The Darkness

Originally posted by GlitterLoveBug:
Has anyone heard any recent news on what is going on with the Darkness??

i know the first show of the u.s. tour in milwaukee was sold out.

Frickin' unbelievable. How is this band so big?

hype hype hype and it appeals to a fairly wide age of fans and those who just want to go out and have fun at a show. it's going to sellout the 9:30 club sooner rather than later.

Originally posted by Bags:
Frickin' unbelievable. How is this band so big?

because they're JAWESOME, bags! i don't know, i'm kind of glad there's a band like the darkness out there to make us laugh and rock out at the same time. i think they're hilarious. plus, i think everyone wants to see justin hawkins kick it in his white jumpsuit. i know i sure do.

Spin had a chastening article about how Americans can't handle a band that is both humourous and musically talented. All right, I'm not a huge fan of Spin, but they make a good point:

http://www.spin.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=260&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0

So instead of defending The Darkness myself, I just direct everybody to this link. Good times.

Originally posted by uqe:
Spin had a chastening article about how Americans can't handle a band that is both humourous and musically talented. All right, I'm not a huge fan of Spin, but they make a good point:

But according to the Darkness, they are not supposed to be humorous. The Datsuns did for me what the Darkness appear to do for other folks, but the music is better….Just me. It's just always so interesting what bands get big and which don't….

I never thought of The Darkness as being humorous because they were supposed to be but humorous because they are so bad.

You won't find me at their show. I'll stay home with Guiny. :D (Probably just got him in trouble at work again. :p )

What i wrote on amazon.com about The Darkness is the best i've been able to explain it so far in what is apparently going to be one of those "either love 'em or hate 'em" situations….

Alright, I've finally had it with the misinformed reviewers harping on how The Darkness are a parody of 80's hair/glam metal. I am happy to see that most of these comments are just efforts on the part of these reviewers to convince the haters to quit being so serious and just enjoy the music. However, in just about every interview the band has done they have stressed the fact they they are a REAL BAND, and to be taken seriously. They aren't out to have a huge joke on everyone. If anything, their aim is to bring back the fun in rock music. One of the band members remarked something to the extent of "these days it's just about rock, and we're missing out on the roll, we [the band] are out to bring back good old Rock and Roll." Note that this isn't an exact quote and I forget where I saw it or I'd be citing my source. These guys are serious about making some really fun, sometimes downright hilarious, kick butt rock and roll. Music is supposed to be uplifting! The Darkness are here to save us all from an overdose of depressing rock. Enough of downer-metal such as Staind, enough of whiney emo acts…rejoice in rocking out! Pump your fist, raise your lighters, and get lost in this music.

To answer the earlier post about their humour, YES they are supposed to be funny. NO, they are not a joke band. That's just it, being able to look at serious situations in a less serious light. I agree w/ most of that Spin article, Americans take themselves way too seriously, and they don't even know it.

Btw, i'm a fan of both Datsuns and Darkness, but have decided you can't compare the two, Darkness have decided to take a poppier slicker sound, whereas the Datsuns give us a grittier more Stooges meets AC/DC meets MC5 sound. To each their own.

but how does the songwriting standup? image and musicianship aside are the songs any good… is the band equivalent to poprocks… at least sweet and bon jovi had some really catchy well written songs to go along with the image.

The songwriting is really good, but in a simpler, straight ahead rock kind of way. The grand majority of the disc is riff-rock of the kind you'd expect from AC/DC, if you like them, you'll def. appreciate the nice crunch the Darkeness' sound has. There is very little in the way of atmosphere, as per "Dead or Alive" by Bon Jovi. They certainly rock out more than said 80's hair band though. The guitar solo's here are extremely plentiful and certainly showcase some good talent by both Justin Hawkins and his brother Dan. The Darkness thankfully switch the tempo, feel, and lyrical content w/ almost every song. The album runs the gamut from sappy love ballad, to tongue in cheek irony, to straight up rock for rocks sake. Lastly, almost every one of their songs is extremely sing-along-able. And air-guitar-able! They're catchy crunching rock songs w/ waaaay more variety than say, the Hives album, and a few old school power ballads thrown in for good measure.

The Spin article is interesting. Not sure I buy it, but it posits some arguments worth thinking about. I haven't heard the whole Darkness album, so I should probably pipe down. Though, based on activity on the board, they are getting some buzz U.S. side as well….

So did anyone who wanted tix ever get theirs?

i went online everyday for the past two weeks,and today my husband and i were onthe phone at 9.59am.the tickets sold out in 34sec.you know who got tickets,people who want $175.00 for a$15.00 ticket.iam so pissed off.

I got on tickets.com with no problem and picked up 3 tickets. My wife went to Olson's in Dupont when they opened at 10 and they were already sold out! Damn that was quick! Glad I was able to get through….

I guess I was a lucky one. Didn't know they were on sale today, hadn't been checking, happened to be on the page and saw them on sale, bought 'em at 10:10 or so. Have no idea how that happened.

The Darkness should have bypassed the 9:30 club and played two nights at Jaxx….. It would make the whole thing feel a lot more "authentic"!

great, another trendy band for everyone to hope on the bandwagon..

dont worry, after the hype train leaves the station they will be at JAXX anyway

they are the flavor of the month right now; however, i bet they put on a hell of a live show. so, I have my ticket and iâ??m jumping on the train.

I'm not sure if "trendy" is exactly the right word for them. Maybe it's trendy to like them, but I don't get the impression they're a trendy band persay. It's not as if they woke up one morning and said, "Hey, eighties glam rock…better get on that bandwagon right quick!"

I cannot believe how quickly the tickets sold out. *boo hoo* I was all excited to go to a show with confetti streaming down and real, gen-yoo-in spandex.

well, the darkness goes gold:

Gold Disc Suggests U.S. Believes in the Darkness
1 hour, 4 minutes ago Add Entertainment - Reuters to My Yahoo!

LONDON (Reuters) - Flamboyant British metal band the Darkness moved closer to realizing the holy grail of British rock – "cracking America" – when their debut album went gold in the United States.

The glam rockers, whose camp lead singer Justin Hawkins has been compared to Freddie Mercury (news) and Aerosmith (news - web sites)'s Steve Tyler, have sold more than 500,000 copies of "Permission to Land" in the United States, a spokesman said on Friday.

The Darkness's album, which has sold 1.3 million copies in Britain, is now 36 in the U.S. Billboard chart, and most of the group's upcoming 18-date U.S. tour had sold out, the spokesman added.

Earlier this month, the band's dedication to previously unfashionable relics of rock history, such as big hair, wailing guitar solos and novelty Christmas records, was rewarded with three Brit awards.

But as Robbie Williams (news), Oasis and others have shown, much-lauded British acts often struggle to translate domestic acclaim into success in the United States.