The Darkness
Brixton Academy
6th December 2003

Last night I attended the second of The Darkness' gigs at Brixton Academy. I must say this band, who has reputation for being great live, were a bit limp. Their sound was terrible, with Justin's vocals being drowned out by the rest of the band. They looked as if they were going through the motions and knackered. This might have something to do with their touring schedule, which looks rather exhausting. To add insult to injury, they played their Xmas single, 'Christmas Time (Don't Let The Bells End)', which was an appalling load of rubbish. They were backed by a score of children for the choruses. It's so bad that it may in fact kill their career stone dead or rather makes their sophmore effort even more important than it was before now. They played all their hits including 'A Thing called Love'; well, they played their entire CD. It does seem to this reviewer that The Darkness are not ready for the large venues like Brixton. It is a pity that the band did not play either one of the b-sides on their latest single, both of which are hard-rockers in the AC/DC mode. Most amusing thing of the night was the fact that their bassist, Frankie Poullin, had the whole Nikki Sixx thing going, right down to the same bass. Let's hope their management allows them some time to rest. As I said in my review of their CD, Permission to Land, it's all down to their next album. At this point, I have to say they are truly not ready for stadia just yet.

Rating: 3.5/5