set to thunderous applause. After much stamping, clapping, shouting, cheering and general encouragement the band
return to the stage, dressed in black suits to play two more new songs – Weekend In Rome to which Justin theatrically accepts flowers from the front row, and the punk- inspired I Hate Myself. The two songs compliment each other nicely and the performance is complete.

Dreams On Toast is available now, here.

The Darkness online : Website / Facebook / Twitter / YouTube

Ash online: Website

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