LIVE REVIEW: THE DARKNESS + RAGEFLOWER @ THE TIVOIL 20/02/26

Words by Cecilia Pattison-Levi Photos Charlyn Cameron

British glam rockers The Darkness brought their Dreams On Toast Tour to the Tivoli. The city’s rock fans sold out the show and gave the band a very warm, sweat-soaked, welcome back to Australia. It was a night of high rock drama: stage and balcony diving, singing lessons, fan engagement, rockstar theatrics and absolutely fantastic razor-sharp rock ‘n’ roll.

The night commenced with Sydney’s Rageflower (aka Madeleine Powers) and her fabulous band. The band came out onto the stage, and got settled, and started to play and introduction to the opening song ‘Hands On’ before Rageflower prowled out onto the stage and up to the microphone to perform it. The band were visually captivating, but it was all about delivering rock ‘n’ roll grounded in authenticity as the wonderful ‘Sign Of Life’ was delivered.

The Tivoli crowd listened intently as the band’s guitar, drums and bassline rhythms underscored the song ‘Hot Glue’. The band’s authentic rock ‘n’ roll sounds and mesmerising vocals pulsed through the increasingly hot room. Rageflower engaged the crowd as she thanked The Darkness for the opportunity to tour with them, the merch that had t-shirts and her wonderful debut EP ‘Infinite Highs, End of Times’ on vinyl, and then she introduced and performed the “anti-believe in love” song ‘I Don’t Believe In Love’.

Then, with rolling drum kicks, ‘Push Pin’ followed. Then, the fan favourites of the beautiful ‘Angel Things’ and the country-adjacent ‘Kerosene’ were performed and were stunning set standouts as Rageflower’s voice, emotionally deep and textured, hovered between menace and longing. She often describes her band as “thorns to her petals” and the whole flower bloomed.

Rageflower closed out the set with the song dedicated “to anyone who hates their day job” as she performed the brilliant ‘Desk Job’. The song descends into a meltdown of pure feminine rage that sees Rageflower drop to her knees and a final, primal scream that was wrung out, then there was a quick exit while the band played out. As she told the crowd earlier: feminine rage “just happens sometimes”. Rageflower was so good and had the crowd at the right place for a band like The Darkness.

Anticipation grew as each minute drew us closer to 9pm as everyone checked their watches or phones. Then, the Tivoli went dark and the sounds of ABBA flooded the venue. The last sounds I expected to hear were ‘Arrival’ by the Swedish pop gods. Through the stage curtains, I could see feet jigging and warming up, then the band of Dan Hawkins (guitar), Frankie Poullain (bass), and Rufus Tiger Taylor (drums) came out onto the stage. Then, Justin Hawkins sauntered on to the stage and The Darkness opened with one of the recently released singles from new album ‘Dreams On Toast’ in ‘Rock And Roll Party Cowboy’. The party was on!

The crowd exploded. The energy of The Darkness was off the charts as ‘Growing On Me’ was performed. The Darkness are unlike any other band, taking to the stage like they have been shot out of a cannon. Justin Hawkins’ flamboyant personality shone from the moment he strapped on his guitar and stepped up to the mic, his falsetto vocals soaring throughout the venue.

Rufus Taylor’s electric drum style held the tempo with flair, while Dan Hawkins’ vibrant rhythm playing and Frankie Poullain’s melodic bassline rhythm and grooves helped the sound feel large and full, their respective backing vocals adding that vintage feel. 

Then, the band started ‘Get Your Hands Off My Woman’ and the crowd singing along was huge and signalled that the band were not afraid to revisit their glam rock-inspired 2003 debut album, ‘Permission To Land’. Then, Justin Hawkins leaped off the stage and jumped into the photo pit as the photographers left. He climbed onto the barricade, and launched himself into the crowd, surfing across the sea of fans as he finished off the song.

On his return to the stage, he told the crowd about how at their last gig at the Tivoli in 2024 he had jumped off the balcony and broken a rib. “It bloody hurt – so I need soft hands over there to catch me,” he explained. “But I have one request. Everybody put your phones away, let’s just enjoy this time and moment together! But if I do anything amazing – make sure you record it!” Then, the crowd chanted for him to re-enact the jump: “Do it again!” was the call. And he did it again. Justin Hawkins left the stage, climbed the stairs, and launched himself off the mezzanine balcony into the crowd and surfed back to safety – no broken rib and triumphant!

Then, it was singing lessons. Justin Hawkins ran through vocal exercises that the crowd had to copy. It was incredible as he demonstrated his undiminished vocal range and comedic banter. Then, The Darkness got down to business with the twangy southern feel of ‘Mortal Dread’, the heavy rock of ‘Motorheart’, the fun crowd participation that had everyone moving and grooving in ‘Walking Through Fire’ and the drum heavy ‘Barbarian’ hit with force as they were performed in rapid succession.

Then, the delivery of ‘Love Is Only a Feeling’ shifted the mood into a tender vibe and the crowd responded. It was followed by the acapella start of ‘Givin' Up’ which had the crowd clapping, singing and bouncing. It was great to see The Darkness switching things up as Rufus Taylor stepped away from the drum kit (Dan Hawkins took over drumming duty) to take up centre stage duties to deliver the lead vocals for the song ‘My Only’. It was a lovely blues-tinged romance filled rock ‘n’ roll ballad that fit his vocal style perfectly. It was a magic moment as Rufus Taylor captured the attention of everyone in the venue with not only his impressive vocal abilities but also his charisma and charm.

Then, The Darkness delivered ‘Heart Explodes’ before they performed an extraordinary cover of Radiohead’s ‘Creep’ before the piano-driven filled with glam theatricality of the ‘The Longest Kiss’ and ‘Friday Night’ followed. Unpredictability is key feature of gigs performed by The Darkness and it was no different tonight. As I heard fans at the bar saying about the songs: “How good is this? The best. It’s awesome”. Their setlist perfectly balances new material with their massive hits.

And that was what the crowd were served up next. The crowd went nuts for ‘Japanese Prisoner Of Love’, and then the chords of the ‘Immigrant Song’ by Led Zeppelin were played as the crowd boiled with euphoria. Then, the crowd went absolutely wild as the iconic opening riff of ‘I Believe In A Thing Called Love’ echoed across the venue. It was sung word for word back to the band as the place bounced.

The encore of ‘One Way Ticket’ and the closing song with guitar bending riffs ‘I Hate Myself’ came to a reluctant but perfect end of ‘Dreams On Toast’. The sounds of more Led Zeppelin in the song ‘Heartbreaker’ saw the band thank the crowd and leave the stage.

The Darkness left everyone satiated. The Darkness always puts on one of the best live shows you can attend and it is impossible to leave a gig without a smile on your face.