The Darkness - Exeter Review

Attending two gigs in as many days has, thankfully, become something of the norm for me again this year. Following 18 months or so of significant disruption to live music, gigs have been back here in the UK since the summer - which has meant that I have been able to get back to my main hobby of travelling around the country and catching bands live. Multi-gig weekends or trips away are always a lot of fun (and tiring), but they always prove to be a great escape from the day-to-day work routine. These trips often turn out to be some of the best parts of each year; and a memorable one took place this past weekend. Following a stunning Mostly Autumn gig in Bilston, I headed back up to Exeter after a brief stop back at home in Plymouth to catch the British rock four-piece The Darkness. Despite still sometimes being subject to ridicule from those who do not know any better, The Darkness are one of the country's most established and successful modern hard rock acts. They have always managed to channel the spirit of classic rock better than most, and ever since their high-charting 2003 debut album Permission to Land made big waves when it was released the band have been taken to the heart of many a British rock fan. A hiatus between 2006 and 2011 allowed the band to work out the issues that arose from their almost-instantaneous rise to super-stardom, but since reuniting they have never looked back. They might not be filling arenas anymore, but The Darkness are still very popular. They tour the UK regularly, pulling big crowds wherever they go, and they have been rather prolific too - releasing five albums since getting back together. The latest of these, Motorheart, was released last month; which is also the subject of the band's current tour. It felt good to be heading to Exeter to see the band live again as, despite their numerous UK tours since, I had not been able to catch them since 2013. I saw the band on their 2011 reunion tour in Nottingham and then again two year later in Coventry, but ever since opportunities to do so have eluded me. Pretty much every one of their tours since has included at least a Bristol date, but they have always fallen on days which, for whatever reason, were not convenient. I knew that I had to make the effort this time, however, and with an Exeter date included fulfilling such a desire was easy. The venue was the Great Hall at the University of Exeter - a relatively underused space music-wise, but one that I have always enjoyed visiting. Plenty of others also felt the call of The Darkness on the cold Monday November night too, as when the band took to the stage a healthy crowd had gathered.

Before The Darkness' set, however, the growing crowd were treated to half an hour of high-energy music from Lancaster's Massive Wagons. I had seen the band a couple of times live previously, including at something of a mini festival in Cornwall earlier this year, and I have become a fan of the band of late. Massive Wagons' no-nonsense hard rock sound is refreshingly free of any pretence, and they are one of those bands who hit the stage every night with the intention of winning over everyone in the room. Despite a rather overly-loud and muddy sound, which meant that frontman Baz Mills was often lost in the mix, the band probably did just about win everyone over too thanks to their punchy attitude and hook-laden songs. There is often a bit of a punk vibe in the band's songs, but mostly Massive Wagons just play good old-fashioned hard rock - with Slade-esque riffing and Mills' larger-than-life stage presence. With only half an hour to play with, however, the band mostly just let the music do the talking. The anthemic In It Together and the acerbic China Plates kicked the set off in fine fashion, but it was perhaps the punk energy of Pressure that really took hold of the crowd. This was then capitalised on with a groovy rendition of the AC/DC-esque Bangin in Your Stereo, which included snippets of I Fought the Law and Surrender which allowed the uninitiated to briefly sing along with the band. This little medley definitely had the desired effect too, as the last few songs were received even better than the set's opening moments. Glorious saw Mills belting out the chorus with real power, but the overall highlight was the band's tribute to the late Rick Parfitt Back to the Stack - with its strong chorus and boogie-infused riffing. Massive Wagons are a band who are quietly getting more popular with each album and tour, and their honest, back-to-basics sound was a welcome addition to my evening out in Exeter. I am sure that I will catch the band again in the future, by which point I will probably be even more of a fan of them than I am now. The setlist was:

In It Together

China Plates

Pressure

Bangin in Your Stereo/I Fought the Law [The Crickets cover]/Surrender [Cheap Trick cover]

Ratio

Glorious

Back to the Stack

Half an hour after Massive Wagons' set, the lights went down and The Darkness took to the stage to a synthy backing; which then morphed into the bagpipe intro of Welcome Tae Glasgae - the opening track on their latest album. The song is a short, relatively punky track that is filled with the band's trademark humour, even through it will probably annoy a lot of Scottish people, and it went down well live with its shout-along chorus and fast-paced riffing. As much as the crowd enjoyed it, when Justin Hawkins (vocals/guitar) played the opening riff of One Way Ticket the venue erupted. Despite having released seven albums now, the band's most popular songs are still their earliest. They often include a lot of older songs in their setlists as a result, but the Exeter show contained a good balance of old favourites and newer numbers in my opinion - including five from the newly-released Motorheart. One Way Ticket was an early highlight however, thanks to its big chorus, and from this point on the crowd were really into everything the band were doing. The gig was one of the best for crowd reactions that I have been to for a while, with every song being received well by the fans - which helped the atmosphere throughout to be strong. Growing On Me proved this, with the old single going down a treat, but newer songs like Motorheart and the ballad Sticky Situations also impressed the crowd. The latter featured some nice slide playing from Justin, as well as some acoustic guitar from the band's guitar tech. Both techs added to the set periodically throughout, contributing acoustic guitar and percussion where appropriate - which was nice to see. It helped to add some diversity and depth to the set, which was quite lengthy due to most of the band's songs being quite short. A lot of songs were crammed in as a result, with riff after riff following in quick succession. The heavy riffing of It's Love, Jim was another highlight, but when Dan Hawkins (guitar/vocals) launched into the main riff of Black Shuck the place erupted again. It was one of the few songs which Justin performed largely guitar-less, but a tech was never far away with one when he needed to rip into one of his solos. Friday Night was later a great crowd interaction song, as was the power ballad Love Is Only a Feeling - throughout which bassist Frankie Poullain encouraged everyone to wave their arms. The band could do no wrong at this point, with the AC/DC-esque Solid Gold and the semi-epic Barbarian bringing the best out of the witty Justin and his fluid stage presence. The set was nearing its end at this point, but the energy was retained until the end with the fast-paced falsetto of Get Your Hands Off My Woman and the anthemic I Believe in a Thing Called Love. Both Justin and Dan soloed during the song - and it brought the set to a fun-filled close. Following a period off the stage, the band returned in festive costume to perform their much-loved Christmas single Christmas Time (Don't Let the Bells End). It was a song that got everyone involved with the band one last time, and it was certainly amusing watching Rufus Taylor (drums) trying to drum while wearing a full Christmas tree costume. The setlist was:

Welcome Tae Glasgae

One Way Ticket

Growing On Me

Motorheart

Open Fire

Sticky Situations

Givin' Up

It's Love, Jim

Black Shuck

Heart Explodes

Friday Night

Love Is Only a Feeling

Japanese Prisoner of Love

Solid Gold

Eastbound

Barbarian

Get Your Hands Off My Woman

I Believe in a Thing Called Love

-

Mistletoe and Wine [Cliff Richard cover]/Christmas Time (Don't Let the Bells End)

Seeing The Darkness live again after eight years was a real treat, and the band were even better live than I remember them being previously. The Darkness have clearly only improved with age, and it is a shame that I missed so many of their tours between 2013 and now. I have been to a lot of great gigs this year, but in the pure fun category The Darkness probably topped that particular chart. They put on a good, old-fashioned rock and roll show; and the setlist was packed full of great anthems that everyone in attendance enjoyed immensely.