Photos by Shaun Krisher (full galleries at the end of the review)
The night of April 28 was filled with events all around Atlanta, from Bill Burr to Foo Fighters. However, the real scene was at Terminal West as they hosted two fantastic rocks acts, Diarrhea Planet from Nashville and the one and only The Darkness hailing from across the pond. Attendees came from all around Atlanta to jam out as they flowed into the venue, packing out the house in this sold out show. Libations were served to honor the rock gods as the night with patrons also partaking in nicotine cloud blowing as well. Overall, Terminal West was ready to host another killer show.
First up for the night was the one and only Diarrhea Planet, a band with a few layers to dig into. Don’t let their band name fool you into thinking these guys are some run of the mill garage group from the music capital that is Nashville. These guys comprise their entourage with six instruments, which doesn’t sound odd at first, but four of them are guitars, one is a bass, and the last one is a drum kit. Yes, four guitars. One would think their would be some clashing of sound in their performance with that heavily weighted guitar section. However, these guys have true talent that makes their composition work. Definitely feel them channeling The Ramones as critics have said before. Each guitarist, as well as their bassist, got his turn in the spotlight to showboat, with leaps and stage diving filling out their set in addition to killer licks. As the last time they played Terminal West was for the Mayan apocalypse in 2012, I hope to see these guys around more. Definitely a set to behold with one’s own eyes.
For the main course, The Darkness took the stage to revel us Americans with some classic UK rock. As the band went through some rough patches following their success in the early 2000s, it was a treat to see them reunited with their original band members. 
Their sound has a strong taste of 80s glam rock with a very crunchy bite and spicy aftertaste. Overall, their performance has aged very well like a bottle of wine as it has almost been 20 years since they originally took to the airwaves with their sound. Each member had a dynamic outfit, with their lead singer Justin Hawkins dressed in a leopard skin leotard and their bassist Frankie looking like an 80s cop but more dynamically colorful. The Darkness has their showmanship on lock with hardly any act I’ve seen matching it. And now to their sound. Justin has some chops. He can hit those shrill high notes almost casually with a nice rounding of vibrato. His vocals paired well with the solid guitar playing of his brother Dan, funky bass lines of Frankie, and slick pocket-living drum beats of Rufus Tiger Taylor, who is as some maybe have guessed the son of the legendary Roger Taylor of a little band called Queen. The overall energy put out by The Darkness in their shows should register on the Richter scale or at the very least score them a contract with a power company. As these guys are back and touring after they regrouped in 2011, The Darkness is a must see for any lover of rock and roll. If you have any doubts, give Pinewood Smile a listen. But seriously, go see these guys live.
Both of these acts are on the “Tour de Prance” as they take over the states one show at a time. To catch them on tour, check out their tour dates here.
Gallery – Diarrhea Planet
Photo Gallery – The Darkness
