The Pretty Reckless – Going to Hell Tour
October 23, 2014 // The Pageant // St. Louis, MO
Review by Annette Schaefer
I walked through the exit doors of the Halo bar like I had done only two times before. I let the staff scan my ticket, stamp my hand, and hand me a sheet reminding me that moshing is dangerous and crowd surfing is a no-go. I walked through the motions like it was second nature. I turned left and walked through one last set of doors that opened into the actual venue. The bar to my right and a row of security in front of me, I made my way into the pit; after much debate I decided that was where I wanted to be.
The place slowly started to fill: black shirts, leather jackets, and the occasional fishnet stockings. The stage already had a set of instruments neatly in their places ready for band number one. The backdrop already read “The Pretty Reckless” decorated with a white cross with an arrow pointing down. The stage was set it was just a matter of time.
After about an hour of waiting and chatting with the people around me, the house lights went down and the first opener, Crash Midnight, hit the stage. As they began to play it was like they were from another time. The way the singer marched around with the microphone and leaned into the audience was like something out of one of my Dad’s old concert videos. The music was pretty generic rock ‘n’ roll, but their sound was tight the crowd seemed at least entertained, although, the band definitely gets some brownie points for their cover of Guns and Roses’ “Mr. Brownstone.”
After Crash Midnight exited the stage the crowd beamed with a bit more anticipation. The next band was Adelitas Way. Before the show began, I saw at least a few shirts with their band name printed on them. When the band finally took the stage the crowd cheered. The band played through a set that was definitely more modern and hard rock than the previous set.
It was Adelitas Way that offered one of the sweeter moments in rock ‘n’ roll that I had seen. Lead singer Rick DeJesus took a moment in-between songs to look down into the crown and invite a young girl on the stage. The girl stood a few people behind me. She smiled big when he acknowledged her and cautiously let the people around her lift her into the air and towards the stage. The band invited the girl to hang out on stage with them for a couple of songs. She stood up there, clearly excited and nervous, and bobbed her head along to both songs. At the end of it the band members sent her back into the crowd for her first real crowd surfing experience, of course telling the audience to make sure she got back to her family safely. Overall, Adelitas Way put on a good show and gave everyone a moment to remember, especially one little girl.
The stage cleared a second time and the excitement bubbling from the crowd grew. I waited anxiously in my spot for the overhead music to die and for the house lights to go down. I’d been to enough shows to know that the show didn’t begin until that happened. I waited as fans chatted, as a sound check began and as conversations turned to singing as “Iron Man” by Black Sabbath played above us. Finally, it was silent and the lights went down.
The Pretty Reckless walked out onto the stage and went into the opener of their latest album, Going to Hell, “Follow Me Down.” The crowd sang and cheered as Taylor Momsen strode across the stage dancing on her band-mates and oozing sexuality. From there the band played a few older numbers, “Since You’re Gone” and “Miss Nothing.”
After a good run at the beginning the band hit a snag as they began to play “Sweet Things”; there seemed to be some technical difficulties with the guitar and possibly with the intro track. Momsen was clearly a bit flustered but she seemed determined to keep the show rolling, and after a few awkward moments it did.
The band seemed to hit a high with the crowd that night when playing hits like “Heaven Knows”, “Make Me Wanna Die” and finishing off with “Going to Hell.” Once the band exited the stage the crowd roared for more, and since it seemed that the house lights weren’t coming up anytime soon, it was clear that the crowd was going to get what they were begging for.
The chanting only lasted for a few minutes before the band hit the stage again for one last song, “Fucked Up World.” The band fired up again, Momsen grabbed the tambourine and the audience began to jump with the beat. They ended the night on a high note with a fun song, an exciting drum solo and a very pleased audience.
