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EDDIE VEDDER, BROWARD CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS, FORT LAUDERDALE, NOV. 30-DEC. 1 We all knew the Pearl Jam frontman could sing, but in this pair of concerts in Fort Lauderdale, in which a euphoric Vedder was joined onstage by Irish singer-songwriter Glen Hansard and Miami's own Cat Power, he proved that he's a remarkable musician as well. He delivered a 30-song romp through his solo and Pearl Jam catalogs while creating a gigantic sound using only electric and acoustic guitars, ukuleles, mandolins and a well-traveled drum box, all of which he played himself. -- Jake Cline (Danny Clinch/Courtesy /December 11, 2012)
The very reasons that make the Darkness such a delicious parody of rock ‘n’ roll excess are the things that make them amazingly, excruciatingly unlistenable.
Yes, "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" was named one of the 100 Greatest Songs of ‘00s by VH1, and we’ll let them have that. It’s fun. But if you can then make it all the way through “Everybody Have a Good Time” or “Every Inch of You” (below), however hilarious, we applaud your determination.
Which is not to say that the British quartet’s performance on Thursday at Revolution Live won’t be, uh, a good time. There will be spectacle, decibels and cowbells. There will be blood, too, coming from your ears.
As shtick, the screechy indulgences of the glam-metal era are rich with possibility, and from their 2003 debut “Permission to Land” to the August release “Hot Cakes,” the Darkness has nailed them with glee: Justin Hawkins’ piercing vocals? Awesome! Dan Hawkins’ screaming guitar, the bell-bottomed posturing, the lyrics over-flowing with sex-charged cliché … all awesome!
But can you listen to it for more than 10 minutes before impaling yourself on a broken Bud bottle? There’s the challenge of the Darkness.
Those made of stronger stuff than we are will gather when the Darkness performs with opening act Hell or Highwater (featuring Brandon Saller of Atreyu) at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Revolution Live (100 SW Third Ave., Fort Lauderdale). Tickets: $23, $25. Info: 954-449-1025, JointheRevolution.net.
Get daily updates on South Florida entertainment and things to do at SouthFlorida.com and on Twitter at @BenCrandell.
Ben Crandell: My dad missed the birth of his first son, family legend has it, while transfixed a few blocks up Fifth Avenue by another new creation, Frank Lloyd Wright's audacious Guggenheim and its spherical whirl of Kandinsky, de Kooning and Pollack. I never held it against him. 
