The Pretty Reckless, "Death by Rock And Roll" Tour 2022, Barrowlands, Glasgow. Wednesday 26th October, 2022

My first gig post-Covid following the disappointment of having to cancel for Elf Lyons and Jordan Brookes last week. Feeling a bit leg weary, I pressed Bob for a lift to the venue and was glad he agreed. Doors opened at 7pm and we all arrived around 7.20pm. The queue appeared endless, curling so far up the road that one of the security men recommended we take a shortcut along Gibson Street to Moncur Street to connect to the end of the queue. It didn't take long to realise why access to the venue was taking so long. Many attendees were young and female, in leathers and dark clothing, all carrying tiny handbags containing their cigarettes or vapes. And all those tiny bags needed to be searched by security. When it was my turn to go in, I set off the alarm but all the security were so busy no one noticed so I got waved through without getting frisked, a first in a long time.  

The event was sold out but didn't seem too busy as the support act, The Cruel Knives, took to the stage. A rock band with some heavy riffs, they sounded a bit like Audioslave, but I wasn't too impressed by the singer's vocals. His attempts at a rock scream came across as weak. I did enjoy their music though and he had a degree of personality so maybe it was just an off night for him. 

By the time the main act appeared, the venue was packed, hot and sweaty. The usual latecomers forced their way forward, filling any spaces people had created for themselves. The atmosphere was electric, the crowd chanting "Here we, here we, here we fucking go". As singer Taylor appeared, a female a short distance ahead of me thrust her arms in the air in salute, her long fingernails reminding me of vampire claws. Those arms became the bane of my life. Whenever I tried to take a picture, up one shot, her hand twisting to the music or gesturing devil horns. I'm not averse to others enjoying themselves but this was almost Tourettes in frequency. It even spread like an infection to her pal when she too started to mimic her actions.

The gig had a start-stop feel to it, with every song ending in a blackout. There would be a pause and they'd launch into another number. The set was short, not quite reaching an hour and a half. This was stretched out by an extended guitar solo and drum solo. Taylor's vocals often seemed lost in the sound mix, which was a shame because, when she let rip, her voice was strong and raucous. She had a great presence, twirling and skipping across the stage, throwing her hair around. The crowd loved her.

I was a mite disappointed though. The gig had no momentum. I felt short-changed by the early finish. The sets elsewhere on the tour had more numbers. So, overall, it was just okay, probably worth it as the tix were not too expensive.      

Ticket price £27.50

Setlist

Death by Rock and Roll

Since You're Gone

Only Love Can Save Me Now

Goin' Down

And So It Went

Make Me Wanna Die

Sweet Things

Witches Burn

My Medicine

My Bones

Heaven Knows (Extended guitar solo)

Take Me Down

Encore:

Fucked Up World (long drum solo)

The arms, the claws, the bane of my camera

The drummer's POV post solo