Black Stone Cherry, The Darkness & Danko Jones, Cardiff International Arena, Cardiff, 28.01.23
Who the fuck are Danko Jones? Not my words, the legend emblazoned on the T-shirt's of Canadian opening act Danko Jones (7), named after their erstwhile frontman/guitarist who was flanked by long-term drummer and bassist, they know how to write a song, unfortunately they know how to write a song, however it is just the one song, the similarity in the riffs, vocals and lyrics, quite obvious as things worse on. It's simple but effective as they quickly win over the crowd ready for the co-headliners.
There are rockstar frontmen and then there's Justin Hawkins, the falsetto vocaled, solo playing, head standing, split jumping, jumpsuit sporting frontman of The Darkness (9) has more energy than the Duracell bunny, more sex appeal than a Tom Jones' chest hair and a voice that never seems to falter year after year. He's every inch a rock n roll frontman, playing less guitar (except for his solo spots) and prowling the stage like a Big Cat in his territory. Thankfully the musical heart of the band his brother Dan on guitar and Frankie Poullain on bass keep the songs rolling with riffs galore, aided and abetted by overall clad road crewman Softy (The Fifth Beatle) as Rufus Tiger Taylor hunkers down behind his kit steamrolling through the opening duo of Growing On Me and Black Shuck, anchoring the rest of the set as they up the speed on the thrashy Motorheart.
There are rockstar frontmen and then there's Justin Hawkins, the falsetto vocaled, solo playing, head standing, split jumping, jumpsuit sporting frontman of The Darkness (9) has more energy than the Duracell bunny, more sex appeal than a Tom Jones' chest hair and a voice that never seems to falter year after year. He's every inch a rock n roll frontman, playing less guitar (except for his solo spots) and prowling the stage like a Big Cat in his territory. Thankfully the musical heart of the band his brother Dan on guitar and Frankie Poullain on bass keep the songs rolling with riffs galore, aided and abetted by overall clad road crewman Softy (The Fifth Beatle) as Rufus Tiger Taylor hunkers down behind his kit steamrolling through the opening duo of Growing On Me and Black Shuck, anchoring the rest of the set as they up the speed on the thrashy Motorheart.
What followed was an absolute masterclass in how to pace a rock show when so many think you have just the one album (which of course is totally wrong), with the classics from Permission To Land including course the evergreen closing duo of I Believe In A Thing Called Love and Love On The Rocks, making up the bulk of the set, The Darkness inject some modernity with recent offerings including Japanese Prisoner Of Love, Solid Gold and the monstrous Barbarian, pleasing pretty much everyone. Justin Hawkins directing the crowd in call and response, cracking wise about Radio 1 and generally being brilliant coupled with their ability to play every show like they're headlining Wembley Arena (I've not seen that much pyro in the CIA for long time), the packed house bounced along to every word partying like it was 2003!
A hell of a challenge was set down for their American brethren however Steelhouse Festival 2023 headliners Black Stone Cherry (9) are such as slick, well oiled machine (and have been since they first burst onto the scene) that it was almost impossible for them not to be able to follow the East Anglian excitement. With less showmanship than The Darkness but a bit more downhome Southern grit most of the movement was done by guitarist Ben Wells and new(ish) bassist Steve Jewell, who seemed to be in constant motion, switching sides frequently and climbing up on the drummer John-Fred Young, as were the drum techs due to the fact that he smashed his kit to pieces more than once, especially on his drum solo in the middle of Cheaper To Drink Alone.
A hell of a challenge was set down for their American brethren however Steelhouse Festival 2023 headliners Black Stone Cherry (9) are such as slick, well oiled machine (and have been since they first burst onto the scene) that it was almost impossible for them not to be able to follow the East Anglian excitement. With less showmanship than The Darkness but a bit more downhome Southern grit most of the movement was done by guitarist Ben Wells and new(ish) bassist Steve Jewell, who seemed to be in constant motion, switching sides frequently and climbing up on the drummer John-Fred Young, as were the drum techs due to the fact that he smashed his kit to pieces more than once, especially on his drum solo in the middle of Cheaper To Drink Alone.
The heart of BSC though has always been Chris Robertson his lead guitars and soulful Southern holler the key parts of what they do as a band. Kicking off with Me And Mary Jane before diving headlong into Change and Blind Man it was muscular start before they started to glad the crowd into getting louder, as Wells said later they specifically asked Cardiff/Wales to be the first show so they could compare all the others against it. Thankfully the Welsh amassed choir didn't disappoint on the sing along moments such as In My Blood and Things My Father Said, Robertson's vocals sending a shiver down the spine on both these. But BSC have always been about hooks, choruses and riffs and on Cardiff we get plenty of those, new song Out Of Pocket the riffs, while White Trash Millionaire/Blame It On The Boom Boom will stay in your head for days afterwards (even my wife was singing it on the way out...as nauseam).
Consistency is the name of the game here, with both The Darkness and Black Stone Cherry having that above everything else. Having a solid opener, this was two bands on stunning form with a glut of classic anthems, get your ass to this tour.
Consistency is the name of the game here, with both The Darkness and Black Stone Cherry having that above everything else. Having a solid opener, this was two bands on stunning form with a glut of classic anthems, get your ass to this tour.