The Darkness Live at Varsity Theater – Minneapolis MN – March 26th 2022

Live Nation presents The Darkness live with special guests The Dead Deads

This day started off cold and dreary and as I approach the Varsity Theater I saw that the line was around the building. So I decided to go to a local bar which is across the street to have a couple drinks before the show. As I was in there I realized I was really glad I was going to the Darkness.  This is because there is some weird themed party going on and everybody had like velvet outfits on and strange sunglasses on. The college life, not really for me.

The Dead Deads—The Long Story from their web page

Nashville-based rock band The Dead Deads are cherry-picking everything good about grunge, hard rock, indie, classic metal and punk, and creating memorable and fun alternative music for rock fans across generations and genres. They are that “up-and-coming” band that touring artists have known and loved at first sight. They’ve been named by many of their own heroes including Paul Stanley and Eric Singer (KISS), Lzzy Hale (Halestorm), Tom Petersson (Cheap Trick) Corey Taylor (Stone Sour/Slipknot), and Shaun Morgan (Seether) as one of the most refreshing new bands touring today, and they have conjured a wildly engaged fan club—The Dead Corps. With X’s painted over their eyes, the band and fans conjure a rebellious return to fun, freedom and true fandom.

McQueen on drums, Daisy on bass and Meta on guitar are a power trio with monster tone and raw rock energy. Heads bang as classic metal and grunge riffs are coaxed into pop hooks. Innocent child-like vocals are interrupted by screams and the occasional brutal growl, as finely crafted wordplay forces unexpected stops and odd time signatures into submission. The unexpected becomes the earworm.

Also of note is their studio record Sketches and Animation released in early 2018.  This double EP includes five fully-produced bangers with Matt Mahaffey (sElf) on the controls, as well as stripped-down acoustic versions of the same songs produced by Brian Carter.  Easter eggs for fans abound in this inventive sampler.  The single “Ghosts” was added to Spotify’s New Rock playlist.

The Darkness

We have waited two years for this show. Seeing The Darkness live is always fun.  Along with many others but this was one on the books I was really looking forward to. We first got into the Darkness live back in 2004 when Permission to Land came out. My co workers kept playing them at the store I owned at the time. I did not like them at first but after being played everyday I fell in love with them. We even saw their first two US shows in Milwaukee and Chicago.

They started with Welcome Tae Glasgae off Motorheart their latest release. The new album does have some great stuff on it. If you have not gotten it by know please do yourself a favor and go out and get the new album. They also played It’s Love Jim and Motorheart. The videos are amazing also. Here is a link to their Youtube page. They are so funny you have to watch them. They have always delighted me with their videos. The band sounded so good tonight. Justin still is just one of the best front men out there right now. Years of experience shows. I find it funny when people say there is no good music out there anymore. These guys have been producing years of great music.

They also kept the set list to 7 songs from Permission to Land. Their break though debut album. I was really surprised by this cause the whole album is so good. The crowd you could tell loved it also as they sang a long with every song. They also kept it old school with Justin’s outfits, Dan still dawning his Thin Lizzy shirt and leather jacket, Frankie still banging on the bass and Rufus Taylor on drums. Rufus is the son of Queen’s own Roger Taylor. He has been with the band since 2015. It is always cool to see rock n roll royalty. The band knows how to give a great show. They also have some signed limited Motorheart vinyls available but were sold out when I went to the merchandise booth, so get there early. There is also this fantastic Star Trek shirt. As the show went on the crowd was using their phones as usual at a show but when they came out for the encore they stopped during A Thing Called Love. Had everyone turn off their phones and just jump and enjoy the last song. The crowd obliged and it was a great end to a show.

Go out and support The Darkness, one of the greatest bands out there today.  The Darkness live is amazing.  Link to everything you need to know HERE.

Setlist – Welcome Tae Glasgae – One Way Ticket – Growing on Me – Motorheart – Open Fire – Solid Gold – Givin’ Up – It’s Love, Jim – Black Shuck – Heart Explodes – Friday Night – Love Is Only A Feeling – Japanese Prisoner of Love – Barbarian – Get Your Hands Off My Woman – I Believe in a Thing Called Love