At the end of 2023, we in Wolverhampton were treated to a phenomenal show by The Darkness celebrating the 20th anniversary of their groundbreaking album ‘Permission to Land’, and whilst the show had not sold out, that night proved that The Darkness are not fading away anytime soon. Now, 15 months later, the same venue has sold out tonight, this time in support of their latest release, Dreams on Toast.
The room quickly fills, many dressed as your typical rock fan, all in black, but many others dressed in attire very similar to how you would find singer Justin Hawkins on a usual show day, with spandex and frills galore. It seems everyone was eager to check out an act who to some may be a ‘blast from the past’ Ash. I was convinced I would only know ‘Burn Baby Burn’, however, I was surprised at how many songs I subconsciously remember hearing from back in the day such as ‘Shining Light’. A really nice and surprising nostalgia trip.
If you have been fortunate enough to have seen The Darkness over the last two decades, you will know their signature entrance of Abba’s ‘Arrival’ is goosebump-inducing, and with that, the band opened with ‘Rock and Roll Party Cowboy’, a new track from ‘Dreams on Toast’. From the get-go, this is indeed a rock and roll party, with high energy from both the band and the crowd.
Next up are fan favourites ‘Growing on Me’ and ‘Get Your Hands Off My Woman’, a real treat for ‘Permission to Land’ lovers. One thing I absolutely love about The Darkness is the sense of humour that comes as part of the package of their show. After performing ‘Motorheart’, Justin informed the crowd that for "five English pounds", attendees could purchase a lanyard with a QR code loaded with the latest album, a simple purchase that could overthrow the likes of rival charters Ariana Grande and Mumford and Sons off the top spots. The dig at Mumford and Sons continued through ‘Walking Through Fire’, as Justin commanded the crowd to march facing left and right during the chorus of the song (“pretend you’re stamping on Mumford and Sons’ heads”). You may have seen a crowd mosh, you may have seen a crowd sway, but have you ever seen a whole room of people at a concert march facing one way and then the other? Well, you have now, everyone obliged and it was a fantastic sight to see from our seat on the balcony.
After ‘Barbarian’, Justin’s guitar tech Justin Garrick joined in on the vocals for ‘The Battle for Gadget Land’ (he has “years of rapping experience”) before going into a personal favourite, ‘Love is Only A Feeling’, in which everyone's hands swayed in unison.
A great thing about this band is the way their crew are involved in the live show, whether that be for a cowbell segment, or to take over drums as their full-time drummer Rufus Taylor took front and centre stage to sing ‘My Only’ (I can only gather by the images on the screen that this song is about the love for his Boston Terrier).
Time for "that one song" ‘I Believe in A Thing Called Love’, which of course brought out the most energy from the crowd, who were made to keep their phones away for this song (I’d say 95% complied) but also promised to not laugh at ‘Softie’ who had agreed to learn the synthesiser part of the song to fill the gap that is normally there when this song is done live. “Softie nailed it!” Justin cheered at the end.
For the encore, we were treated to a calm moment for ‘Weekend In Rome’ before getting back into the chaos for ‘I Hate Myself’ and finally ‘Love On The Rocks’, with Justin doing his signature ride around the crowd on someone's shoulders. As I said earlier, this band have been going strong for two decades now, I’ve seen them multiple times and I don’t think it will ever get boring.
Dreams On Toast will be released on 28th March 2025
