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Hynde rages and rules at Warfield
Michelle sent me this as I was on my way to work. I'm at the disadvantage of having no idea who Chrissie Hynde is â she could be nice to her mother and patient with little children, and just have a fantasy about dating Sean Penn...SOME MIGHT THINK that by 2003, a Pretenders concert would have evolved into your basic, run-of-the-mill, classic rock show. Well, that tells me she's a singer with the Pretenders. That's a start. Who're they? That's a good one. Shall I slap my thigh now? Saturday's show at the Warfield in San Francisco a Pretenders concert, but it was really the in-your-face Chrissie Hynde show in every way, shape and form. Lead singer Hynde was in a razor-tongued mood, whether the topic was war, sports, dancing, her own sex appeal, meat, or what the crowd looks like. She nearly picked a fight and openly coveted love from a biker. And what the heck â since she was there with three guys toting instruments, there was even some music. Nice of her to throw that in... That part of the show was occasionally inspired, hot, passionate, flawless and sexy. After nearly a quarter-century, Hynde's voice is still a sneer wrapped in cool velvet. Seeing her front and center wearing a black T-shirt, jeans, her trademark black bangs and a Telecaster is like witnessing a rock 'n' roll monument. For lovers of real rock, it's the equivalent of a political junkie standing on the steps of the Capitol. She sounds... fascinating. Sadly, I'm not a lover of "real rock," which I often find juvenile and predictable. My preference is for 20s and 30s jazz, but we won't go into that... And speaking of politics ... Hynde is a tad anti-war. She's anti lots of stuff, and isn't afraid to growl about them all every time the music stops. "Have we gone to war yet?" she asked sarcastically, early on. "We (expletive) deserve to get bombed. Bring it on." Later she yelled, "Let's get rid of all the economic (expletive) this country represents! Bring it on, I hope the Muslims win!" Sounds like one of the Great Minds of the 21st Century at work. Lotsa innalekshul depth there... When a crowd member responded to that inflammatory statement, Hynde stormed the mic, roaring, "Shut your face!" Glaring, she held out the mic toward the fan as longtime drummer Martin Chambers stood up behind her, ready to rumble. "You come up to the mic and say something, smart guy," she snarled. "What do you want to talk about?" Oh, how intimidating! They pay her to do that, of course... The music nearly became an afterthought for Hynde's issues. ("Did I tell you why I hate sports? Because I hate winners and people who have to win all the time.") Sounds like she's a lo-o-o-o-oser. But remember, Hynde cut her musical teeth in a place where anger and music easily mix. To see a swaggering 51-year-old woman still unfazed by anything in a male-dominated music world is a wonderful thing, whether you agree or not. Hynde's credibility is genuine and rooted firmly in experience (she witnessed the Kent State protest killings in 1970 and later immersed herself in the mid-1970s London musical uprising that helped birth punk rock). And this is supposed to matter because...? So fans, even the ones Hynde wanted to beat up, probably should have expected her to be charged up these days. That passion gave the classics a shot of adrenaline Saturday night. I get it. Her passion for seeing her country destroyed translates into passion in her music, right? Though there were great moments from the newest record, "Loose Screw," especially the ode to junkies, "You Know Who Your Friends Are," the intensity grew with the back catalog. For all her independence, Hynde clearly knows what still brings out the fans. "We're gonna play everything you came to hear," she promised before kicking off "Talk of the Town." Melancholy Baby? Miss Otis Regrets? How about Paper Moon? Ooh! Ooh! I know! How about Isle of Capri? Her voice sounded great, as did the band. Guitarist Adam Seymour shined [sic]during "My City Was Gone," with extended and intense leads doing real justice to former guitarist Robbie McIntosh. Yet it was Hynde getting all the attention. She stopped the band during "Don't Get me Wrong," smiled and said, "See, I can do whatever I (expletive) want to up here." This came only moments after looking along the front row and smirking, "It's not often that we have an audience that's uglier than we are," before kicking into "Back on the Chain Gang." Or maybe it's just that the band and the audience looked alike, with the audience being slightly more numerous... People expect bad girl talk from Hynde, though calling the crowd ugly might even be a reach for her. Even if they weren't so forgiving, the music soothed things over. Once Hynde shut up, the show gained sudden momentum, like a big rig losing brakes halfway down the mountain. There were charged versions of "Kid," "Night in my Veins," and "Precious," then the energy peaked during an absolutely wrenching "Mystery Achievement," during which Seymour coolly channeled the frantic brilliance of late guitarist James Honeyman-Scott. Hynde wound down with show-ender "Brass in Pocket," putting a period on the point that for all her entertaining swagger and mouthiness, the Pretenders are best when Hynde lets the music do the talking. Okay. Now I know all about Chrissie Hynde. She's a pretentious loud-mouth, kinda Don Rickles with a guitar. She doesn't really hope that the Muslims win because she's not even sure who they are or what they've done, but her schtick is being truculent and stoopid, so she says things like that to tick people off. And I should give a hairy ratzass about her opinion because...? Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2003-03-05 |
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