Circa 2003, The Darkness were well on their way to being the biggest band in the world. The throwback rockers based in Lowestoft, Suffolk, England, were set to conquer the music scene thanks to a combination of muscular ’70s guitar riffs, gloriously histrionic ’80s camp, and the ubiquity of their falsetto-drenched hit single “I Believe in a Thing Called Love.”
Fifteen years later, they’re far removed from those halcyon days, having gone from headlining international rock festivals with six-figure audiences to, say, the 850-capacity The Grand @ The Complex this Friday night in Salt Lake City as part of their “Tour de Prance.