The
Darkness
Live
at the NEC
'Give me a D! Give me an Arkness!'
With these words, dynamic, tattooed, thin-as-a-Nik-Nak frontman Justin Hawkins
kicked off two hours of unashamed OTT-ness.
Christmas trees, fireworks, falsetto warblings, killer guitar riffs, spangly
catsuits, pirate hats and a giant white tiger were to play their parts in what
at times felt like a hallucination but was total joy from start to encore.
The minute Justin, his guitarist brother Dan, bassist Frankie Poullain and drummer
Ed Graham blazed on to the stage - to, bizarrely, ABBA's fanfare-ish intro Arrival
- standing still was not an option. You had to dance, or headbang, or
stamp your feet, or just give the air a good old punch. The music was so driving;
the whole thing so Spinal Tappishly, Englishly eccentric.
Get Your Hands Off My Woman, Givin' Up, Friday Night and
the anthemic boster that is I Believe In A Thing Called Love kicked total
ass - and the pyrotechnic and light show that accompanied them was beyond stunning.
The encore was the delicious Christmas Time (Don't Let The Bells End),
which they dedicated, tongue in cheek, to Gary Jules, whose wrist-slitty Tears
for Fears cover robbed them of the 2003 festive Number 1.
In fact, though they've only been around for a year or so, I already can't imagine
Christmas without Justin, Dan, Ed and Frankie. They're as camp as tinsel; their
costumes pure panto. I can picture them touring every winter - and picture me
in the audience every year until I'm about 80.
Now it's been said before - and I'll admit it took seeing them live to make
me appreciate this - but The Darkness truly are the new Queen, with Justin Hawkins
the leotarded natural heir to Freddie Mercury.
I'd never seen anyone work an audience so well - not only with music, but humour
and ad-libbing too. At one point it was like Simon Says: 'Put your arms up...put
your arms down...scream...make this noise...do a rabbit impression...now
cuddle up to your partner, it's power ballad time!'
When he burst surreally into Lady in Red - a song for which I harbour
a guilty love - I just melted, even though I knew it was a piss-take.
Camp highlight of the night came when Justin went off stage during Love On
The Rocks With No Ice - only to return astride a wire-suspended stuffed
white tiger, which took him round out into the audience and back. Priceless.
I haven't been this mad about a band for years. Seeing them made me realise
that artistes who both sing and play live are criminally rare in these days
of karaoke Top of the Pops.
Powerful support came,
unusually, from two bands: Irish indie rockers Ash and feisty nine-piece Do
Me Bad Things.
The atmosphere all night was extraordinarily friendly, uniting vast age groups.
There was actually a real 'family show' air about it - despite the expletives.
I know I've gone on a bit here, overdone it a tad on the old hyperbole. But
hey, that's my style - and you want to try writing about The Darkness using
sober prose!
© Leigh Rowley, 2004