Words by Pav Salgado, Photos by Jeff Moh

Another winters night and the crowd around Wembley is just warming up cause the evening’s gonna be alright… Wembley way is packed with rockers once again, having pre gig drinks and food in the establishments that paved the way to the arena. Good vibes…

We get there early for the opening act, the Canadian power trio Danko Jones. We saw them last year at Hellfest and today they deliver once again but in a very compressed setlist. The frantic trio go through some of their most loved tracks obviously including First Date - a personal favourite - and closing their short stint with My Little RnR. We definitely are left wanting more, next time I suppose.

A quick change of Stage props and here comes The Darkness, this bunch of rockers know how to kick off a gig, my goodness me, those early pyro blasts and the sound of real Marshall amps bring the mood to a very high level. Growing on Me, Black Shuck and Motorheart are the perfect opening, a very crafted hard rock sound paired up with Justin Hawkins vocals are simple awesomeness. The band is just on point, brother Dan is at the base of this juggernaut, and the rhythm section of Frankie Poullain’s bass and Rufus Taylor drums delivering some serious support of sheer power and clarity. Also the sound man is definitely earning his salary as the arena sound is immense. Love is Only a Feeling, Get Your Hands Off My Woman and of course, the big one, I Believe In A Thing Called Love, all feature in a perfect setlist which draws from their whole discography into one set of high octane RnR.

The Darkness is the name but they carry light… a huge beam of rock n roll light. Rock on!

Another 20 mins or so pass and its time for the second headliner of the evening, the Southern Blues Rockers from Kentucky, the mighty Black Stone Cherry.

While The Darkness used a lot of pyro, these guys have opted for smoke and air, making them a little more environmentally friendly but still delivering the goods, and that is on display by the opening track Me and Mary Jane. The effect is the same as pyro, hot and incendiary. Quickly followed by Burnin’ and Again.

Chris Robertson is on form delivering smoky vocals and silky guitar leads, Ben Wells heading up rhythm guitar, new boy Steve Jewell on bass and drummer John Fred Young smashing the toms as loudly as any John Bonham fan. This is rock and roll to the max…

They gift us with a set to remember Blind Man, In My Blood, White Trash Millionaire and Blame It on The Boom Boom to make us headband and scream all night long. They also included their latest single Out of Pocket that fits so well that could have been a track in any previous album, good stuff. Their stagecraft has really evolved and with a perfectly designed stage, they run all over giving us a sense of freedom and comfort only accomplished by rockers at the top of their powers. They have reach those highs for sure, Wembley has been the witness to Black Stone Cherry rise to the top. Lonely Train and Don’t Bring Me Down’s ELO close the set and the night. What a night…

It was a real treat to see these two bands (and Danko Jones) delivering good old fashioned guitar music, hard rock at its best. Masterstroke putting them together, can I have some more? Please? pretty please? until next time…

The Darkness and Black Stone Cherry live at OVO Arena Wembley