Savoy Theatre, Cork Tonight 8pm €27 021-4253000; Olympia Theatre, Dublin Tomorrow 8pm €25 0818-719300; Ulster Hall, Belfast Sun 8pm £22/£20 048-90334455

Eight years ago, The Darkness were one of the major surprises of the day: a rock band that looked back with irony and a sharp sense of humour on the music genre commonly known as the New Wave of British Heavy Metal.

The great thing about The Darkness, however, was that – even though the collective tongue was firmly stuck in the collective cheek – they took what they did very seriously. And so we had a band that was part Def Leppard, Spinal Tap, The Sweet and Queen, a mixum-gatherum act that quickly imploded due to the usual dictates of sudden and widespread success.

Stints in rehab and bouts of intense contemplation later, and they’re back – if not with the kind of bang that greeted them first time around, then certainly with a requisite pre-Christmas puff of smoke. And, this being The Darkness, some mirrors as well.

In other words, suspend all levels of critical appreciation and have some fun, why don’tcha?

Can’t See That? Catch This

Other Voices Fri/Sat/Sun, Dublin