The Darkness halt Liverpool show mid-song after seeing problem in crowd
Devotees of The Darkness, known for their eclectic metal mix of rock and roll, had turned out to see the four-piece band at Mountford Hall at the Liverpool Guild of Students for a night of thumping rhythms, impossibly high falsetto and spectacular guitar solos.
After queueing for 30 minutes, I was finally in the labyrinth building where support act, 90s band Ash, was already warming up the crowd with their well-loved hits like 'Girl From Mars' and 'Shining Light'. The only problem for me was that I couldn't see.
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I am 5ft 5in, the average height for a woman, and I could not see what was happening on the stage at all - now whether that was because of the layout of the stage and hall itself, or the fact that the band weren't elevated enough, I couldn't say, because I genuinely couldn't see, which kind of spoilt the experience for me a little.
By the time The Darkness stepped out, I had been able to shuffle forward a little to catch a glimmer of the band through the shoulders of the tall. Then came a set from a band that is not afraid to play just crowd-pleasing hits, reminding us all exactly what The Darkness is known for.
Quickly we run through 'Rock and Roll Party Cowboy' and 'Get Your Hands Off My Woman'. The ease and confidence with which they play is testament to their musical talents and they are good fun with a catalogue of back-to-back classic rock songs that feel nostalgic even if you haven't heard them before.
Steered on by energetic frontman Justin Hawkins, they rip through all the big songs from the 2003 Brit award-winning album Permission to Land, with 'I Believe In A Thing Called Love' bringing the set to a close. But mid-song, Justin paused with a problem and said: "I love you, but let's put the phones away for this one."
Sensing it is going to be a special moment in the show, he said it should be "something magical" and added: "It us and you, united." Away go the phones and away we go again, from the top and it is special, the crowd love it and the band fully embrace this 20-year-old song as their showstopping end.
Of course they play an epic encore with another song from their up and coming album Dreams on Toast, 'I Hate Myself'. The Darkness are still here; as they say in one of their new songs 'Walking Through Fire', they "never stopped making hit albums; it's just that no one buys them anymore". Perhaps with this pre album launch tour The Darkness are hoping to step into the limelight of chart success once again.
If there was a chart for showmanship and a good time, they would easily be in for a shot at the top. Saying goodbye to the audience, Justin said they had had an amazing time and added: "And it's all because of you Liverpool, you've been f***ing amazing."
The Darkness continue their UK tour throughout March, while their new album Dreams on Toast is out March 28, find out more details via their website https://www.thedarknesslive.com/
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