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Rating: And finally it happened. My expectations and curiosity to see these 4 guys live were high. From everyone (with a few rare exceptions) I always had and read very positive reviews about the live performance of the Darkness, and I must say, all fully confirmed. Indeed, they went beyond my expectations!
But let's start from the beginning; I arrived late with my friends at the Mazda Palace, just under an hour before the show was to start and the venue was half empty. I must say I expected that, after the almost unnoticed release of the new album, the Darkness, no longer advertised, have less impact on the audience. But after their supporting band takes the stage, I soon stand corrected and the venue fills more than halfway. The DOOMFOXX play, a band I had never heard of before, very rock, with strong nods to melody and style reminiscent of Guns and Roses; the audience is much more civil compared to all the previous concerts I had ever attended: they respond to the classic hand-clapping, jumps, and various playful antics, often applauding and having fun. The environment that is created is immediately special, much more underground than the live shows of the "big" artists, as is natural, so there are no whistles or bottle throwing.
After a great performance by Doomfoxx, the lights come back on, and to my surprise, I notice that the venue is completely filled! But the most curious thing is the incredible variety of people and ages! From punk to metalheads, from trendy to tough, from kids to gentlemen, from thirty-year-olds to those in their fifties!!! All wearing t-shirts of AC/DC, Iron Maiden, Guns and Roses, Led Zeppelin, Queen, and of course Darkness. Honestly, something I didn't expect at all, surely all the over 40s (many of whom came in groups of 3-4), are nostalgic for a 70s rock almost entirely disappeared.
Suddenly the lights go out and the Darkness take the stage, under huge applause and cheers. It's useless to list and comment on every song. They start powerful and energetic and finish spectacularly. I had never attended a more rock concert than this one, a power combined with great skill, which are now a rarity these days. The four of them know how to be on stage, always smiling, ironic, cheerful, but above all, tremendously good. The Mazda Palace seems to explode, it's total chaos, an incredible atmosphere, kids, teens, adults, all jumping, screaming, singing at every song. On the floor in the first few meters in front of the stage, it seems not like a concert but a war. Girls in bikinis riding piggyback, people diving onto the crowd, people being carried over the crowd to the stage, half-naked guys, drunken people, two or three guys wearing fake blonde wigs (ahuahuahu), in short, pure and true spectacle!!!!!!!
An atmosphere to label as 100% ROCK AND ROLL. And then them... the Darkness... I DIDN'T HEAR A SINGLE OFF NOTE, NOT EVEN ONE. BASSIST, DRUMMER, AND GUITARIST, of incredible power and melody, and finally JUSTIN: he may be ugly, he may act like a fool, but he's an incredible frontman. He often interacts with the audience, bursts into an incredible voice, never drops, plays the guitar excellently himself (with very flashy TAPING) and is great on the keyboard, tremendously ironic and smiling. But all four are fantastic, they move, play with passion, coldness is not at home. It really is the hell of rock, you feel the heat of the guitars, the passion and power. And all this without a miserable set design, without a "decor", nothing. Honestly, I didn't care at all, the four of them delivered such a superb performance that I wouldn't have noticed anything else, after all, it's a rock concert...
Yet they didn't reserve in Italy the same nonsense and choreographic antics as the rest of Europe. Surely the Darkness did not have high expectations from us.. the album here didn't sell a damn thing, so they decided to lower the ticket price (for the record 25 euros), and maybe to do a date almost as a "stamp the card and goodbye".. yet... They felt a warmth from the Milanese audience that they surely didn't expect. On "give me up" you could see Justin's smiling and almost incredulous face the moment we sang the chorus at his invitation perfectly... it was the third song, there it was the ultimate spark that made them light up completely. Worthy of note is the snippet (almost a tribute and a bit banal) "we will rock you" by Queen, Justin's teasing as he plays the initial piece of "jump" by Van Halen on the keyboard presenting it as the new Darkness single, then stopping and laughing heartily after the whole audience had an orgasmic jolt.. and then to finish, two very pushed and tight AC/DC covers ("Highway To Hell" fabulous) sung by the BASSIST!!!!!!! What a damn voice he has too, very badass, bass in hand, and an "imitation" of the AC/DC singer almost a 10. There the audience was not in delirium, more !!! I swear, I have never seen such excitement from an audience... In short, everything perfect. ROCK&ROLL!!!!!!!
P.s. I am 100% sure that no group currently in the circuit can deliver a rock show of this kind, so charged, played perfectly, without self-pity. Miss an AC/DC concert? Forget the cover bands... After all, the Darkness are just that... no more no less.
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