It’s been some six years since I had my first glimpse of The Pretty Reckless at Warped Tour and they’ve grown immensely. On Saturday, December 3 in a near capacity Roseland, they played their biggest and best show in Portland to date. As the lights dimmed and TPR’s entrance music played, it was nearly drowned out by the sounds of the girls in attendance screaming. When Taylor Momsen (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Jamie Perkins (drums), Ben Phillips (lead guitar, vocals) and Mark Damon (bass) took the stage shrouded in blue, you could feel the crowd pushing forward as the band tore into “Follow Me Down.” With Momsen's hair flying, she grasped the mic stand and just wailed. Her voice was enormous, her screams electrifying, and the band were incredibly tight.
Their entire performance was nothing short of exhilarating. Damon and Perkins shined on the backline as they played some badass, driving, headbanging rock on “Oh My God” and “Heaven Knows,” the latter of which featured a soaring guitar solo by Phillips. The gritty blues rock of their masterful single “Take Me Down” and the raw rock ballad “Who You Selling For” were truly standout moments of their short but relentless set.
If you were in attendance at the Roseland on Saturday, you experienced a great rock concert from a band who are now realizing their full potential and ready to rock any arena stage. Their 15-song set included six songs from their new release Who You Selling For, which in my opinion is one of the best rock albums this year.
Set List:
Follow Me Down
Since You're Gone
Oh My God
Hangman
Make Me Wanna Die
My Medicine
Prisoner
Sweet Things
Light Me Up
Who You Selling For
Living in the Storm
Heaven Knows
Going to Hell
Take Me Down
Encore:
Fucked Up World
