“Forgive me Father, for I have sinned.” Rock n’ roll, excess, the “I don’t give a f@#k attitude.” Guess what, Indianapolis? Tonight, we’re going straight to hell.
As part of their latest trek across North America, The Pretty Reckless brought their “Going To Hell Tour” to Deluxe at Old National Centre this past weekend. Since it’s not a proper party without the right guests, they were joined by the likes of Adelita’s Way and Crash Midnight for the evening.
I’ve not seen TPR in years. Actually, the last time I saw them was during the Warped Tour, and by then, I was a dehydrated, exhausted mess (as usual). With Halloween coming up, a little darkness felt appropriate. That being said, I took up an offer to review the show and interview the opening act, and with that, I was on my highway to hell to join the masses at this sold out show.
Of course I should expect a long line out the door once doors finally open (a second show going on in the Egyptian Room doesn’t help matters either). Thankfully it’s an unseasonably warm evening. If it’s like this, I can’t wait to see what it’s like once we’re in the Deluxe room…
Normally, this is the “calm before the storm” portion of the evening, but many seem genuinely excited to be here. Some are getting their pictures taken in front of the marquee outside, while out in the VIP lot, there’s a sign that reads “Adelita’s Way is why I came” sitting on the dashboard. I’m not much of a fan of either of these bands (yet), but even their anticipation is making me excited.
It takes a while to finally get my tickets, but I thankfully get them before the show starts and begin my slow descent towards inferno. The room is as full as I’ve ever seen it before, and I think it’s safe to say that this place will soon feel as hot as the actual place.
I was invited out to this show by Crash Midnight, and having never really heard of this band before, I’m interested in seeing what these Boston rockers can do. Before too long, the lights go out, some cheering comes out from the crowd, and the band takes the stage to do what they do.
To elaborate a little bit further, Crash Midnight is a band that embodies the sound and the swagger of 1970s-era rock n’ roll and brings them all into the 21st century. The soaring vocals, the guitar solos, an upbeat stage performance, and that give-no-f@#ks Boston attitude. That’s this band in a nutshell.
They might not have had much time to perform, but with what they had, they made sure they left a mark on an Indianapolis crowd that largely hadn’t heard of them before tonight. Frontman Shaun Soho is captivating enough to grab everyone’s attention, guitar solos are being played behind their heads, and judging by some of the people standing around me, you can’t help but move around to their style of rock. It may not be necessarily feel-good music, but it’s music that’s meant to be fun. The band is having the time of their lives up there, and they want to bring that to as many people as they can. Whether or not they succeeded in doing that remains to be seen, but to this review, there couldn’t have been a more appropriate opener for this show. It feels like this show is off to a running start.
Crash Midnight has wrapped their set and are now rolling their gear off the stage so the next act can get ready. Though I’m not quite sure why the house lights aren’t being used and only the stage lights are being used, but I digress. It’s kind of dark in here. Now, I’ve got an interview to get to. Time to navigate my way out of this interview while trying not to bump into anyone. Yeah, about that…
As usual, the merch booths are set up in the hall just outside Deluxe, with the members of Crash Midnight hanging out around there, greeting new fans and posing for pictures for those (including one with a little girl to commemorate her first concert). Others use this as a chance to head to the bar for a drink or run to the bathroom before the next act.
Speaking of this crowd, it’s a very mixed bag with people of all ages here tonight. However, you can kind of gauge who they’re here to stay. If you’re of the younger set and you have an affinity for black lace, studded jewelry, fishnets, and arm bands, you’re probably there for The Pretty Reckless; if you’re a little older and you like your rock shows with a beer in one hand while throwing up your horns with the other, you’re probably there for Adelita’s Way. There’s a definite generation gap, but hey, rock has no age restrictions. You like what you like.
I finally meet with the guys in Crash Midnight. We’ve got a little bit of time while they finish up here at the table. While they take care of their business, I’m hanging out around the door going into Deluxe, kind of impressed by how many people they can fit into here. The pillars inside kind of limit where you can stand (we’ll get to that later), and it might resemble a sardine can the closer to the stage you get, but still. that’s a lot of people.
And that same group of people lets out a loud cheer once the lights go out again and our next performer takes to the stage. Judging by the number of hands in the air I can seen own the middle of the room, I’d say these people are excited to see them.
And why not? Adelita’s Way is very tight musically, all four members look like they’re on the same page, and frontman Rick DeJesus has this whole room in the palm of his hand. This band has complete control, and we all know it.
Many seemed on board from the beginning, but if there was one moment that really cemented it, it was DeJesus’ mini-rant about the lack of a rock scene in this city before proclaiming “f@#k your Indianapolis radio stations,” drawing some enthusiastic cheers from this capacity crowd.
Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see their full set, as this was one of the rare occasions where an interview took place after the band performed, but I did see enough to formulate an opinion of their performance. It was the kind of show you’d expect to see from a headliner rather than a supporting act. Judging by the reactions around the room, I’d say they knocked it out of the park with this one.
Two songs in, and I’m off to the backstage area to chat with Crash Midnight about a myriad of topics, from their new record to why they were denied alcohol this evening. It was a nice conversation that may have gone off the rails a few times, but they were cool.
(Interview coming soon…).
I get from the backstage area just in time to see Adelita’s Way wrap up. It looks like things haven’t changed too much. Everyone is still thoroughly entertained, and by the time they wrap, they want more. Unfortunately, the show must go on (partially in the dark).
Now time for our headliner. Normally, this is where I try to move in closer, but most of the good places have been taken, and all I can get to is the area right behind one of the four pillars in the center of the room. The perfect area if you want to pretend the center of the stage doesn’t exist. Maybe people will be recording the performance on their phones. Generally, this is a pet peeve of mine during shows, but it looks like it’s my saving grace tonight. Man, maybe I really am in hell (it’s about as hot right now…).
We’re in definite “hurry up and wait” mode now. Many converse amongst each other, while I’m just over here singing along to System Of A Down and one of the millions of Chris Cornell songs they seem to like to play over the speakers. Yes, patience is a virtue, but before I make someone’s ears bleed with my singing, just get this show on the road.
The lights go out and cheering erupts, but not before a little bit of “Hell’s Bells” plays (appropriate). Before too long, the band enters stage left, followed by the enigmatic Taylor Momsen, who doesn’t waste any time, and goes right into “Follow Me Down.” With that, we’re off.
The room is packed, and I’m perfectly situated behind one of the pillars in the room. While I can’t see anything besides bassist Mark Damon, I’ve never been more thankful that people are on their phones and recording it. Yes, it’s a pet peeve of mine (and even Taylor Momsen says something about it later in the show), this is my saving grace tonight.
I may not have been able to see much, but I’m still able to make this assessment: for as much as I was a skeptic about seeing this band, there were a few things that genuinely surprised me: how tight the musicianship was, how strong of a presence Momsen brought to the stage, and how much of a unit they operate as. Yes, most of the attention goes to their singer, but make no mistake, this band operates as The Pretty Reckless, not “Taylor Momsen and three other musicians.” Plus, for as much as I get on artists for going the “shock before rock” route, I’m pleasantly surprised that this performance was all about the music.
Also one other thing that surprised me (not in a good way) was how many strobe lights they had going off during the entire set. I don’t have epilepsy or anything, but that many lights going off during the set was certainly distracting. It took until the drive home to fully focus again. Some things are great in moderation, and the lighting for the show was definitely one of them.
If there’s a nitpick about the performance, it would be about how lifeless the rest of the band is on stage. Not that you have to add things like crazy backflips or constant headbanging to make it seem like you’re alive, but throw in something that at least makes it look like you’re interested in being there. Despite that, I do give credit to Momsen, who did everything she could to engage the crowd, from urging sing alongs to moving around to various points of the stage. At one point, she even tells people to get off their phones and starting living in this moment. No doubt about it, she’s definitely in here element up on that stage.
As for the rest of the audience, they don’t seem to mind. It may be hot and muggy in this basement (hotter than…), but everyone seems to be enjoying themselves. The younger crowd there to see the band is singing along and having the time of their lives, and even some of the older audience stands and nods in appreciation.
But the fun can’t last. It’s one rousing rendition of “Going To Hell” before the band bids everyone farewell and exits stage left.
But this isn’t enough. The cheering never stops. Taylor even gets her own chant. Before too long, the band returns to the stage and thanks everyone for their support. It’s at this time that we get to the final song for the evening. A little number called “F@#ked Up World.” The highlight definitely came when the band exited the stage during the bridge and let drummer Jamie Perkins do his thing, and go off on a drum solo that brought the house down. While maybe a little too long, you can’t help but admire what he did. When it concludes, the rest of the members come back on stage to finish the song, and thus send this capacity crowd on their way.
The house lights come back up, and everyone makes their way to the doors. As soon as I get outside, the cool air feels great after standing inside a sauna for the past few hours. Now that I’ve exited Inferno, it’s back to Purgatorio so I can finish writing this thing.
Final verdict?
All nitpicks about lighting and musicians just standing there and playing, this was still a fun rock show. Every band sounded great, the crowds seemed like they were really into it, and when you combine both of those, that’s a combination for a great show.
Hell is other rock bands, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
The Good:
This is a rare occasion where all three bands seemed to build off one another. Each sounded great and brought their own personality and sound to the stage for what felt like a very complete night of rock n’ roll. Plus, Crash Midnight was a blast to have on the podcast.
The Bad:
Taylor definitely did her part, but I would’ve liked to see the rest of the band do a little more than just stand there and play. Those strobe lights were very brutal. Was that what I got for skipping the haunted houses this year? Seriously though, in moderation they’re fine, but it was very distracting from the most important part, which was the performance itself.