Music Existence Because of Music, We Exist
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the amazing debut album Permission to Land by by England’s finest glam rock icons The Darkness. There is no mistaking the sound of the guitar at the beginning of the smash hit “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” and lead singer Justin Hawkin’s incredible voice. Everyone knows where they were when the song first came out and heard it for the first time because there’s nothing quite like it.
On this particular night at The Wiltern in Los Angeles the band was celebrating the 20th anniversary release of their debut album on vinyl and cd that’s titled Permission to Land…Again and it offers a massive amount of b-sides, demos, live tracks and a live dvd with the cd version. The sold out crowd was ready to rock and dance on this Friday evening with the positive energy getting more and more intense throughout the night.
Missouri’s own country rock band The Comancheros opened the night and put on one hell of a show. As soon as the crowd heard them they started matching the high energy the band was performing with. Singer Tanner Jones made sure the audience was moving and grooving to the music while shredding on his guitar. Bassist Jon Green’s hair was flying everywhere and drummer R. Michael Cook was having a blast standing up behind his kit at times singing along with the songs. Their sound gives off a clean country vibe with a touch of rock ‘n’ roll that keeps you wanting more. They blasted through a set that included covers “Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers”, by ZZ Top, and “Cowboy Song”, by Thin Lizzy. Their original tracks “Time Machine”, “Shoot Me Down”, and “We Own The Night” sounded amazing including their latest single “The Day George Jones Died”. These guys were a blast to watch and definitely made an impression on everyone in the venue. Be sure to check them out when they come to a city near you!
The Darkness came out to the stage to thunderous applause and the excitement of their fans knowing that tonight was something special. They played the entirety of the Permission to Land album, not in order, and threw in b-sides with a few surprises. They opened with the opening song off the album “Black Shuck” and the crowd went nuts. Everyone was jumping up and down singing along which didn’t stop all night. “Get Your Hands off My Woman” started off with vocalist Justin Hawkins interacting with the crowd to see what they are made of. He had them repeat what he was doing and at first he wasn’t impressed. He mention that the first two shows in San Francisco and Sacramento were wild and he wanted LA to represent in the so called inner state rivalry. As soon as Justin felt that LA was giving their all the band started the song and LA showed how much they loved this band. “Growing on Me” followed and after that song is where mixing up the tracks from the album began. “The Best of Me” and “Makin’ Out”, which are both b-sides, were next and the crowd loved it.
The fun and exquisite track “Givin’ Up” started with guitarist Dan Hawkins strumming his six string and it seem that everyone pulled out their phone to record and sing along. Nothing but smiles and laughter from the crowd as the night continued and they went into “Love Is Only a Feeling” with drummer Rufus Tiger Taylor starting it off.
“Curse of the Tollund Man” was up next and almost the entire crowd didn’t recognize it but everyone definitely loved it. You could hear bassist Frankie Poullain’s heavy low end sound distinctly in the next track “Stuck in a Rut” while mayhem ensued and everyone trying to hit the high notes that came from Justin’s mouth. Before “Friday Night” started Justin sang bits of the song a cappella beautifully and had everyone standing starring with their mouths open in awe.
The end of the set was approaching and the sold out venue was electric. Justin started shredding on his guitar pumping out solo after solo when the band stopped and Justin started talking about how a certain song changed his life forever. He wanted the crowd to live in the moment and not use their phones at all during this song, but he did invite two gents up on stage to document the jingle with their phones. The song was dedicated to those two brave men, Doug and Tony, and “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” started and was the perfect ending to an amazing set. And so the end of an epic night was upon us….that is until The Darkness walked off stage and came back in pajamas to everyone’s surprise.
Another b-side “I Love You 5 Times” was played and each band member exchanged instruments and had a blast telling everyone in the building I love you multiple times. The night could only end in one glorious way and that with Justin playing his guitar and shredding throughout The Wiltern on the back of his guitar tech during “Love on the Rocks With No Ice”. Give it up for the unsung hero because the show couldn’t go on without him. Another amazing performance by a legendary band that has more dates for the 20th anniversary of Permission to Land coming out soon! Don’t miss out on these 20th anniversary shows because The Darkness won’t play a set like this again.
The Comancheros
Setlist:
Mississippi Kid
Long Haired Country Boy
Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers
We Own The Night
The Day George Jones Died
Cowboy Song
Drum/Gun?Chariot
Shoot Me Down
Bird/Time Machine
The Darkness
Black Shuck
Get Your Hands Off My Woman
Growing on Me
The Best of Me
Makin’ Out
Givin’ Up
Love Is Only a Feeling
Curse of the Tollund Man
Stuck in a Rut
How Dare You Call This Love?
Street Spirit
Holding My Own
Friday Night
I Believe in a Thing Called Love
I Love You 5 Times
Love on the Rocks With No Ice
