Richmond, VA – Out of the blue came an email, announcing the appearance of a band I had not heard of, The Darkness, coming soon to Richmond. To shed some light on The Darkness, I checked them out and WOW, I was impressed. On the evening of September 6, 2025, at The National in Richmond, VA, I had the chance to see them out live. What a treat!
Before they took the stage, I talked to a few of the fans lining the barrier. People had come from as far as Buffalo, NY and Miami, FL to see this show and all told me this was going to be the absolute best show I have ever seen. Of course, my interest was piqued a bit more.
Why not kick off a party with a song about… a party?! That they did, with “Rock and Roll Party Cowboy“, from their most recent album, Dreams on Toast. The packed National was rockin’. The night had only just begun and already Justin Hawkins (vocals, guitar), Dan Hawkins (guitar), Frankie Poullain (bass), Rufus Tiger Taylor (drums) had the the place hopping!
As they performed “Growing on Me” and “Get Your Hands Off My Woman“, the energy they brought was embarrassing Richter. To be honest, I was exhausted watching them after the first three songs were done. As if running all over the stage while keeping the riffs tight was not enough, Justin even felt the need to do a headstand on the drum platform. Why had I never heard of these guys?!
I think the one thing that set them aside from many other bands I have seen is that it was clear they were having a blast. In my opinion, there are so many elements that make a great show, some being, of course, the tightness of the band, the music, the show, and of course the band’s attitude. It was amazing that they were able to combine all of these pieces at such a high level and were even more than willing to let the audience be a part of the game.
They played for nearly two hours straight without a break. We got to join them “Walking Through Fire“, after which Justin took off his shirt exposing his toned tattoo laden upper body. “The Barbarian” led into “Love Is Only a Feeling” and “Givin’ Up“. Rufus took a break from the kit to lead us all in “My Only“. He did not quite have Justin’s range, but I was impressed!
We have all heard of Christmas in July… well, The Darkness delivered a holiday version of “Friday Night” and even wished us all a Merry Christmas. The audience was dancing and singing along.
Just before the final sprint to the close of the set, Justin took a few requests. I cannot say this is something he normally does because I did not find to many other setlists that included these covers. It was something like an all request hour (10 minutes?) from the audience. They did a little Queen (“Fat Bottomed Girls“) and Zeppelin (“Immigrant Song“). The ironic part of the latter was that Justin had brought up the legal status of the band members a couple times throughout the night.
He asked how many people in the audience had an O-1 visa… a lot of silence… followed by the last song of the set, “I Believe In a Thing Called Love“. With that, they left the stage to a very loud and rowdy encore request from the near sold out crowd.
The encore started with an acoustic laden version of “Weekend in Rome” followed by a version of “I Hate Myself” that brought down the house. And just like that, the 2 hours that seemed like minutes was over. I was exhausted, I was energized, and I was smiling from ear to ear. The National was indeed lit.
The Darkness Gallery
Check out their video for “I Hate Myself“
The Darkness Setlist
Rock and Roll Party Cowboy
Growing on Me
Get Your Hands Off My Woman
Mortal Dread
Motorheart
Dead Flowers
Walking Through Fire
Barbarian
Love Is Only a Feeling
Givin’ Up
My Only
Heart Explodes
The Longest Kiss
Friday Night
Japanese Prisoner of Love
Every Inch of You
Black Shuck
Fat Bottomed Girls
Immigrant Song
I Believe in a Thing Called Love
Encore:
Weekend in Rome
I Hate Myself
Show Date: September 6, 2025
