Lucky and I got to see Rock and Roll Hall of Famers, The Pretenders play a packed room at the Starland Ballroom, Nov 29th.
I felt a bit tall when I got there and was trying to figure out if I was wearing my "tall shoes" when I realized that it was because a vast majority of the crowd were female! I never thought of The Pretenders as a "girlie" band, just one fronted by a ballsy female, so being surrounded by an audience that was 5'7 and under (the guys were short too!), was a bit offputting.
The band that opened up for them was called FOURGOODMEN, comprised of former members of Big Country and Simple Minds (no, not Jim Kerr!). They sang some originals along with the hits their past bands had had. The energy was wonderful and you could definitely tell that those four guys (and the girl who played the bagpipes) were having the time of their lives. This was the second time we heard "(In a) Big Country" performed at the Starland... the first being performed by The Alarm a few years back.
Chrissie Hynde could theoretically be my mother agewise, but her attitude was so not "mom" (even though she is one), it was more of that cool chick in high school who you struggled to be like. She sang many of the hits but also threw in some obscure stuff that she felt like playing; even played some requests. Lucky was very excited when one of the first songs the Pretenders played was... "Night in My Veins." I enjoyed "Popstar" which was a nice dig at the teeniebopper blondes of late ( I imagine Pink must have been influenced by Ms. Hynde).
The Starland is a fabulous facility for music... For the same ticket price, I wouldn't even have bleacher seats to see other legends. And here I was, within 50 feet of a walking legend with killer arms and vocals.
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