The fun, energetic punk-infused rock n’ roll of Danko Jones opens up the night. Full of stage presence, with the band gleefully pointing at the crowd and enjoying their moment on such a huge stage, they show their sincere appreciation for being out on the tour tonight and for stopping off in Birmingham, with its rich history of rock music. Starting the set with the rock party of Saturday, the atmosphere Danko brings with him and his band is one of a Saturday night, rather than a cold Tuesday evening. They waste little time between songs, preferring to entertain with their music, rather than talk our ears off. Lovercall towards the end mixes the set up nicely with its spoken verses and stomping groove, before a triumphant rendition of My Little RnR rounds everything off. On musical terms, they are very much the perfect warmup for tonight’s co-headliners, and their upbeat sound is very much made for stadia, but tonight’s polite reception suggests they’ll stay as the warmup for shows of this size. Does it matter? Hell no! Their feel-good tunes and exuberance allow them to hold their own in the arena tonight. Danko has appeared with all sorts of artists over the years, such as Volbeat, Annihilator, John Garcia and Marty Friedman; he’s a rock god in his own right.
Danko Jones
A huge cheer washes over the crowd as the intro tape for The Darkness kicks in and the lights dim. A powerful Growing On Me, one of their biggest songs, opens their set and starts the first major singalong of the night. ‘Give me a D!’, shouts Justin. ‘Give me a ‘Arkness!’ Bursting into Black Shuck, they know what the crowd want in setting the tone for the set with two songs from the legendary Permission to Land – which over half of tonight’s songs draw from. It’s not fair to suggest it’s the only worthwhile Darkness listen – their 2012 comeback Hot Cakes has some seriously underrated bangers, Welcome to Glasgae from 2021’s Motorheart record has become a tourbus favourite in my own band, and One Way Ticket rouses a huge reception and crowd participation when they play it – but they are happy to recognise how massive their first is.
The Darkness are full of captivating stage presence – and a slight, lingering smell of burning with all the pyro. The focal point is doubtlessly Justin Hawkins, a frontman extraordinaire, complete in his performance with flashy guitar solos, crowd call and response, witty remarks between songs and his signature falsetto wails. There’s even a keytar solo for Solid Gold. He has the crowd virtually eating out of his hand for One Way Ticket and orchestrates a massive clapalong for Heart Explodes. He goes for a colourful peacock-like costume change for Givin’ Up, and shows off his acrobatic abilities on the drumkit over an electrifying Get Your Hands Off My Woman, the equivalent of an adrenaline shot into the collective here tonight. Justin’s false start for I Believe In A Thing Called Love, and a demand for concertgoers to put their phones away and enjoy the moment, proves that the stage is truly his over The Darkness’ seventy-odd minutes of performance.
The Darkness
The band faithfully rock out alongside the elder Hawkins brother. Frankie Poullain looks the part in his bright blue suit, and Dan Hawkins effortlessly exudes a sense of cool in leather, a black tee and jeans, busting out rock riff after riff. They’re razor-tight with the hard rockers, the lighters-in-the-air ballads and the much heavier Motorheart – showing off an understated versatility in their repertoire. They structure the song order nicely, with the softer, anthemic Love Is Only A Feeling going nicely before the more upbeat Japanese Prisoner of Love, allowing the atmosphere and energy to ebb and flow during their set. The mega-hit I Believe In A Thing Called Love draws to an end just before 9pm, but they have one more trick up their sleeve, closing the performance with an extended Love On The Rocks With No Ice. Justin shreds a lengthy guitar solo, partially behind his head, while a security guard walks through the audience with the frontman perched on his shoulders. It’s a great epitome of the performance tonight, with the crowd interaction, the musicianship and technicality, and most importantly, the sense of fun.
How on earth could Black Stone Cherry top such a spectacle? With the beers flowing healthily for a Tuesday night, the lights dim for the final time and Black Stone Cherry’s intro tape plays – with Sam Smith’s mega-single Unholy an interesting choice to open the show with – nonetheless, to a rapturous roar. With the suspense threatening to bubble over, they start their first with the curtain still up. It finally falls as Me And Mary Jane kicks in and the band run around energetically, bringing an incredible sense of rock n’ roll fun with them. The two guitarists trade bluesy lead licks while the rhythm section pump out thunderous groove after thunderous groove. They are razor sharp as a performing quartet; the vocals, backing as well as lead, are on point, and you’d barely guess that bassist Steve Jewell had only been in the fold for eighteen months. Black Stone Cherry are experts of the Southern rock riff, with bangers such as Burnin’ or Soulcreek oozing with awesome guitar parts, and a drum solo mid-Cheaper to Drink Alone – one-handed over a certain point – wowing the crowd with a rhythmic masterclass.
Black Stone Cherry
Compared to The Darkness, whose obvious focal point is their lead vocalist, Black Stone Cherry are more of a unit. And while you might argue that the Darkness are more multidimensional in musical terms, Black Stone Cherry are fairly unique in the way that the 90s grunge influences lurk within their vintage, bluesy rock sound. Wearing their Southern-fried, American musical identities on their sleeves, they have big hits through various stages in their career – the one-two of Soulcreek into Blind Man from their second record is an old-school fan’s dream, their blistering rendition of White Trash Millionaire takes me back to 2011 as a fledgling rocker when the single was on permanent rotation on Planet Rock Radio, and even new song Out of Pocket promises to be a new fan favourite, with shades even of Royal Blood.
Black Stone Cherry recognise the way that they’ve come through up ranks in Birmingham. Frontman Chris Robertson reminisces before a mid-set number about the way that BSC had ascended from playing pubs, to going up the three rooms in the O2 Academy, to co-headlining the Arena as they are today. Showing their appreciation for the crowd making them feel at home, though the shows are less intimate compared to fifteen years ago there is no less connection between band member and audience member, as Chris’ speech before the deeply personal Things My Father Said goes to show as much as the incredible singalongs to In My Blood, Blame It On The Boom Boom, White Trash Millionaire (etc, etc…) do from the opposite perspective. This is only my first time seeing Black Stone Cherry tonight (I know, shame on me) but given the anthems, the stage presence, the quality of performance and the numbers that they are playing to this evening, are we witnessing BSC at their performing peak? Old-school BSC hit Lonely Train closes the main set before they return for their encore with a cover of local legends ELO’s Don’t Bring Me Down, perhaps not what you may expect the night to end with, but the chance for one last singalong and The Cherry’s reception as heroes proves that it’s a solid choice all the same.
What a fantastic evening with two of modern rock’s biggest bands going.
All photos by Lisa Billingham – check out her full gallery at this link!
