I’m pretty sure I was only here five minutes ago… The queue for Academy 1 is ridiculously long, trailing all the way passed the Student Union and adjacent building, and I feel bad for walking straight to box office and in the door. The place is already really packed, and I wonder how everyone is going to fit inside. But no time to worry about that now, as in less than 24 hours I have gone from Knife Bride in Academy 2 to The Cruel Knives in Academy 1. 

Formed in 2017 by two former members of Heaven's Basement, they are a four-piece rock band who tonight deliver a short set of just six songs. They appear to have a good number of fans in the audience and as they get into their second song ‘Life That We Made’ I realise I have heard them before on the radio. It is loud, delivered almost entirely at breakneck speed and accompanied by an impressive light and strobe show. The band all look rockstar-esque, though the lead singer opts for a smarter outfit and with his short hair looks a bit like he’s wandered into the wrong gig (he has nice arms though, so I will let him off). That said his vocals successfully unite with the fast-paced guitars and rapid drumbeats (lots of hi hat smashing) and he knows how to get the crowd going. 

They complement our headliners tonight, but I suspect they are not to everyone’s taste. It is a real mixed bag consisting of couples, some older than I expected, mums and daughters, students, and obnoxious women but we will get to that later… The Cruel Knives are not as palatable as more mainstream rock acts, but they put on a good performance, including their new single “Overdose”. For me I feel all the songs merge into one a bit too readily though, and before I can form a solid opinion, I think I need to listen a little more. By the end of the set the venue is almost full and the headliners are not due on until 9.30pm. It’s only 8.40pm and I am already flagging. It’s too peopley (I know it’s a gig what did I expect?) and I am hoping the wait is worth it… 

The Pretty Reckless thankfully take to the stage earlier than anticipated at 9.15pm. For anyone who does not know, they are a rock band from New York, formed in 2009. The band are made up of stunningly beautiful Taylor Momsen (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Ben Phillips (lead guitar, backing vocals), Mark Damon (bass), and Jamie Perkins (drums). Tonight, we get a comprehensive 14 track playlist with songs from all four of their albums, but they start the night with “Death by Rock and Roll” the title track from the latest album, which was released in February 2021. 

Not surprisingly my eye is instantly drawn to Taylor, who is merely dressed in what looks like a negligee, fishnets, boots and for the first few songs a leather jacket. With her long blond hair and glamourous looks she is every bit the rockstar and totally commands the stage and the audience tonight. At only 29 years old she has an impressive resume beyond The Pretty Reckless, including a modelling and acting career (she was in The Grinch and Gossip Girl – I never knew that and now keep seeing her with a green face!) However, she does say Manchesterrrrr in her American drawl far too many times, and by the 20th time it is starting to grate. I recognise most of the songs, which surprises me as I have only been listening to them since 2020, when my brother introduced me to them driving round Australia, and if you asked me to name five songs, I would probably only remember two or three. 

The atmosphere tonight is charged, with most people singing along and enjoying themselves, but it is also marred by far too many people using their mobile phones. I feel bad as I am also one of them, but only because we have no photography pass tonight, so I am it. It is also because of this I am much nearer the front that I would normally be when gigging alone, and I suspect that is part of the reason why I end up not really enjoying myself. At one point a lady not far from me is filming and a man comes up behind her and starts demanding she stops filming because he cannot see. I totally get his frustration, but he was really aggressive, and slightly unsettling. It’s completely different to last night’s WARGASM gig, where with the exception of a small minority, everyone was enjoying themselves and it was a crowd surfer onslaught. None of the latter shenanigans tonight. 

We get a few more songs from the new album before we go back to the debut album ‘Light Me Up’ and ‘Make Me Wanna Die’. It’s a good performance but it sounds like Taylor is struggling to keep up with the rest of the band as they have sped up the song too much. It is a real shame as I think this is possibly their best song and I love the intro. There are also quite long pauses between the songs, which starts to become quite annoying… but even more annoying, around this time a group of people appear behind me, and push passed me on both sides. Or so I thought. Turns out it is two groups of people and to the right they go passed and push towards the front. To my left they act like I’m not even there and try to literally stand where I am stood. Admittedly my resting bitchface has created a bit of room around me, but they ignore that and stand practically on top of me, clearly expecting me to move. I stand my ground, literally, for as long as I can but then tell myself they are dicks (I won’t mention their appearance though the temptation is great but who am I to judge?) Now I know the dress code next time to accompany my bitchface I’m going to be wearing the Taylor-style negligee, fishnets, boots, might wear a battle jacket instead of a leather jacket… and why not I’ll even throw on some black lipstick to go with the perfect scowl. This might work for idiots throwing pints over the audience too. Seems they are out in droves tonight.

There is not much dialogue from the stage, though Taylor mentions she is glad to be back after a long wait, talks about the latest album and next up we get another new song ‘Witches Burn’. This song she dedicates to all the beautiful women who have been fucked about by men… I expected at some point she may say something more profound as there is clearly a strong message within this song, but she is just here to frolic around and entertain, and I am left disappointed.

“They lock the doors and pull down the shades
After the dark they are always afraid
But I go out at night, I won't apologize
There's a price I'll pay”

But there is more to Taylor than a pretty face and great vocals, she is also a rather good guitarist and during the show we get to witness her playing on ‘My Medicine’ from the debut album, which is straight up rock n’ roll revelry and clearly popular with those in the crowd who join in chanting back. After this we get ‘Going to Hell’, and the crowd are really in their element. As the set draws to a close, we get another sing-along anthem ‘Heaven Knows’ also from the second album, which includes a rather epic guitar solo from Ben. Then for ‘Take Me Down’ Taylor is back on guitar. I do not think I have heard this song before but any songs about the devil are instantly appealing. 

I’m not sure if we are going to get an encore but after a short pause, they return to perform one last song, ‘Fucked Up World’ and in a departure from the norm, this is where we get our drum solo. I don’t mind drum solos, so long as they do not go on forever (looking at you Greta Van Fleet) but putting it at the end is a stroke of genius. All in all, the performance was good, but some of the audience were vile and I am beginning to think this is the problem with more mainstream rock and indie gigs. Every metal gig I have been to in the last year has been a way more pleasant experience, so these lines seem an appropriate ending…

“We're like diamonds in the sky, that is what we are told
No mountain made of money can buy you a soul”