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Events and Reports - Pretty Maids - Live at Open Air Varde - July 27th, 2007
Open Air Varde is a small and cosy festival located in a park area with an amphitheatre scene and luckily a dose of rocking music again this year.
On Friday around 19.30 at the main stage Danish Rock veterans Pretty Maids had 75 minutes to try and get a party going...quite fittingly they decided to throw Wake Up To The Real World into people's faces, nicely settling somewhere between melodic and explosive, the sound being closer to the latter.
I hadn't dared to hope for Hell On High Hells but was more than ready for it as soon as its infectious drive set in, just the melodic guitar solo is enough for going crazy... a no less than brilliant execution of one of my all time favourite songs.
I could say more or less the same for the next up goodie and after Wouldn't Miss You I was just high on Melodic Rock ecstasy and a considerably amount of shots from the back stage bar. The dramatic break followed by blistering guitar leads before the track explodes once again...divine.
From their newest album Such A Rush (massive guitar groove) and Another Shot Of Your Love (delicate keys and striking vocals) proved to have great live potential.
If I should try to describe the audience apart from the few headbangers in the first row words as missing, static and shocked comes to mind...the coolest thing was that the band just carried on giving it full throttle with Ronnie talking with the audience and got some sing a long going too.
When talking to him after the show he admitted that playing at Wacken in front of 20.000 was a bit more fun but they enjoyed themselves anyway and owed it to the fans.
Totally down to earth guys and I only hope they continue making albums and shows...they still make great music and are truly one of the best live acts out there, this evening being a perfect example.
With a Danish band at a Danish festival, the decision to play a great and heavy version of the Gasolin classic Det Bedste Til Mig Og Mine Venner was an obvious choice that got the audience a bit out of their trance.
No Messiah was a minor surprise, a cool unpretentious track treated with a rich beat but not quite as thrilling as many of the other gems.
It's hard to describe but Virtual Brutality is just a song born to be played live, it's like opening the window half-open and before you know it you are caught in a giant thunderstorm, ripping everything apart and leaving you with a sore neck.
The powerful drumming was handled perfectly with sublime tightness from the rest of the band.
Please Don't Leave Me is obligatory and rocked along nicely before Love Games kicked the party into fifth gear...great song with an infectious chorus getting some participation going among the crowd.
After a short time the intro for Future World indicated that the band was ready for the encores. This song comes off really heavy live through raw vocals, the keyboard adding that otherworldly feeling with a sonic tempo to follow.
The setlist was from my perspective close to perfect, the three best tracks from the new album and a bunch of some of the most elevating Heavy Rock songs ever put together.
New member Allan Tschicaja performed with razor sharp precision and a nice heavy depth too. Mercenary keyboardist Morten Sandager delivered a finely weighed execution, making the keys shine through when needed and otherwise supporting the flow of the songs. Ronnie sang with amazing strength and Kenn Jackson seemed to enjoy himself laying down a thick bass.
The overall sound experience was just spot on, monster heavy and well adjusted.
As time was running out, Ken played around with the opening riff of Red, Hot And Heavy just to let you have a hint of what was in store. Through out the show he just added those extra fills and played superbly. The groovy track closed the show and left a joyful, easy going and yet intense feeling to inhale as the band bowed and left the stage.
Astoundingly thrilling!
Setlist:
Wake Up To The Real World
Hell On High Hells
Wouldn't Miss You
Such A Rush
Another Shot Of Your Love
Det Bedste Til Mig Og Mine Venner
No Messiah
Virtual Brutality
Please Don't Leave Me
Love Games
Future World
Red, Hot And Heavy
| Click pictures for a bigger version
All Pictures taken by Christian | Written by Tommy
Wednesday, August 1, 2007 |
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