Sydney was treated to an electrifying night of riffs and laughs as Justin Hawkins and co ripped through a set that was all guns blazing mixed in with Hawkins classic wit and charm that is almost 50% the reason I love seeing this band every time they tour.
They had previously toured in celebration of the 20th anniversary of their debut album Permission To Land — so this time around the set was mixed up with a variety of newer songs with a heavy dose of the classics.
First up for the evening was Sydney outfit Rageflower who gave the early attendees a powerful performance that well and truly warmed up the evening. This was my first time seeing Rageflower and I was blown away by her presence on stage. Sporting the classic Cobain sunglasses, lead singer Madeleine Powers owned the stage with convictions as she launched into opener “Hands On.” The track had the perfect blend of melancholy and euphoria that I soon realised is part of her charm musically. The set feels anthemic and reflective with huge glittery guitars and supercharged drums. Amongst the singer songwriter variety I feel it can be a little oversaturated with pop influences so it’s refreshing to see an emerging artist really leaning into loud guitars to shape their sound. The closing song “Desk Job” felt like a sonic nervous breakdown as Powers dropped to her knees to scream with everything she had, backed by a wall of sound as she marched off the stage as the band played her out. Rageflower is well and truly on my radar now and I can’t wait to catch them again.
As the lights dropped and the pulsing sounds of ABBA’s Arrival blared from the speakers, I had a smile from ear to ear as The Darkness one by one made their way to the stage. As the final note rang out the band charged into their lead single from their latest album Dreams on Toast, “Rock and Roll Party Cowboy.” It has all the ingredients that made me fall in love with band all those years ago. It’s a singalong, with a classic riff driven chorus and driving solos. Drummer Rufus Taylor is an absolute joy to watch as he blasts through the set with precision and power. I cannot imagine another drummer that could have filled the shoes of original drummer Ed Graham. The band feels complete and they sound truly better than ever.
With only three songs into the set, lead singer Justin Hawkins couldn’t help himself and launched into the crowd as he sang along with a heaving crowd to “Get Your Hands Off My Woman.”
It’s remarkable how energised this band is after 20 plus years of touring. It feels like a band that has just hit the scene with something to prove and it’s a huge reason I will always make time to catch them when they’re in town.
I was absolutely over the moon to hear them launch into “Barbarian,” one of my all time favourite Darkness tracks that seems to also be a crowd favourite as they all cheered along to the chorus. With a blend of new and old tracks mixed in it was time for Rufus to hop out from the drums and for Dan Hawkins to take his place behind the kit as sang “My Only.”
After several drunken attempts to request a song from a screaming fan, which was met with a classic Hawkins quip that: “it’s hilarious you think we’re a request band.” The band finally buckled to his request to mix up the set with another fan favourite “Black Shuck” and thank god because it should be a staple in the set for eternity.
With a Jennifer Rush cover thrown into the mix (“Power of Love”) and the always infectious “Friday Night” it reached the time in the set for Justin to announce to the crowd that phones would be best left in their respective pockets as they closed out the set with “I Believe In A Thing Called Love.”
It doesn’t matter how many times I hear this song, it will always bring me back to when I heard it for the very first time. 3 guitar solos, the highest falsetto I’ve ever heard and a chorus that you can’t help but jump around to. It is the perfect song and the crowd will always adhere to its energy. The Darkness are a band that demonstrate that you don’t need backing tracks and clicks to make your set sound bold and energetic they’re 4 musicians who can outplay any band. Their technique and tone is what separates them from the average glam band that is smoke and mirrors 90% of the time.
With a moment of adult peek-a-boo the band returned to the stage with an encore of ‘I Hate Myself’ to wrap up another classic set. Was it the best I’ve ever seen them play? No. Was it one of the best sets I’ve seen this year so far? Absolutely. LONG LIVE THE DARKNESS.
GALLERY: The Darkness with Rageflower at Enmore Theatre in Sydney, NSW, Australia (February 27, 2026)
