Black Stone Cherry & The Darkness – Cardiff International Arena – 28 January

As soon as I stepped into Cardiff International Arena, I knew it was going to be a fun evening.

As The Darkness took to the stage, you could feel the ground shaking from the crowd. They had pyrotechnics, all the bells and whistles you could think of. Regardless of if you’ve seen them for the first time (myself) or 100 times, I don’t think you would ever get bored of seeing them, they’re so entertaining and seem so down to earth. They played their hits ‘One Way Ticket’, ‘Love is Only a Feeling’, and they obviously played their corker or a song ‘I Believe in a Thing Called Love’, which tore the arena apart. It was so great to finally see them live, although I was partially saddened when they didn’t play their song ‘Christmas Time’ (I know it’s January) but still. Hopefully when I see them again, they might play it. Also, Justin Hawkins in his Catsuits are just amazing – iconic some might say.

Finally Black Stone Cherry came to the stage, they haven’t been back since 2021 so it’s great to have them back in Cardiff. I personally haven’t reviewed them since 2012 so I was really excited to review this band 11 years later. They came out guns blazing, which really ramped up the crowd. It was so nice to hear people singing their hearts out. Black Stone Cherry came out with ‘Me and Mary Jane’ and an oldie but goldie ‘Blind Man’, which I thoroughly enjoyed. They performed a great mixture off all albums, I personally loved when they played ‘In My Blood’ as I loved that song from the ‘Between The Devil & The Deep Blue Sea’. They also played their debut song ‘Out of Pocket’ at Cardiff for the first time. Their staging was really fun as it was partially on a ramp so they would be running up and down them, I wish more bands had that style of staging. They finished their set with ‘Lonely Train’ and a cover of ‘Electric Light Orchestra’, which I found interesting.

I loved the show, I found it all very wholesome and feel good, exactly what you need on a Saturday night.

Photos & Review by Kern Hollie