The Darkness & The Comancheros at The Masonic

by Jon Bauer

Justin Hawkins and The Darkness kicked off their “Permission To Land” 20th anniversary US, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand tour at The Masonic in San Francisco. They kicked off the night by playing “Bareback” in its first performance of this song since 2016. They then played their award winning debut album by the same name as their tour, Permission To Land, in its entirety. For the encore songs, they surprised the crowd with another song that they hadn’t played live since 2016 – “I Love You 5 Times” and then ended the night with their first North American performance of “Christmas Time (Don’t Let the Bells End)” What a night!

Opening for them was the “Heavy & Western” band The Comancheros, who put on an energetic show clearly inspired by Thin Lizzy. As their website states, “The Comancheros are inevitable.”

Jon Bauer Jon is a San Francisco based photographer who has regularly contributed to publications such as 48 Hills, SF Sonic, SF Station, The Denver Post, Goldenvoice, and numerous others. He’s aimed his camera at people, places, and things all around the world, and he’s always on the look-out for dark places, yummy foods, and curious events.