(Chrissie Hynde demonstrates "star power" on a real guitar. © 2009 Benjamin Luk.)
Wednesday night. An outdoor show at the Malkin Bowl. Doors at 5, show at 6.
Those are factors that could blunt the impact of any performance, but The Pretenders were a class act and knew how to roll with the punches. Kicking off their set with the boot-stomping title track to 2008's Break Up the Concrete, The Pretenders quickly got the crowd going. Chrissie Hynde rushed the stage wielding maracas and a whole lot of swagger, and would often come right up to the lip of the stage, bridging the massive photo pit gap between her and her audience. And unlike Cat Power who opened before them, The Pretenders had no problem playing their best material, ripping through classics like "Back on the Chain Gang", "Middle of the Road" and "Precious".
The band was uniformly excellent with recent addition Eric Heywood on pedal steel settling in nicely next to founding member and powerhouse drummer Martin Chambers. ("He's been with me 30 years," Chrissie informed the crowd. "You only get 20 for murder.") Being just a casual fan before the show, I was only familiar with a handful of songs played, but nearly the entire set sounded vital and invigorated. A big reason for this, of course, is Chrissie Hynde. At 57 years old, she possesses a voice remarkably unscathed by decades of touring. And after thirty-odd years in the biz, she knows how to get a crowd on her side, cracking jokes in between songs, interacting with all her band members and efficiently working the front of the stage. However, on this tour anyway, The Pretenders also had a secret weapon. Lead guitarist James Walbourne wasn't very loud in the mix but every now and again, Chrissie would give him free reign to rip into a solo and man, he'd just wail. His face would contort and his body would writhe like a man in an electric chair. His presence completely energized "My City is Gone", bringing out the latent rage in Chrissie's lyrics and turning the normally mellow song into an exciting romp.
As I said earlier, The Pretenders know how to put on a show. When they came out for the encore, Chrissie knew what everyone wanted to hear. "You want to hear something a little cheesy, a little trite?" Chrissie asked. "Well, you must or you wouldn't be here." Soon enough, their signature hit from 1979, "Brass in Pocket", was echoing out over the trees in Stanley Park. It was a crowd pleaser, to be sure. The guy behind me, who belted along tunelessly to all the "whoas" and "ohs" earlier, knew all the words to this one and sang along as best he could. When the show was over, Chrissie thanked the crowd and the whole band came to the front of the stage, taking a bow together with the kind of showmanship noticeably absent in so many modern acts.
The Pretenders? They look more like pros to me.
Those are factors that could blunt the impact of any performance, but The Pretenders were a class act and knew how to roll with the punches. Kicking off their set with the boot-stomping title track to 2008's Break Up the Concrete, The Pretenders quickly got the crowd going. Chrissie Hynde rushed the stage wielding maracas and a whole lot of swagger, and would often come right up to the lip of the stage, bridging the massive photo pit gap between her and her audience. And unlike Cat Power who opened before them, The Pretenders had no problem playing their best material, ripping through classics like "Back on the Chain Gang", "Middle of the Road" and "Precious".
The band was uniformly excellent with recent addition Eric Heywood on pedal steel settling in nicely next to founding member and powerhouse drummer Martin Chambers. ("He's been with me 30 years," Chrissie informed the crowd. "You only get 20 for murder.") Being just a casual fan before the show, I was only familiar with a handful of songs played, but nearly the entire set sounded vital and invigorated. A big reason for this, of course, is Chrissie Hynde. At 57 years old, she possesses a voice remarkably unscathed by decades of touring. And after thirty-odd years in the biz, she knows how to get a crowd on her side, cracking jokes in between songs, interacting with all her band members and efficiently working the front of the stage. However, on this tour anyway, The Pretenders also had a secret weapon. Lead guitarist James Walbourne wasn't very loud in the mix but every now and again, Chrissie would give him free reign to rip into a solo and man, he'd just wail. His face would contort and his body would writhe like a man in an electric chair. His presence completely energized "My City is Gone", bringing out the latent rage in Chrissie's lyrics and turning the normally mellow song into an exciting romp.
As I said earlier, The Pretenders know how to put on a show. When they came out for the encore, Chrissie knew what everyone wanted to hear. "You want to hear something a little cheesy, a little trite?" Chrissie asked. "Well, you must or you wouldn't be here." Soon enough, their signature hit from 1979, "Brass in Pocket", was echoing out over the trees in Stanley Park. It was a crowd pleaser, to be sure. The guy behind me, who belted along tunelessly to all the "whoas" and "ohs" earlier, knew all the words to this one and sang along as best he could. When the show was over, Chrissie thanked the crowd and the whole band came to the front of the stage, taking a bow together with the kind of showmanship noticeably absent in so many modern acts.
The Pretenders? They look more like pros to me.
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