The epicness that is the Darkness rode into town on Saturday and brought their A-game to the Regency Ballroom for a crowd of screaming fans that had been impatiently waiting for the return of this British hard rock hair metal band.
The band that had at one time disbanded for five years while at the pinnacle of their success, were in fine form and performed flawlessly a multitude of songs from their impressive discography. And they weren’t afraid to admit it. “We’re gonna play three songs from the first album and you’re gonna say to yourself: Dammit, they sound exactly the same as they did back 2003,” said their singer Justin Hawkins in good humor early on in the show.
That moment really exemplified the comedic nature of this band that although is excellent, also doesn’t take themselves too seriously. They’ve perfected the look, moves, and music of other 80s hard rock metal bands but present it in a sort of tongue and cheek entertaining way, which I think is one of the reasons why their fans have been loyal to them for all these years. Sort of a Steel Panther Lite version of you will.
The show was fun, the crowd was impressive (especially for a rock show in San Francisco). it’s good to see these guys are carrying the torch for a genre of music that’s still so much fun to listen to.
Check out our interview with bassist Frankie Poullain HERE.
Photos by Louis Raphael
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