Even before the Halestorm/I Prevail concert, I was trying to come up with a a song choice for that week's Queeraoke. A co-worker of mine mentioned "Dreaming" by Selena, captivated by the utter romance of the singer's two singles recorded in English. I told my friend that as much as I love "Dreaming", I was looking for a song with the presence of "Fotos y Recuerdos". She looked ar new having no idea what I was talking about. I explained that it's a Tejano interpretation of the Pretenders' "Back on the Chain Gang". In case that song was still lost on her, I recommended Selena's "Disco Medley" from her February 1995 show in Houston's Astrodome. Dancing around in giant heels, Selena dances with unbridled joy. Fan-girling out, as if she had performed these songs hundreds of times in the shower, cha-cha'ing back and forth along the little foot-grips.
For my Queeraoke song of the week, I chose a song that I had regularly fan-girled out over. Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now". It's raunchy AF, but so is the movie "American Pie". Not to sound naive, but what drew me most to this (seriously) was how the tempo rises and falls just like the scales and arpeggios of the song's notes. It's exhilarating for the performer and the audience. My only regret was not getting to the cafe earlier in the evening because I was so far behind in the queue. I didn't take the stage until 1:10 in the morning, and I was running to catch the bus right after thanking the host and remaining crowd.
The next night, I was on Lansdowne Street in line to see the Pretenders. The tragic trio of "sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll" led two of the original bandmates to their demise. Chrissie Hynde and drummer Martin Chambers have rebuilt the Pretenders around their core as the band's survival mechanism. Nothing against the Smith's Johnny Marr, or other previous members, a band's ability to thrive is both the product of talent and the interpersonal chemistry to remain together. In the band's 46 year history. In what I would venture to call the Pretenders' third wave the current lineup has been together for the past 16 years, exceeding the lineup from the 90's and the early 2000's. I know this may seem like a trivial subject to talk about, but not everyone has U2's blessed ability to remain the same four members for almost fifty years. The Pretenders' path to survival may guide the way for remaining the duo in Depeche Mode.
The Pretenders' Summer 2024 tour can be considered a victory lap after their stadium tour with Guns 'n Roses. This time, Chrissie and the guys have top billing. The setlist honors the band's long history of iconic music with the addition of some new songs from the "Relentless" album. Many songs of "Relentless" are strong recordings, and you can see stylistic kinship with younger musicians. Listening to "Let the Light Shine In", the first comparison that comes to mind is Liz Phair's "Exile from Guyville", some Pretenders attitude and "Shiny Happy People" by REM and Kate Pierson. "Look Away" evokes Brandi Carlile ballads. "Vainglorious" is the song that I find most enjoyable when immersing myself in the 2023 album. It has the rough rhythm and edge that restates the Pretenders as a premiere rock band. The radio broadcast market might not have been that receptive to new material from septuagenarians.
In general, seeing the Pretenders live was a longtime dream come true. Not as big a fan of Axl Rose, I dropped back from seeing G& R and the Pretenders at Fenway Park, telling my friends that hopefully the Pretenders, Slash, Duff, and maybe Izzy Stradlin come up to Boston on other tours. Chrissie Hynde is still the embodiment of cool, While her work might not be quite as edgy and iconoclastic as some early Pretenders fans may want, Hynde commands the room, showing everyone the definition of rock star. Structurally, Chrissie' work with the rhythm guitar and Martin Chambers's drumming work as rhythm section partnership that drives the Pretenders brand. Bassist Nick Wilkinson and lead guitarist James Walbourne elevate those songs higher. Both in the studio and on stage.
It was during the second encore (of the set's 28 songs), we were treated to some of the highest charting Pretenders songs, with "Let the Light Shine In" worked into the show's big farewell. Seeing and hearing "Don't Get Me Wrong" is particularly moving when you see the Pretenders playing it live. Chrissie Hynde performing the song with as much feeling as she did in 1986, and everyone singing and dancing among the rows of seats. "Back on the Chain Gang" closed the figurative loop on my Selena reference earlier in the week. While so many fans were deprived of the chance to see Selena perform live, The beginnings of "Fotos y Recuerdos" was right in front of me as the Pretenders played the Selena's source material. I challenged myself to think of another example where one hit song is linguistically reinterpreted and yields success for the secondary act. Neil Sedaka translated "Ring Ring" from Swedish to English, but for another ABBA release. The Beatles translate "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "She Loves You" to German when they were playing in Hamburg before their appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. My brainstorming brought me to Goldfinger's cover of "99 Red Balloons" from 2000. The original song by Nena had been translated for the English speaking market, but lost some of it's emotional heft in the translation process. A skate punk band from Los Angeles ran with the song 16 years later, and reveled in what could be drawn from Use Fahrenkrog-Peterson's keyboard composition.
Finishing this r0ck bl0gster post, I'm brimming with excitement for my next show. Spoilers: The show is organized by one of Axl's bandmates. Until next time.
Comments
Post a Comment