A reference, of course, to the shenanigans surrounding their previous Liverpool non-appearance around a month back, and one that is met with a guttural cheer from the shoehorn-em-in venue.

Over the last few weeks the excitement at finally, possibly, maybe, definitely getting a chance to experience Rock's Saviours has been palpable throughout the City Of Music. At every small gig, every band, every journalist, every punter has had many a conversation about ticket availability, What Rock Drink To Drink, spandex, touts. It's The Hottest Ticket In Town, Baby (TM).

And the silhouetted Justin Hawkins rams his geetar into a lucid, ludicrous intro, winding up the crowds further, further, further, until the drapes finally fall and the massive lighting rig kicks into action with the full band. Over the top, of course, but fuckin impressive at that. These boys Take It To The Max, Rock Your Body and Steal Your Soul through the ultimate in off-the peg bad taste recycled riffery and preening prickery. It's great.

I keep telling myself that it's all about entertainment, innit. The Darkness have never made any bones about the fact that To Rock Is Fun. It's not a postmodern, ironic statement. It's not a pissaround blag. What it is about is Belief In Geetars And Respect For Rock Power. A bit like Busted, really.

Cause when Justin exhorts a call-and-response of Let's Rock for a good five minutes halfway through the set, the grins and the cheers are genuine. Cause I realise finally that the reason I feel like I don't get The Joke is because There Is No Joke. Alan Partridge would love it. The fact that the singles stand head, shoulders, tits and ladyboy cock above most of the rest of the lumpen set is largely irrelevant.

Enlightened, I throw myself into air geetar mode and start Having Fun. The fact that it's like Heavy Metal Butlins is, of course, also irrelevant. Cause, really, who gives a fuck? When guitar solos involve jumping into the crowd and surfing around, when lights and action and vibe are this special, it's entirely irrelevant to mention that the rhythm section are ropey as hell.

And the fact that The Christmas Single is an excerably knocked-off-in-five-minutes cock-eyed coked-up marzipan-puke of a song is, as you may have guessed by now, yep, completely irrelevant.Because when they play it in the encore, snow falls from the sky, and the stage is resplendently garish in winking Christmas lights.

Because Rock Is Fun Again, and therefore The World Is OK.
So.
I guess that's alright then.