By Monk and The Dark Queen
It’s very unusual for a band, especially one with a string of hit albums and singles under their belts, to undertake a stand-alone tour of somewhere like the island of Ireland. But that’s exactly what Lowestoft’s second biggest export have just done, finishing up a run of three dates which had seem them traverse the island from the southwest to the northeast, and in the process making up for not being able to visit this particular corner of the Überverse on the main run in support of last year’s ‘Motorheart’ album release.
It was perhaps no surprise, therefore, that tonight’s final show had the “sold out” signs up weeks in advance, so hungry are rock fans to witness the return of live music, and particularly touring acts, to these shores. And it was also great to see a healthy early turnout for support act, Oirish oiks The Love Buzz, about whom I’ll admit to knowing nothing before seeing their name on the poster…
Opening with the declaration of ‘Here Come The Scum’, the cheeky Cork trio immediately launch into a set of diverse anarcho-punk stylings, as exemplified by the fact that they immediately slow things right down with the innuendo-laden, ska-infused ‘Cut Your Grass’ before swerving off into the indie power pop groove of ‘Harp’ and then diving back into some more reggae-infused stomp and then into distinct Kaiser Chiefs territory. Their final song (sorry, I didn’t catch the title due to it sounding like the singer was mumbling into his mic) had a very Only Ones feel to it, which is never a bad thing to my ears.
It was a mix of styles that definitely suggests this is a young band still trying to find their permanent direction, but they nevertheless delivered a tight and efficient set, which showcased their enthusiasm for what they do and hopefully won them over some new fans: ÜRHQ certainly will be looking out for any new material they decide to fire our way in the future.
With the room slowly filling to capacity, the half-hour turnaround gives just enough time to queue for the bar and the bogs respectively before the skirl of the pipes fills this hallowed space and brings the spirit of Glasgae across the Irish Sea. As our headliners gift us a ‘One Way Ticket’ to rock ‘n’ roll heaven in front of a celebratory and cheering crowd, one thing is obvious: this is a much heavier version of The Darkness than we have witnessed in the past. But perhaps that is down to the sound mix, which is muddier than the River Lagan’s sleech beds. The bass is virtually indistinct, at least for the first half of the set, the guitars are almost indistinguishable, and it isn’t until Justin hits the top end of his range that you can actually hear him.
As the band duck and dive through a setlist that bookends their career to date, with seven songs from ‘Permission To Land’ and four from the aforementioned ‘Motorheart’, and Justin strips to the waist, the frontman puts on his trademark charismatic and energetic performance, as demonstrated when he hosts his own version of a live telethon by cajoling fans to donate money towards their guitar tech shaving off his beard. Justin being Justin, he actually manages to raise more than £80… but, as far as we could tell by the time we left, Ian’s beard was still intact! But this is the sort of insanity that characterizes a Darkness show: you really don’t know what Justin’s going to get up to next!
Of course, the capacity crowd are lapping up every second, and so they should, as this is a typically energetic and entertaining show, with the band delivering the goods on every level: hell, even the sound mix managed to keep up as the set roared into its second half, culminating in the usual riotous encore of ‘I Believe In A Thing Called Loved’ (surprisingly one of the very few big pops of the evening). Another entertaining set from one of the most entertaining bands on the ÜK circuit.
- PHOTO CREDIT: Photos © The Dark Queen/Über Rock. You can see our full gallery of photographs HERE.
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