The Darkness & Southern River Band @ The Enmore Theatre

GalleryReview

Oct 17

A sold out Enmore Theatre on a Sunday - I mean, it doesn’t get much better than that! The Darkness toured Australia in March 2020. Yeah, March 2020, when the old spicy cough kicked off and halted everything. They were three shows into their Australian run before it was binned, so there has been plenty of us hanging to catch the UK rock legends once again!

After the deluge this year has been, Sydney has finally seen some half decent weather and there was a vibe about Enmore. There were plenty of punters heading out for a feed & pounding drinks before joining the line around the corner for this sold out show. When I say sold out, I mean absolutely packed to the gills. I don’t recall ever seeing The Enmore so full. Merch was flying out, drinks were being pounded and everyone was just plain old happy, and how could you not be when walking into see The Darkness.

Kicking off the night was Southern River Band. Hailing from Thornlie, Western Australia… Yeah I have no idea either? Ripping through tracks off their 2019 record ‘Rumor & innunendo’ the boys had everyone well warmed up and kept those vibes alive with songs about crackheads & mates who’ve gone to prison. You know, good wholesome stuff like that, and with front man Cal Kramer’s charming personality, he had some good back and fourth with the crowd.

A quick drinks break and I made my way back down to the photo pit through the now jam packed theatre. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen so many smiling faces at a damn rock show. Maybe it’s all the doom show’s I normally frequent but it was simply infectious to be a part of the pre-show sing alongs with the house music.

Finally the lights dim and on waltz one of the most charismatic bands you’ll ever see. Front man Justin Hawkins takes his place front and centre in one of his trademark outfits, the place erupts and they kick into the title track from last years banger of a record Motorheart. With that setting of the tone, they pump out jam after jam with tracks ‘Friday night’, ‘It’s love, Jim’ & ‘One Way Ticket’ and every other favourite you could think of. With Southern River Band joining the boys for the classic ‘I Believe In A Thing Called Love’ no stone was left unturned with this setlist.

The almost two hour show could have gone on forever and not a single person would have cared. All hail The Darkness.

Southern River Band