I think this is a fabulous picture. The image is dark but I am guessing that was the intent. It is not dark to the point that the detail is lost. To me the detail is very much present and the points of light are placed perfectly.
mad_brewer It looks dark but not overly dark. Are your monitors calibrated?
I have no idea how you get that effect with your processing.
I expose in orf. (raw), convert in Lightroom and also edit in CS3.
I have a Dell 1908FP, which by nature seems to be fairly contrasty & dark to begin with,
however I do have color calibration: GretagMacbeth i1Match_362