When this joint headline arena tour was announced, my first thoughts were that Black Stone Cherry and The Darkness were not natural bedfellows- the earnest blue collar southern rockers from Kentucky and the eccentric English band from East Anglia who had too much too soon.

However commercial sense pointed to pooling resources – for The Darkness, after some critically acclaimed theatre shows and stadium appearances, to at last return to the arenas they graced on the original brief flurry of Darkness mania. And for Black Stone Cherry, to keep their status as an arena filling band after their impressive popularity on these shores, and indeed their creative peak, had arguably reached its plateau.

They were both living proof that classic guitar based hard rock is not just a musical form of the past. The Darkness’ chequered career has seen them nominated as the first band in the GRTR! Grotto of Greatness to celebrate bands active during our website’s 20 years of existence, during which Black Stone Cherry’s progression from young hopefuls to arena headliners on the back of hard work and humility over the past 16 years is an underrated success story.

There was a third band in the mix with Canadians Danko Jones (both band and eponymous lead singer and guitarist). While the format of a power trio playing balls out rock n roll can be limiting, I enjoyed them more than I expected to. Indeed a couple of songs, ‘I’m In A Band’ and ‘First Date’ had catchy choruses with a hint of Kiss or even (in Danko’s vocal delivery) Thin Lizzy while others sounded a little punky the offspring esque ‘Had Enough’ being a case in point. Even if in a half hour slot Danko probably talked too much, it was an enjoyable straight down the line set.

A bagpipe type intro heralded The Darkness, giving way to a spectacular arrival among the pyro that led to a fire evacuation earlier on the tour in Liverpool. They opened with one of their vintage anthems in ‘Growing On Me’, before Justin Hawkins, now shorter haired and sporting a relatively conservative Queen ‘Hot Space’ t-shirt, delivered his welcome old chestnut ‘gimme a d, gimme an ‘arkness’ prior to brother Dan riffing through ‘Black Shuck’. It was followed by the title track of last album ‘Motorheart’, not up to the quality of early stuff songwise but with unexpectedly heavy musicianship including a riff that owed much to Queen’s ‘Stone Cold Crazy’.

Beginning with bassist Frankie Poullain banging a cowbell, sporting an electric blue suit and an arch look on his face, their homage to the perils of showbiz sherbet ‘One Way Ticket’ was much of a rip snorter as ever, before on the celtic themed ‘Heart Explodes’ Justin’s falsetto was fully deployed as he conducted some audience swaying, almost as a warm up for the forest of hands that accompanied ‘Love Is Only A Feeling’ a couple of songs later.

He is still delightfully individual, describing their debut as ‘twenty years ago this financial quarter’ and throwing his boots and socks into the crowd, later doing a handstand in front of the drum riser. But he is also a very underrated lead guitarist, taking the majority of the more intricate solos, which has been brought out as the band have become somewhat heavier over the years. During ‘Solid Gold’, another of those songs boasting Dan’s strong AC/DC- esque riffing he took hold of a keytar and even played the keyboard riff to ‘Jump’ at the end.

After ‘Japanese Prisoner of Love’ – a rather disjointed song despite some nice twin leads – Justin donned a slashed to the navel red catsuit and from now in it was all ‘Permission To Land’ favourites, to the audience’s delight beginning with ‘Giving Up’; then, preceded by an anecdote how the copious swearing almost but not quite precluded BBC airplay, ‘Get Your Hands Off My Woman’ with some call and response with the offensive ‘mother’ word sung out Mercury style.

The frontman then asked everyone to put phones away and live in the moment (though a few idiots could not still resist) for ‘I Believe In A Thing Called Love’, and there was a great atmosphere with people bouncing and even those in the seats largely to their feet (for pretty much the only time in the night).

It seemed scarcely conceivable a headline set was already over but fortunately there was still time for ‘Love On The Rocks With No Ice’, extended as Justin and guitar went deep into the crowd on a roadie’s shoulders and a lengthy climax as he played guitar behind his back and the set ended with more pyro. Consensus around me seemed to be that Black Stone Cherry would struggle to follow The Darkness’ spectacular demonstration of showmanship. The band are tighter heavier and dare I say more professional these days, but also an act that would thrive on the larger stages which they have not had the popularity to fill again. This was exactly the right staging post to recapturing those days.

It left Black Stone Cherry with a challenge that wisely they decided not to match but instead stick to what they do well. With this at least their fourth headline at Wembley and boasting more fans, by my straw poll of t shirts, they were on safe ground. The stage show was less spectacular but an uncluttered, steel and chrome stage with a walkway up to the drum riser provided plenty of opportunity for hyperactive second guitarist Ben Wells and bassist Steve Jewell to swap positions as they ran from one end of the stage to the other.

On what seems to have become their traditional opener ‘Me And Mary Jane’ my first impression was how a lot of the clutter had been stripped from the thick sludgy sound of the original, and it was now leaner meaner and more contemporary sounding, taking a leaf out of Shinedown’s books. It was followed by a couple of more melodic efforts from the last pair of albums in ‘Burning’ with its ZZ Top- like chug and ‘Again’.

Frontman Chris Robertson has documented his mental health struggles in the past but appeared in relaxed mood here, even to the extent that early on he threw into the crowd the baseball cap that often partly obscures his face. He is also an underrated lead guitarist, speedy but with a crisp tone, as he showed on the solo to ‘Soulcreek’, one of a series of tried and tested fan favourites including ‘Blind Man’, ‘In My Blood’ where Chris allowed the crowd to take over and ‘Like I Roll’.

However there was one surprise in the middle in ‘Out Of Pocket’, not only a new song but an unusual mix of almost calypso style verses and their heaviest chorus for some time, an encouraging sign they may not have run out of ideas quite yet. ‘Cheaper To Drink Alone’, with a naggingly familiar riff, was broken up by Jon Fred Young’s drum solo (in this truncated set was that really necessary?).

Then with typical humility the band spoke of their gratitude for a UK audience that strangely has always been bigger than in their home country. Ben cited previous gigs at ‘The Hammersmith’ and ‘The Brixton’ (sic), and Chris thanked those of us at the last London show at the Albert Hall for helping him through his grief at his Dad’s passing, prior to ‘Things My Father Said”, given a rather rockier treatment than the stripped back version I recall from before.

The rest of the gig was less sober in tone, though I was surprised, even disappointed, that the reaction on the floor was not rowdier for those tongue in cheek frat boy anthems ‘White Trash Millionaire’ and ‘Blame It On The Boom Boom’. Indeed the circle pit that used to form during the grungey favourite ‘Lonely Train’ (from the otherwise now neglected first album) was totally absent.

After a rather abrupt stage departure they returned, with added bongo player, for an encore of ‘Don’t Bring Me Down’, definitely the ELO song that most lends itself for a rock cover and you could sense that both band and crowd were having fun as things got rather looser. Again though, as with The Darkness, an hour and 10 minute long set felt a little of a short change for a co-headliner, enough to satisfy the majority perhaps but a disappointment for die hards of one band or the other.

Nevertheless this was an excellent evening’s entertainment, proving conclusively the rock scene is alive and well. I must admit that for me The Darkness’s showmanship did slightly overshadow Black Stone Cherry’s more meat and potatoes performance, but both bands were on top form.

Review and Photos by Andy Nathan

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.
In 2023 he signed a recording deal with Sony in Canada and released a new single on 15 September.

Josh Taerk Sunday Session - 1 December 2024

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David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 17 November 2024.

UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This show was first broadcast 19 November 2024.

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Power Plays w/c 25 November 2024

KING KRAKEN Chainsaw Saviour (indie)
BEBORN BETON American Girls (Dependent Records)
SMASH INTO PIECES Maze Of Feels (indie)
WELSH WOLF When You Cry (indie)
DREAMING OF CITRA Bitter (indie)
OFF LIGHTS Love You Sober (indie)
THUNDERMOTHER Dead Or Alive (AFM Records)
SKAM Selfish Friend (indie)
SORRY X Bring Me To Life (SBG Records)

Featured Albums w/c 25 November 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Singer Songwriter)