ON what may become known as Ophelia Eve, a storm
of a different kind arrived in Belfast’s Limelight and played like it was their
last night on Earth.
The night began with Cork three piece
‘Mindriot’. The room was already full when they kicked things off. The lads
even managed to get the punters chanting along. They made the most of their
little sliver of stage and warmed the crowd up considerably for the impending
storm, even if lead vocalist Tony’s banter between songs was difficult to
comprehend; a combination of a heavy bass and an even heavier accent!
After a small break, The Darkness walked on
stage after a oddly suitable Scottish themed intro. Lead singer Justin Hawkins
looked like a prize fighter in his signature green cape, ready to do battle
with the audience.
Opening with the fast paced ‘Open Fire’ it was
easy to see who would win this fight. They had already landed a knockout. The
opening salvo wasn’t without a few little wrinkles however. From the floor it
was hard to hear the vocals. Justin could be seen trying to indicate to the
sound desk that he couldn’t hear himself. This did little to dampen the already
electric evening in the Ormeau Road venue however as the band quickly followed
up with the classic ‘Love Is Only A Feeling’. They had the Limelight on the
ropes, their hands swaying in ecstatic submission.
The band’s overt dig at the train network
‘Southern Trains’ marked the removal of the cape, revealing Justin’s trademark
green catsuit. Was the green for Ireland perhaps? The sound problems persisted
for Justin through the next song ‘Black Shuck’ but at this point it seemed to
have been sorted out for the audience.
‘Buccaneers of Hispaniola’, another song off
their new album ‘Pinewood Smile’, saw the band demonstrate a new, heavier
sound. Drummer Rufus Tiger Taylor, son of Queen legend Roger Taylor, has
brought a new flavour to the band. His flamboyant drumming style is pushed to
the fore on their latest album and was in full flow during their live set. He
is a perfect fit for the band who have admitted that they didn’t quite click
with their previous drummer, Emily Dolan Davies.
At this point the party was in full swing with a
member of the audience offering Justin her bra during ‘All The Pretty Girls’
which he happily wore on his back and found it’s way into Justin’s crotch for
the next song ‘Barbarian’. Whether she decides to wash it or not is anyone’s
guess!
In between songs Justin was determined to get
the crowd singing along to a mysterious song with ‘Belfast! Belfast!’ as part
of the lyrics. It was only later when Justin asked someone to look the song up
on Spotify that it was revealed to be a Boney M song. A strange choice but one
that Justin seemed to champion.
Proceedings slowed down as Justin sang the first
cover of the night ‘I Should Have Known Better’ by Jim Diamond. A very left
field choice for cover but it really worked, with the eager Limelight faithful
chanting along to the song’s famously catchy chorus. This was quickly followed
up by the wonderfully tongue in cheek tune ‘Why Don’t The Beautiful Cry?’ with
Justin on an almost inaudible piano.
After confessing to a bum note (no one noticed)
during ‘Dancing On A Friday Night’ Justin revealed that his ear had just popped
and he could hear everything perfectly; he put the earlier audio issues down to
an afternoon Apple crumble followed by a snooze.
The Darkness continued a triumphant night with a
string of knockout hits including
‘Happiness’, ‘Every Inch Of You’ and the crowd sing-along favorite so
far ‘Solid Gold’. After pulling off an impressive hand-stand and crowd swimming
during ‘Get Your Hands Off My Woman’, they brought the evening to the first
encore with ‘Growing On Me’ which could barely be heard over the Limelight crowd
who sang as one heaving mass.
After a brief encore, The Darkness closed the
night with the incredibly heavy ‘Japanese Prisoner Of Love’ and, in a surprise
to no one, finished with ‘I Believe In A Thing Called Love’, with every member
of the audience singing every word.
At the start of the night Justin had challenged
the audience to be better than Dublin where they had played the night before.
There was no doubt on anyone’s mind, much less the band’s, that Dublin was
relegated to second place. To save hurricane Ophelia the trouble, The Darkness
tore the roof off the Limelight.
Review by Laurence Doherty
Pictures by Darren McVeigh
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