The Pretty Reckless @ Irving Plaza
I know I don't normally do stuff like this seeing as this is mostly an art blog, but seeing as I'm talking about the musical arts it still fits xP
So I went to my first NYC concert on Friday (the only other concerts I've been to were free ones in my town's park and two shows at Stage One in Fairfield, which I never really counted). My friend and I went to see The Pretty Reckless, and it was definitely an experience. Seeing as I had never been to a popular concert before I really had no idea what to expect. We got into Grand Central at 4:30, took the 4 to Union Square and then made a quick detour to the Flatiron building. At 5:45 we walked back to Irving Plaza and got on a already long line. The doors opened at 7 and we walked into the venue. People were already starting to crowd around the stage, so we got a spot to the right a few rows from the stage. We stood there until 8pm, and by that time my back was killing me, since I wasn't used to standing still for so long. Finally the opening act started, The Blackboard Nails. They were ok. The music was good, but the lyrics were really repetitive and the crowd wasn't really into it. Then at 8:45 a NYC based band, The Indecents started. They were alot better. The music was more upbeat and the singer had this really nice sounding raspy voice. The crowd got a bit more into it, but not the overwhelming swaying and head bobing that you see in movies and such. At this point I was getting a little disappointed, so my friend and I pushed through the crowd to the back so we could move around a bit, get refreshments, and most importantly, sit down. The next band didn't come on until 8:30. I thought this band was finally going to be The Pretty Reckless, but before they rolled up the projector screen that they brought down between sets to keep the crowd preoccupied (with really trippy cartoons/animations playing that made no freaking sense and were kinda disturbing), we heard a man's voice come over the speaker "Check, Check 1,2. I KISSED A SQUIRREL AND I LIKED IT!" Although the crowd laughed, I was disappointed that it wasn't female alto of Taylor Momsen. Finally, the projector screen came up, and the third supporting band of the night, The Hollywood Kills started playing. They're a relatively new alt. rock band out of Tennessee. Unlike the previous bands, this band really clicked with the crowd. They were fantastic. After they played we met them at the merch table and they signed my pants. They were really cool guys, and I hope to hear more of them soon. (If you're interested in checking them out their ep Don't Panic is on iTunes. I would highly recommend it). Finally, The Pretty Reckless came 45 minutes later at 10:30 (I later learned that they had been originally scheduled to come on at 10:00). At this point, there was no way I was even going to come close to getting back to the spot we had been earlier during the night, so I tried to enjoy the view from almost the very back of the standing room crowd. Despite not being close, I still had a pretty good view (Thank god for being 6 foot :) The band was great. They sounded the same live as they do on their CDs, but the atmosphere and the lighting of the venue really made the experience worthwhile. Overall it was a great night, despite the fact that it hadn't met my expectations timing wise, but hey, now I know more for the future. Unfortunately, we had to leave the show before the last song, and we didn't get a chance to talk to Taylor Momsen or the other band members and get my pants signed, lol. But seeing as having that chance was probably slim to none in the first place, I wasn't too disappointed. I hope to see The Pretty Reckless again on tour next year, and keep up to date on The Hollywood Kill.
