Word and Live Photos: DJ
Myglobalmind and Screaming Digital Productions
The older I get, the more I’m amazed by how long we’ve been covering rock and metal acts in this business. The Darkness, the cheeky British rock/glam powerhouse, has been electrifying the scene since the early 2000s with their massive breakthrough album “Permission to Land”. Now admittedly, on this side of the pond, I haven’t kept as close tabs on their discography as our European staff have, but despite whatever opinions you might have about album rankings, there’s one thing that cannot be denied: Justin Hawkins and the guys always deliver a highly entertaining show.
This marked my first time covering them live—never had the chance to catch them in our local haunts until their Dreams on Toast tour blazed through some southern US states, landing here in Huntsville, AL at Mars Music Hall. For a Wednesday night, the crowd was respectable, though I’ll be honest with you—as I’ve said many times before, I can’t for the life of me understand why rock acts don’t draw the same crowds that cross-genre and country artists do here in the South. Yes, I get the demographics, I understand the history, but in terms of pure musical craftsmanship and bands that know how to deliver transcendent live experiences, these guys exemplify exactly what rock and roll should feel like.
Bottom line: if you showed up Wednesday night, you witnessed something special. If you missed it? Well, who knows when they’ll venture down here again. You snooze, you lose.
The evening kicked off with Mark Daly, an Irish singer bringing along two seasoned pros you might recognize from Geoff Tate’s (former Queensrÿche) solo touring band: guitarist James Brown and bassist Jack Ross. Both are incredibly talented musicians—let’s face it, if you can shred through the Mindcrime classics, you can probably tackle anything. While I wasn’t familiar with Daly’s catalog beforehand, what I heard online was solid, and his powerful voice definitely delivered live. Their set was a compelling mix of hard rock and modern edge with heavy undertones—the perfect warm-up that had me mentally noting to catch them again.
After a strategic half-hour intermission, The Darkness emerged fully locked and loaded. Justin strutted out in those signature glittering shoes, and after some playful crowd banter, they launched into crowd favorites like “Rock and Roll Party Cowboy” and “Growing on Me”. Between Hawkins’ magnetic crowd engagement, his infectious electric energy, and the audience buzzing with excitement, the atmosphere was absolutely golden.
Personal highlights included the thunderous “Barbarian” and the absolutely stunning “Walking Through Fire”. When all was said and done, the crowd got their fix of “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” and “I Hate Myself”—and everyone who committed to this midweek downtown rock adventure left with genuine smiles plastered across their faces.
Look, everybody in the rock business knows touring the USA is brutally challenging. Between shifting demographics and mainstream media dominated by entirely different sounds, it’s twice as hard for overseas bands to tour here successfully and even break even. My advice? When you see acts like this—bands with proven track records who don’t regularly grace American stages—go to the shows. Buy the merch. Tell your friends about these artists, because they might not be familiar with the music or the legacy.
Bands like The Darkness offer something increasingly rare: a varied musical catalog paired with the knowledge of how to deliver authentic rock performances without gimmicks or manufactured drama. This is a band that’s truly in a class of their own and shouldn’t be missed when they roll through your town. That authenticity goes a long way in today’s often polluted and unoriginal music landscape.
Sometimes the best nights happen on random Wednesdays, when triumphant collections of rock brilliance remind you why live music matters. Don’t let them pass you by.
About Author
