Page 46 - Black Velvet Rock Music Magazine Issue 92

BV92 concerts pg46_BV92 pg46 27/03/2017 16:08 Page 1

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YYYYY Excellent YYYY Very Good YYY Good
YY Listenable, Just Y Poor

THE PRETTY RECKLESS / THE CRUEL KNIVES – BIRMINGHAM O2 INSTITUTE, 20.01.17
It’s our first gig of 2017 and it’s a good
one. The Pretty Reckless are in the coun-
try in support of their ‘Who You Selling
For’ full-length album which was released
in October 2016.
Opening band are The Cruel Knives,
the new band featuring two members
from long-standing UK rock band,
Heaven’s Basement – Sid Glover and
Rob Ellershaw. It’s a shame that
Heaven’s Basement split up but tonight
they show that The Cruel Knives are
equally as promising, if not more so. Tom
Harris has a strong voice, while Al Junior
pulsatingly beats away on the drums. The
band are so new that they haven’t even
released an EP yet, but their songs feel
right at home in our hearts, with endear-
ing melodies and hard-rocking hooks.
‘The World We Were Sold’ has everything
you want in a song, punchy energy, ex-
citement and accessibility. We await that
debut EP and more shows with anticipa-
tion.
All eyes are on Taylor Momsen when
she walks out onto the stage in a long
leather trench coat for The Pretty Reck-
less’ set to begin – although the whole
band is a very talented bunch. While Tay-
lor has a fantastic voice and is a poster
girl for most of the audience, her band-
mates Ben Phillips, Jamie Perkins and
Mark Damon are equally worthy of ado-
ration; they literally burst with talent. The
set is short compared to some, with ap-
proximately 14 songs played, yet it’s qual-
ity over quantity. From the dark and
unnerving ‘Follow Me Down’, in which
Taylor keeps her head down low and
hides under her hair for part of the song,
to ‘Oh My God’, where you really notice
Taylor’s vocals being effortlessly awe-
some, to ‘title track ‘Who You Selling For’,
the songs do their job and hit the spot.
Taylor kneels on the floor during ‘Make
Me Wanna Die’ and picks up a guitar for
‘My Medicine’. ‘Living In The Storm’ sees
the music cranked up, with some great
guitar work from Ben, while ‘Going To
Hell’ begins with a guitar solo before turn-
ing into the fist-punching rocker that it is.
Twirling her mic lead, Taylor shows she
means business and is someone to be
taken seriously. Jamie Perkins gets his
own moment in the spotlight during
‘Fucked Up World’ when he gets to per-
form a solo after a tambourine-shaking
Taylor and Ben and Mark leave the stage.
The drum solo incorporates some dancy
hip-hop party music. It makes an interest-
ing ending to the set, with Taylor, Ben and
Mark returning for the end of ‘Fucked Up
World’. It IS a fucked up world at the mo-
ment, but it’s good to have The Pretty
Reckless in it. And with Taylor ending the
show with a big smile and her arms held
high, you know it was as good for her as
it was for us.
YYYY
Shari Black Velvet
Taylor Momsen & Ben Phillips (The Pretty Reck-
less) Photo By Shari Black Velvet
CONCERTS