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CR626479Carlswerk Victoria, Cologne, Germany
17th November 2022
The Pretty Reckless - “Death By Rock And Roll” Tour 2022 - Support: The Cruel Knives

As a fan of THE PRETTY RECKLESS you need patience above all. The last time front woman Taylor Momsen and her musicians graced the German audience was five years ago. And now that the band finally made it back to Germany for two concerts, at least at the sold-out gig in Cologne the queue in front of the Carlswerk Victoria was so long that you can safely assume that the fans who lined up at the end of the queue at 7p.m. would not be in the hall when the support band would start their gig on time at 8 p.m.


The Cruel Knives

The opening band was THE CRUEL KNIVES. And the quartet from England felt clearly comfortable on stage and rocked straight on as if there was no tomorrow. Especially guitarist Sid Glover and bassist Rob Ellershaw impressed with rock star-typical poses, while singer Tom Harris, standing in the centre, screamed passionately into the mic. Yes, THE CRUEL KNIVES were much heavier and more aggressive than THE PRETTY RECKLESS were later, but their music, whose last album was characterized by the Kerrang magazine as “Harder, faster, and meaner riffs than ever”, went surprisingly well with the mixed audience.

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Very unfortunate, however, was that the light show was a disaster during the 30 minutes THE CRUEL KNIVES performed. From the front, the band was hardly illuminated, but the spotlights at the back of the stage ran partly with full power.

Rating
Music: 6
Performance: 8
Light: 2
Sound: 6
Total: 5.5 / 10

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The Pretty Reckless

After the necessary change-over, THE PRETTY RECKLESS started on time at 9 pm. Although it has to be said clearly: THE PRETTY RECKLESS is Taylor Momsen and Taylor Momsen is THE PRETTY RECKLESS. The 29 year old front woman was so much in the spotlight that her band members were degraded to statists. Consequently, the musicians accompanying her were only in the light when Taylor Momsen joined them, otherwise they remained quite discrete at the dark edges of the stage. All spotlights were pointed consequently at the singer. Taylor Momsen presented herself visually in a look that was on the one hand provocative and chic thanks to the negligee and fishnet stockings, but on the other hand seemed rather grungy due to the massive boots and the leather jacket she was initially wearing during the first song. Actually, the look at a concert should not matter at all, but Taylor Momsen is obviously a role model when it comes to fashion, because in the audience, which was mostly female and also young, there were many female fans who visually stuck to their idol.

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THE PRETTY RECKLESS performed a total of 14 songs in the 90 minutes that the band was on stage. The title track of the last regular studio album ‘Death By Rock And Roll’ made the start. And it was absolutely impressive how lyrically confident and in a good mood the audience was. The band was cheered from the first moment, every song was sung along. For Taylor Momsen and her three band members, the performance was certainly one big party. The front woman left no space on the stage unused, performed mostly in the centre of the stage, but again and again she moved / danced to the left and right border where she was even a little closer to the enthusiastic fans than usual. And there at the edges of the stage she repeatedly leaned against guitarist Ben Philips and bassist Mark Damon. And from time to time she was also drawn to drummer Jamie Perkins, as she repeatedly showed her back to the audience and danced lasciviously in front of the drum kit, facing the drummer.

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As much as Taylor Momsen was in focus, towards the end of the set she left the stage during ‘Heaven Knows’ and gave Ben Philips the chance to shine during an extended guitar solo. Finally, in the encore ‘Fucked Up World’, drummer Jamie Perkins had his moment, being allowed to be celebrated by the audience after a fine drum solo. It were 90 very entertaining minutes which THE PRETTY RECKLESS, but especially Taylor Momsen, was allowed to seduce us. In the end, we can only hope that it won’t take another five years until the band shows up here again.

Setlist
01. Death by Rock And Roll
02. Since You’re Gone
03. Only Love Can Save Me Now
04. And So It Went
05. Make Me Wanna Die
06. Just Tonight
07. Sweet Things
08. Witches Burn
09. My Medicine
10. My Bones
11. Going to Hell
12. Heaven Knows
13. Take Me Down
14. Fucked Up World

Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 10
Light: 7
Sound: 7
Total: 8 / 10

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All Pictures by André Wilms

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