Live Review: The Pretty Reckless and The Cruel Knives | O2 Academy Brixton | 5/11/2022
Braving the wind and the rain for a night that was destined to wreck our hold on cognitive normalcy; fans and casual listeners had a mini cancel-scare in the run up due to illness, but fortunately the NYC Hard Rock titans were able to continue after a short rest.
The Cruel Knives
Making our way to the legendary O2 Academy Brixton, we found ourselves being consumed by a distinct energy shift, something we can only regard as a respectfully formal herd mentality which seemed to continue resonating throughout the entire night. As talk in the crowd turned to the history of their beloved bands, jovial smack talk, (for some reason) a particularly alarming discussion about cliffs off the coast of England you can dedicate off of and lighting up the streets with the familiar aroma of a particular “medicine”; the eagerness to kick the night off and rival the overwhelming surge of fireworks blasting off in all directions left us buzzing for the festivities to begin.
In a haze of blue and violet mist that slowly cascaded from the stage down onto the audience, causing those in the front rows to turn into a sea of shining “blue man group” bobble heads, The Cruel Knives’ intro played for what felt like forever until a blood red hue began to overpower our sight; The Cruel Knives slowly made themselves known as they began their set with what felt like a 1960’s throwback solo guitar intro, as lead singer Tom Harris cut through the speakers like a psychic slice of the senses.
Such highlights of their set were some truly spirited versions of past singles including the enrapturing pounding of ‘Hollow People’ and their early 2021 blaster ‘The Life That We Made’; now with those entries dramatically sticking out above the rest, it regrettably emerged that other inclusions to their set failed to continue ringing in our ears for all that long. The greatest regret is we don’t especially recall being made aware of their latest single’s release which at the time was just under a week old, furthermore in the most brutally honest of ways – if they did in fact play this particular track known as ‘Overdose’, it is possible that it sent our audible cognition into a temporary coma.
Although nowhere near our perception of perfection, TCK’s guitar shredding was some of the most intense we’ve experienced live this year, coupled with a performance style that at specific points allowed space for vibrations from the stage to pulsate through the audience and trap itself inside our chests; we also found that their tendency for elongated outros kind of tested our hold of tolerability to the point of it becoming slightly tedious.
All in all, TCK were anything but mediocre and provided a listening experience that we would happily regard as a softened take on Architects’ metalcore-tinged insanity, yet the undeniable appeal and mounting anticipation for the eventual arrival of The Pretty Reckless unfortunately seemed to overshadow any overwhelming adoration for the effort displayed by the Mancunians. Disappointingly such a vibe seemed to resonate amongst the crowd as the energy and attention of attendees seemed to wane in places.
It would be cruel to say they weren’t good as they were nowhere near bad and did a bang up job considering the wafts of undeniable enjoyable energy being present amongst the crowds, sadly for us it seems that we would have been happy whether they were there or not.
Score: 5/10
The Pretty Reckless
As soon as The Cruel Knives left the stage, the crowd were immediately jumpy, as cheers roared through the venue at the sight of “The Pretty Reckless” banner being slowly lowered from the rafters. Even the sound crew got cheers as they did the various checks of the microphones and guitar feedback.
In all directions the density of people edging closer and closer to the stage became a progressively accepted reality, which also strangely gave room to the existence of carefully compact microcosms with more than enough space to swing a cat or two even when fellow patrons began getting a little friendlier with each other’s personal spaces.
The ongoing chatter as the limbo period advanced felt like we were listening to an overly rocky sea being played full volume on a pre-2000’s static plagued television, right as the heat suddenly intensified with a slowly ascending pocket of sweat particles making itself abundantly well known; until finally the lights were cut sending us into what felt like the blackest part of a void. Screams of joy rang out as air raid sirens echoed across the room, before a thunderclap silenced the congregation as the haunting words of Taylor Momsen seeped into our ears like a flood stating “on my tombstone when I go, just put death by rock and roll”.
Launching us into the tour’s namesake track, ‘Death by Rock and Roll’ stunned the masses as the entire venue turned purple with Taylor, Ben Phillips, Mark Damon and Jamie Perkins appearing from the dark with a flawless rendition of their current iconic banger; watching on in awe after we perceived such an entrance as a metaphorical return of Hard Rock royalty, who we last saw tear up the very same stage nearly 8 years prior to the day for the Going To Hell tour in November of 2014. It stuck as a sort of homecoming, as we quickly learned TPR’s mission for the night would be the ultimate overview to their incredible current legacy.
Condensing highlights to a fair few for a set that seemed to blow the minds of all in attendance is a distressingly challenging feat, which we have aggressively mulled over time and time again. We find that moments of overwhelming emotional outpouring and the onset of inclusiveness are what set good sets from the great sets, of which The Pretty Reckless provided plenty.
Filing through their discography from beginning to end, we found that during their – Light Me Up era inclusions to the set list, that a truly stirring rendition of ‘Just Tonight’ pushed all the right buttons. During the first chorus we were all encouraged to sing as a collective to help Taylor maintain their voice as she was still soldiering through a cold, which inadvertently became one of our highlights due to just how beautifully connected the entire audience was to this soundtrack to an emotionally harrowed state. It was however the onset of the bridge into the final chorus as T’s signature smokiness was on full display, that we were left in a state we’ll refer to as a cathartic shock; with our eyes welling up at the sensory overload this particular track invokes we were nowhere near prepared for such a sudden need for composure. Even now, the memory of that performance still makes us choke on our words.
The Going To Hell era was emblazoned with fiery vibes from the off as the albums namesake was introduced via Taylor stating, that through “… a lot of division, a lot of hate and all that shit. I personally think there’s one thing we can still all agree on” (sic) “it is that, we are all Going To Fucking HELL!”, with varying degrees of seductiveness of all out maniacal screaming added in from dramatic effect.
‘Going To Hell’ was so magnificently performed, that the knowledge of Taylor’s ongoing illness seemed to be completely wiped from the mind when you heard her belt her lungs out. The near end of the track featured audience participation sections in which were were made to scream “I’m Going To Hell” at the top of our might, before landing back down to earth for the concluding section of the track with its insanely written outro astounding us at every fastened strike of the drum, bass and guitar to its climactic end.
Just before the band kicked off their impressive take of ‘Bones’, a group of people who we personally believe to be a bunch of “moronic pricks” threw a drink over the sound desk before it inevitable hit a fellow fan in the back of head. What quickly followed was a steady stream of expletives from the crowd and crew who raced to clear up the mess, as patrons offered anything and everything useful for sopping up the liquids before an eerie silence engulfed the pit after one woman screamed “you stupid cunts” at the alleged drink pitchers.
We found this moment not only infuriating from the standpoint of a fan hoping no equipment was damaged due to the possible impact it could have on the remainder of the show, but also because it stood as an example of a break from the accepted decorum. We’re all well versed on what to expect at a heavy music gig, such examples are possible crowd surfing, mosh pits, a lot of borderline-annoying individuals screaming at the stage for varying reasons as well as a general sense and space for controlled rowdiness, all of which seemed to be rather non-existent this particular night. It’s not often that you see a band who inspire such a deep sense of adoration and appreciation that it dramatically alters the expected psychology surrounding a herd mentality. It’s just rather fascinating to ponder over, but we digress.
As the show continued to go from strength to strength we found enormous pleasure from experiencing the unimaginable guitar shredding by Ben Phillips in the post-conclusion outro of ‘Heaven Knows’, as well as the extended bridge for ‘Fucked Up World’ were Jamie Perkins transitioned in and out of a mind-melting drum solo which left us positively bewitched by what we deemed as the stuff of legends, as our eyes seemed to never dare stray from the scene unfolding before us all.
Another moment of sheer amazement came in the first song The Pretty Reckless played after returning to the main stage from their faux-finale; They began by having Taylor speak about how honoured she was to know and be asked to sing at the California based Taylor Hawkins Tribute concert, alongside Nirvana members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic and Soundgarden’s Matt Cameron and Kim Thayil. She continued by asking that the attendees please “..raise (their) lights up to the heavens for Taylor”, before performing a rather subdued and stripped back rendition of the Foo Fighters pre-millennium hit ‘Learn To Fly’ (which we wish TPR would record and release to the public) as the entire stages facade was lit up so brightly by the congregations phones that people could of mistaken it for the house lights being on.
Any soft spot you might have for a band that has managed to touch the hearts of so many across the globe doesn’t need to be fully engaged to convey the true spirit of a night that was filled to the brim with the purest of musical ecstasy. The Pretty Reckless outdid themselves on a multitude of levels, they took us all on a journey of rediscovery through their vast discography and provided a safe space to explore all of the complexities and eccentricities attached to each and every profoundly beloved track they’ve ever created, all the while gracing us with nearly 2 hours’ worth of immaculate performances.
Score: 10/10