The Pretty Reckless- The Masquerade, Atlanta, GA 9/14
By: Leslie Elder Rogers
As she stepped on stage, Taylor Momsen immediately had the crowds’ attention. The audience was glued to her presence, as if mesmerized by her. As I looked around the dimly lit room I saw shadows of heads of all shapes and sizes bouncing up and down, screaming with immense excitement. I have loved The Pretty Reckless since I first heard them. It was obvious that the fans here tonight, felt exactly the same way; and just think, she may’ve never taken this path if she hadn’t gone to that “White Stripes” concert years ago. Thank you dad and White Stripes! Thank you! The powerful and colossal vocals she wields from that tiny body are out of this world. Being a female rock singer is not easy. There are stereotypes that automatically seem to follow female front women just because they are female; no matter how strong or powerful their pure talent and vocal ability may be. Taylor is proof of this talent and ability. She man’s the stage, controls it and puts on a show that you will not forget. She belted out right away with “Follow Me Down” and gave the fans exactly what they wanted from her. She continued with these powerhouse songs that just kept the crowd pumped and begging for more at the end of each song. As she leans into the microphone to start each song seductively, she rips her head back and forth in motions that should cause whiplash, but they make Taylor the performer she is. Her silent sway back and forth across from the guitarist as he played his solos, almost catlike in motion, and her quick thrusts and twists; all kept us captivated. In addition to “Follow Me Down’, her set list started off with other amazing songs like “Why’d You Bring a Shotgun to a Party” and “Since You’re Gone”, which I was fortunate enough to be up close as personal to watch. In fact, I got caught up in the music as the fans did at one point and lost track of time. As I moved back into the crowd further and to assess the fans, the stage from a different point of view, there were fans standing in chairs, propped up on tables, dancing from every angle of my view with phones in the air as they recorded and took photos. It was clear that on THIS NIGHT this was the band that everyone came to see. The venue is small and the room was packed; at moments you could barely move through the crowd. I’ve been here before when this wasn’t the case, but NOT this night. THIS NIGHT was all about “The Pretty Reckless”, Taylor Momsen and her boys up there on stage were what drew these avid lovers of rock, from the young teenage girls I saw staring in awe, to the older male “admirers” who clearly appreciated her beauty and her sex appeal (and she has a plenty). Even so, her ability on stage to wow us as we watched every moment was astonishing. She put everything into her show this evening. She sang the hard core songs, her ‘Reckless” anthems, and yet, when she broke out into the acoustic versions of songs like her cover of “Daughter”, I was once again, blown away by the talent she brought to the table. Though it’s a great song all on its’ own, Taylor puts am eerie and haunting twist on it that would make it a hit all over again (and I’m hoping it’s a possibility). ‘Heaven Knows” and “Make Me Wanna Die”, are clearly songs that everyone in the room knew the lyrics to, the crowd was wild with fascination. “Going to Hell” was a true crowd favorite but when she closed the show with “Fucked Up World”, everyone was going wild. A drum solo was introduced during “Fucked Up World” that was outstanding, quite lengthy, lasting approximately 5 minutes on its’ own, but outstanding still. In the midst of the solo, ever so solemnly, you hear the xylophone playing in the background, never overpowering the drums, but clearly bringing its’ own distinction to the song with perfection. The band truly supports her every movement, her every note. They play their heart out, and with every riff, every note, every chord, you feel their passion, indeed proving their greatness. It almost seems that there may be a slight bit of protectiveness over Taylor from the band members as they keep an eye on her during the performance. Maybe this is specific to the performance but it was nice to see their awareness of her on stage and seeming desire to keep her safe. No one wanted this performance to continue more than I did, but after a great evening that started with a wonderful new band named “Crash Midnight”, then moving on to “Adelita’s Way”, to closing it out with the headlining band “The Pretty Reckless”, I’d say this concert was a complete success. The bands all seem to complement each other well from beginning to end with as much energy at the end of their set as they sang their first note with.
Buy the new album @ http://amzn.com/B00I1KDRBA
Or@ https://itun.es/us/PVccW
Visit their website @ http://goingtohell.me/hell/
Follow the band on Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/theprettyreckless
Follow the band on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/TPROfficial
By: Leslie Elder Rogers
As she stepped on stage, Taylor Momsen immediately had the crowds’ attention. The audience was glued to her presence, as if mesmerized by her. As I looked around the dimly lit room I saw shadows of heads of all shapes and sizes bouncing up and down, screaming with immense excitement. I have loved The Pretty Reckless since I first heard them. It was obvious that the fans here tonight, felt exactly the same way; and just think, she may’ve never taken this path if she hadn’t gone to that “White Stripes” concert years ago. Thank you dad and White Stripes! Thank you! The powerful and colossal vocals she wields from that tiny body are out of this world. Being a female rock singer is not easy. There are stereotypes that automatically seem to follow female front women just because they are female; no matter how strong or powerful their pure talent and vocal ability may be. Taylor is proof of this talent and ability. She man’s the stage, controls it and puts on a show that you will not forget. She belted out right away with “Follow Me Down” and gave the fans exactly what they wanted from her. She continued with these powerhouse songs that just kept the crowd pumped and begging for more at the end of each song. As she leans into the microphone to start each song seductively, she rips her head back and forth in motions that should cause whiplash, but they make Taylor the performer she is. Her silent sway back and forth across from the guitarist as he played his solos, almost catlike in motion, and her quick thrusts and twists; all kept us captivated. In addition to “Follow Me Down’, her set list started off with other amazing songs like “Why’d You Bring a Shotgun to a Party” and “Since You’re Gone”, which I was fortunate enough to be up close as personal to watch. In fact, I got caught up in the music as the fans did at one point and lost track of time. As I moved back into the crowd further and to assess the fans, the stage from a different point of view, there were fans standing in chairs, propped up on tables, dancing from every angle of my view with phones in the air as they recorded and took photos. It was clear that on THIS NIGHT this was the band that everyone came to see. The venue is small and the room was packed; at moments you could barely move through the crowd. I’ve been here before when this wasn’t the case, but NOT this night. THIS NIGHT was all about “The Pretty Reckless”, Taylor Momsen and her boys up there on stage were what drew these avid lovers of rock, from the young teenage girls I saw staring in awe, to the older male “admirers” who clearly appreciated her beauty and her sex appeal (and she has a plenty). Even so, her ability on stage to wow us as we watched every moment was astonishing. She put everything into her show this evening. She sang the hard core songs, her ‘Reckless” anthems, and yet, when she broke out into the acoustic versions of songs like her cover of “Daughter”, I was once again, blown away by the talent she brought to the table. Though it’s a great song all on its’ own, Taylor puts am eerie and haunting twist on it that would make it a hit all over again (and I’m hoping it’s a possibility). ‘Heaven Knows” and “Make Me Wanna Die”, are clearly songs that everyone in the room knew the lyrics to, the crowd was wild with fascination. “Going to Hell” was a true crowd favorite but when she closed the show with “Fucked Up World”, everyone was going wild. A drum solo was introduced during “Fucked Up World” that was outstanding, quite lengthy, lasting approximately 5 minutes on its’ own, but outstanding still. In the midst of the solo, ever so solemnly, you hear the xylophone playing in the background, never overpowering the drums, but clearly bringing its’ own distinction to the song with perfection. The band truly supports her every movement, her every note. They play their heart out, and with every riff, every note, every chord, you feel their passion, indeed proving their greatness. It almost seems that there may be a slight bit of protectiveness over Taylor from the band members as they keep an eye on her during the performance. Maybe this is specific to the performance but it was nice to see their awareness of her on stage and seeming desire to keep her safe. No one wanted this performance to continue more than I did, but after a great evening that started with a wonderful new band named “Crash Midnight”, then moving on to “Adelita’s Way”, to closing it out with the headlining band “The Pretty Reckless”, I’d say this concert was a complete success. The bands all seem to complement each other well from beginning to end with as much energy at the end of their set as they sang their first note with.
Buy the new album @ http://amzn.com/B00I1KDRBA
Or@ https://itun.es/us/PVccW
Visit their website @ http://goingtohell.me/hell/
Follow the band on Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/theprettyreckless
Follow the band on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/TPROfficial
