Fremantle loves The Darkness and The Darkness loves Fremantle and over the years we’ve had a pretty good thing going on. Tonight’s first night of The Darkness’ ‘Easter is Cancelled’ Australian Tour is no different with the faithful turning out in droves to sample one of the UK’s most entertaining rock acts in many a long year. The fact that their latest offering is all killer, no filler seems to have fueled the anticipation.
Captain Hawkins and the boys are of course in inimitable form from the off and open with ‘Rock and Roll Deserves to Die’ from the latest album . Its one of those tours where the band is backing themselves to the hilt not by playing the classics but by reeling off all of the tracks on ‘Easter is Cancelled’ in album order to kickoff the show.
For a band with such a great catalogue of albums playing the new one in it’s entirety is a bold move, I mean let’s face it some bands at points will trot out their classic albums on certain anniversaries but few are prepared to attempt to caress an audience with all of their bright and shiny new stuff in a single serve. Does it work? Well in all honesty I’d have to say yes it does for me, though there are a fair few in the crowd who seem to only stir when the singles appear – like that stomping opener or ‘Heart Explodes’ which is pure magic or the titular merriment of ‘Easter Is Cancelled’ itself. Well at least we got a month’s warning about that…
The second set sees the already aroused audience perk up further as the power chords for ‘One Way Ticket’ reverberate around the room. Its like having a third espresso before elevenses or judging by some of the crowd a tenth beer before ten. It’s all good though, strangers are hugging and a few are attempting to (i think) dance with varying degrees of success.
With a set that includes ‘Solid Gold’ and ‘Japanese Prisoner of Love’ from 2017’s Pinewood Smile and ‘Barbarian’ from 2015’s ‘Last of Our Kind’ there’s precious little room in the set for ‘older’ material, and only ‘Growing on Me’, ‘Love Is Only a Feeling’, ‘Givin’ Up’ and ‘Get Your Hands Off My Woman’ come from that wonderful debut before the encore. You’re pretty stuffed if you’re a fan of ‘One Way Ticket’ or ‘Hot Cakes’ as you get a solitary song from each including the charmless Radiohead cover I always pray they’ll cut from the set one day ‘Street Spirit (Fade Out)’. There you go, that is literally my only complaint and I had to squeeze that one out!
With so many songs we still wanted to hear at the end of the set only possible solution next time for these denizens of the mysterious English Fens is to play two shows next time. It is after all just two years till the 20th Anniversary of that first foray – ‘Permission to Land’.
As entertainment goes tonight was ‘solid gold’… I’d wager if you miss this you will miss the best show of the decade so far… and they just got in before the coronavirus throws live music into turmoil…
SET ONE – EASTER IS CANCELLED
Rock and Roll Deserves to Die | How Can I Lose Your Love | Live ‘Til I Die | Heart Explodes | Deck Chair | Easter Is Cancelled | Heavy Metal Lover | In Another Life | Choke on It | We Are the Guitar Men
SET TWO – THE HITS
One Way Ticket | Barbarian | Growing on Me | Japanese Prisoner of Love | Love Is Only a Feeling| Solid Gold | Givin’ Up | Street Spirit (Fade Out) | Get Your Hands Off My Woman
ENCORES
Black Shuck | I Believe in a Thing Called Love
PHOTO GALLERY
‘EASTER IS CANCELLED’ AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND TOUR 2020
WED 11 MARCH – METROPOLIS, FREMANTLE
FRI 13 MARCH – ENMORE THEATRE, SYDNEY
SAT 14 MARCH – FORUM, MELBOURNE
SUN 15 MARCH – THE GOV, ADELAIDE
WED 18 MARCH – THE TIVOLI, BRISBANE
FRI 20 MARCH – POWERSTATION, AUCKLAND
TICKETS – https://sbmpresents.com/tour/thedarkness
