The Darkness @ The Roundhouse UNSW

Posted on May 7, 2012 by L&G

Following my interview with Justin Hawkins last week, The Darkness played last night to a sell-out Roundhouse at the UNSW. The way it was meant to go, was I would take the photos, and Zilla would do the review. Being the greedy motherfucker I am, and due to the fact that this show was amazing, I have taken the liberty in doing both. Yeah, it’s selfish, but fuck it. Zilla can take the night off and be stoked.

Anyways, lets get into it: First up, this gig was absolutely amazing. It blows me away how Hawkins can still throw his voice around with such reckless abandon. It also seriously blows me away at how much he, and the rest of The Darkness can have the whole crowd in the palm of their hands. After interviewing him last week, I was wondering whether their live gig would live up to how crazy they used to be. By the signs of the hanging off every last word that Hawkins busted out, the crowd not only knew every word, but even tried the high notes with him. Yeah, that kind of got annoying, but hey, it was awesome to see such hardcore fans. You could see the band appreciated it too, but playing every single one of their hits from Permission to Land and One Way Ticket. Although like any band with a pending new album, having to drop one or two new songs from the album, Hawkins was extremely appreciative that the crowd was patient with them, and thanked the crowd by once again dropping bombs like “Get Your Hands Off My Woman”, “Love Is Only A Feeling” and “Growing On Me”.

I have had some really good gigs at the Roundhouse (did anyone go to Coheed and Cambria there?), but yesterday was a stern reminder that the venue is on a different level in terms of sound. Maybe it was the fact that they ran Gibson Les Paul’s with Marshalls, who knows? All I know is, that The Darkness simply sounded different. The Darkness now, are in that upper echelon of gigs I have seen in my life, which I thank them for. My only gripe, is that Hawkins should of had a couple more costume changes. Three in my opinion, is just not enough.