By Cassie Osvatics
Wednesday night, The Pretty Reckless performed at the 9:30 Club, along with opening band Them Evils, for a night full of hair and black eye liner.
The Pretty Reckless formed back in 2009 and released their first EP in 2010 featuring the song “Make Me Wanna Die.” Though lead singer Taylor Momsen’s vocals were powerful, and she had a pretty talented band backing her, her status as an actress made it harder for the young singer of only 16 to prove herself, often catching flack for the way she dressed and performed.
As the band has progressed over the years and Momsen left acting behind her, however, the band has gone on to garner a large fan base, as was evident by the crowd at their performance at 9:30 Club.
Opening band Them Evils performed a relatively short set, including some of their old songs and a new one, as well as a cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love.” While the band no doubt is very talented, a lot of their songs tended to sound the same, but their stage presence definitely saved them. The amount of hair contained in the three-piece band left me in envy of their ability to head bang so much.
When The Pretty Reckless took the stage, the crowd was in a frenzy, preparing themselves for what promised to be an intense performance.
Momsen walked out on stage, unsurprisingly dressed in all black, sporting her signature black eye makeup. The way she tousled her hair preparing to unleash her voice was quite captivating.
The band opened their set with “Follow Me Down” from their sophomore album Going To Hell, complete with the sex noises that begin the track on the album.
Much of their set went on pretty uninterrupted, flowing to the next track, performing “Make Me Wanna Die” fairly early. Momsen even picked up a guitar for “My Medicine” and a second time for “Take Me Down” just before their encore.
One of the few times Momsen did speak at length to the crowd was just before playing “Living In The Storm” with greater intensity than the album version, saying “With the crazy times we’re living in, this song seems appropriate.”
The band closed out the night with “Fucked Up World,” featuring an extensive and awe-inspiring drum solo from Jamie Perkins, for which the rest of the band momentarily left the stage.
If Taylor Momsen set out at a young age to be a badass, she’s succeeded. At only 23, she’s already had two successful careers and garnered a large fan base.
The Pretty Reckless has tour dates through September, which you can check out here.
Featured Photo Credit: Feature photo courtesy of digboston on Flickr.
Cassie Osvatics is a senior English major and can be reached at cosvatics@gmail.com.
