Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Location: Faak Am See / Austria
Concert date: September 7, 2018
Attendance: 1000
Ticket price: €0.00
This year’s traditional Harley Davidson Biker’s Weekend brought a colorful lineup of performers, spread across the festival program over the course of the week, to the area near Villach in Austria, or more precisely to the shores of Lake Faaker See and the little village of Faak Am See. On Friday, 07.09.028, the main stage was taken by the infamous British glam and hard rock revivalists The Darkness, who earned worldwide fame with their very first album, »Permission to Land«, released way back in 2003. Last year the band put out their fifth studio album overall, »Pinewood Smile«. That still-hot album got a live document this year too, as the band recently released the live album »Live At Hammersmith« and extended their touring into the late summer of 2018, which is how we caught them at one of the biggest biker festivals in the world.
It’s always worth going there. The concerts are free, and every year at least one act shows up who’s written in bold letters on the world map of rock ‘n’ roll. This year that spot went to The Darkness, and we didn’t hesitate much about going. If you’re even a little bit of a rocker and a band like The Darkness plays almost on your doorstep, and for free on top of that, then skipping an event like that is a sin with absolutely no excuse.
The band hit the stage at half past ten in the evening. Other bands (Lucifer, etc.) warmed up the crowd before them, but without any virtues worth mentioning in terms of »general rock’n’roll aesthetics«, so we skipped them. As expected, The Darkness opened the show with the new song Solid Gold. They were well received. Around 1200 people greeted them in moody weather. It drizzled lightly during the show, too. The front rows were actually packed mostly with connoisseurs and fans of the band, so Justin Hawkins and co. weren’t facing the totally apathetic, mostly biker crowd we’ve seen at this festival in past years, when rock giants like Uriah Heep, 10CC, Alvin Lee and Asia, among others, played here.
The band delivered excellent sound. The setlist held a real little surprise, since the group leaned mostly on the debut album »Permission to Land«, from which they played a full nine songs. That’s actually half the whole set. Songs that are classics and favorites today: I Believe In A Thing Called Love, Friday Night (a great title for a Friday get-together with the band), Get Your Hands Off My Woman, Growing On Me, Black Shuck, Love Is Only A Feeling, Stuck In A Rut, Givin’ Up and, as an encore, Love on the Rocks With No Ice. What could be better? Add the obligatory One Way Ticket, the excellent Open Fire and the supernaturally fun The Barbarian (both from the album »Last Of Our Kind«), plus the extremely cheeky Every Inch Of You (from the album »Hot Cakes«, 2012), and the cup runneth over. And above it all, keeping the crowd hooked the whole time, was the phantom Justin Hawkins, with gigantic charisma and unsuspected performing talent, just annoying enough that he’s not annoying, if you get what I’m trying to say? Just sugary enough that he’s not saccharine, just over the top enough, never mind any stage excesses and possible tastelessness. Just snarky, rough around the edges, cocky and dandyish enough, and Justin crowns all of it with a brilliant sense of black humor that knows no end and has no equal. On top of that he has an outstanding voice that has kept its extreme range and power over the years. Sure, there’s some welcome help from the mixing desk here, but still. Justin has left the piano at home for years now; lately he focuses on playing guitar and soloing while singing, and in the soloing he even takes the initiative ahead of his brother Dan, which means Dan is effectively pushed into a supporting role here, even though he’s regarded as an excellent lead guitarist. The quartet’s lineup is rounded out by bassist Frankie Poullain and Rufus Tiger Taylor, the son of the notorious Roger Taylor (Queen).
The hour and three quarters of show passed in no time. Especially thanks to Justin Hawkins’ goofy bits. He was all over the stage. With his solo theater, the guy takes center stage even over the performance of the material itself. From the constant fun banter with the crowd in the style of: »We were up to play Born to be Wild, because we respect the listening habits of Harley Davidson community, but than we changed our minds and… to making fun of the water brand Römmerquelle, which he branded, among other things, with the label »It’s Austrian style«. Comments like these kept the energy up and the mood cheerful the whole time, despite the nasty weather. Justin also borrowed a biker jacket, put it on for three songs, then stuck three guitar picks in its pocket and gave it back to its owner, who had been waiting for it in the front rows in the meantime.
I’ll stop rambling. This was RockLine’s fourth »official« encounter with The Darkness on stage and the third for the author of these lines. Twice before he’d caught The Darkness in Vienna, and now a third time. Of the three encounters, this latest one at Faak Am See definitely takes first place. Packing that much fun into one place in an hour and three quarters of play loaded with true-blue rock energy takes most bands of this kind a proper PhD. But The Darkness handle this craft extremely skillfully and with feather-light ease. In theatrics they remain true masters, and alongside everything they are, they carry a mild element of »parody« that adds the dot on the »i« of an already outstanding amusement park, behind which stands the boundlessly lucid yet incredibly tight and in-sync character of this incredibly charismatic rock’n’roll band.
Setlist
1. Solid Gold
2. Growing on Me
3. Open Fire
4. Love Is Only a Feeling
5. Japanese Prisoner of Love
6. Black Shuck
7. Southern Trains
8. One Way Ticket
9. Barbarian
10. Friday Night
11. Every Inch of You
12. Buccaneers of Hispaniola
13. Stuck in a Rut
14. Givin’ Up
15. Get Your Hands Off My Woman
16. I Believe in a Thing Called Love
—encore—
17. Love on the Rocks With No Ice
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