THE DARKNESS – PIER BANDROOM – FRANKSTON – MELBOURNE – 06.03.2026. Review and photos: Craig Eriksson.
On Friday night we experienced UK’s rock ‘n’ roll royalty The Darknesss performing an intimate gig at the Pier Bandroom in Frankston on this leg of their 2026 Australian Tour. The bandroom was absolutely chockers, full of fans decked out in a sea of black band tees and denim out for a big weekend of music.
Sydney-based singer-songwriter and indie rocker Rageflower opened the show with her blend of fun, dream pop, grunge and hard-hitting indie rock. The band were all dressed in what looked like private schoolboy uniforms wearing untucked white collared shirts and ties , while Rageflower was wearing white sunglasses and dressed in an over-sized black blazer with ‘Love’ embroidered on it. They performed a punchy short set with standout tracks HANDS ON, DESK JOB, SIGN OF LIFE and KEROSENE.
The Darkness consist of Justin Hawkins – Lead vocals, lead & rhythm guitar, keyboards, Dan Hawkins – rhythm & lead guitar, backing vocals, Frankie Poullain – bass, backing vocals, and Rufus Tiger Taylor – drums, backing vocals.
They are world-renown for their mix of theatrical glam rock and quirky lyrics and are here in Australia promoting their latest release Dreams On Toast (2025). The band emerged on stage and ripped straight into the high-octane opening track from the new album, ROCK AND ROLL PARTY COWBOY with its anthemic chorus, fist-pumping, foot stomping sound and searing guitar riffs. This song certainly got the festivities started and the crowd continued to party along with the band for the next 90-minutes and 17-song setlist.
Flamboyant frontman, Justin Hawkins is mesmerising to watch as he is so quirky, theatrical and possesses a wicked sense of humour, not to mention his wonderful guitar playing and constant interaction with the crowd. They played 5 songs from Permission To Land (2003) with the infectious sing-along singles GROWING ON ME, FRIDAY NIGHT and GIVIN’ UP. The quintessential modern power ballad LOVE IS ONLY A FEELING displayed the band’s signature sound with their duelling/harmonising guitar solos. Hawkins had a camcorder and filmed the band and the crowd during GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY WOMAN and towards the end of the song, showcased his falsetto vocals and got the crowd trying to imitate him which was hilarious. Then much to the delight of fans (including me) front of stage, he dived into the crowd for a surf!
The Darkness played a wonderful set of songs from the latest album and their back catalogue. They played 5-songs from their latest release, including the rollicking, upbeat classic hard rock track MORTAL DREAD which has a riff reminiscent of AC/DC’s Shoot to Thrill, along with Hawkins high-pitched vocals. During the country rock track WALKING THROUGH FIRE, Hawkins described what would normally take place at a large stadium show during this song with the crowd running a circle pit, but as the Pier Bandroom was packed and is considered a relatively small venue, he had the crowd act out an over-exaggerated, slow running motion like in the film Chariots of Fire. It was a had-to-be-there moment and a load of fun! THE LONGEST KISS saw Hawkins open with a piano-led rock anthem featuring jaunty piano, soaring guitar riffs and vocals. The drummer, Rufus Taylor (the son of Roger Taylor from Queen) sang lead vocals on MY ONLY.
One of my faves, MOTORHEART with its heavy, high energy (hybrid of Motorhead’s speed) had me and the crowd headbanging along to its meaty riffs and tongue-in-cheek lyrics about unconventional love and it also showcased Hawkins signature soaring falsetto. The medieval track BARBARIAN with its distorted electric guitar riffs and brutal sound had the crowd rocking hard. Hawkins flicked out his guitar pick into the crowd and I caught it!
Hawkins performed a powerful and chilling cover of THE POWER OF LOVE by Jennifer Rush which gave me goosebumps. Justin Hawkins has a massive, 5-octave, stratospheric, high-tenor vocal range that seamlessly blends powerful operatic vocals with his unique piercing falsetto. JAPANESE PRISONER OF LOVE demonstrated the incredible musicianship of the band with its punishing heavy riff, slightly absurd lyrics and melodic chorus. Definitely the most popular song of the evening was I BELIEVE IN A THING CALLED LOVE where Hawkins politely asked the crowd to put away their mobile phones and be in the moment and pointed out several people in the crowd who were sneakily trying to film it.
The 1-song encore saw Hawkins come out on stage wearing a t-shirt with ‘Fuck Off I’m Dancing’ displayed on it. They belted into the heavy, chaotic I HATE MYSELF from Dreams On Toast. I read where Hawkins best described this song as a joyous, raucous celebration of self-loathing after a 7-year relationship breakdown with the lyrics: “There goes the only human being I have ever loved more than I hate myself.” The song finished with a Led Zeppelin outro of HEARTBREAKER and a thunderous applause of appreciation from the crowd after just being part of an incrediblly entertaining and intimate show.
SET LIST:
ROCK AND ROLL PARTY COWBOY
GROWING ON ME
GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY WOMAN
MORTAL DREAD
MOTORHEART
WALKING THROUGH FIRE
BARBARIAN
LOVE IS ONLY A FEELING
GIVIN’ UP
MY ONLY
HEART EXPLODES
|THE POWER OF LOVE (Jennifer Rush cover)
THE LONGEST KISS
FRIDAY NIGHT
PRISONER OF LOVE
I BELIEVE IN A THING CALLED LOVE
Encore:
I HATE MYSELF (with Heartbreaker (Led Zeppelin outro)