Ian Waller enjoys a incredible sell-out gig from one of the great bands to come out of the 1970s and who are still relevant and fantastic today
Wow, The Pretenders were in town and this was a gig I just couldn’t miss. The Pretenders are rock royalty, dishing out song writing and gig perfection since way back in 1978 and with the awesome Chrissie Hynde still front and centre, and quite frankly just incredible.
Last night’s venue was the Bristol Beacon, surely one of the best concert halls in the region. The welcome is warm, the seats are comfy and best of all, the sound was spot-on. And there on stage were The Pretenders, playing to a sell out audience of, let’s be honest, a certain vintage, many of whom would have been around in the band’s early days.
The stunning thing about this gig is how exciting, energetic and relevant the band remain. With the tour promoting the new album Relentless, it was unlikely ever to be a greatest hits package, and what a great thing this was because the new songs stood tall, while the occasional well known belters were always going to be popular too.
The spark behind this performance is a great band, with the connection between Ms Hynde and guitarist and song-writing partner James Walbourne in particular just electric. Chrissie’s voice was as strong, emotional and stand out unique as it’s ever been, while Walbourne was a guitarist on another level – exciting, incredible and great to watch. Alongside Martin Chambers on drums and Nick Wilkinson on bass, the result was stunning – just great rock and roll performed with such energy and skill.
Yes, of course a few of the radio friendly favourites were there, including Kid, Don’t Get Me Wrong and Back on the Chain gang. But the new stuff from Relentless was so good too, alongside the instantly anthemic Hate For Sale and just a whole set list of quality.
What a great night. What a great band!