More than two years has passed since I was able to set foot at a concert and boy have I missed that. So it’s only proper that my first gig after the pandemic wasn’t considered a pandemic anymore was by an artist I have loved since Jesus went to pre-school and an artist that have two amazing solo records released in the last couple of years, Pretty Maids singer Ronnie Atkins. With him he has brought his new right hand and producer/guitarist Chris Laney with Laney’s At The Movies gang in tow – bassist Pontus Egberg (King Diamond, Poodles, Treat), drummer Allan Sörensen (Ex-Pretty Maids) and keyboarder Morten Sandager (ex-Pretty Maids) with new guy Rob Marcello (Danger Danger, Laney’s Legion) on lead guitar. To say that I was excited about this gig is to put it very mildly!
Ronnie and his cohorts entered the stage to the tones of Monty Python’s “Always Look On To The Bright Sides Of Life” which made everything take off with signs of positivity, happiness and smiles and the atmosphere really became uplifting right off the bat. The band then kicked off the gig with the opening track and debut solo single “Real” from the One Shot album. Here’s the deal – I don’t think this is an opener neither for the album nor the concert but for some reason it actually worked. It’s a more down-beat slower laden track that got a slightly heavier arrangement live. There were some technical problems to begin with with Atkins’ voice being too low in the mix and Marcello’s guitar hardly audible with Sörensen’s drums (read: cymbals) breaking through. That aside, it was heart-warming to see how healthy and fit Ronnie looked despite all the crap he’s being through.
The following “Scorpio” is a rougher and cruncher number that on the other would have fitted the opening spot like a glove. It’s not only an awesome track with striking melodies that the crowd embraces wholeheartedly, it’s also a live-killer that works splendidly from the stage. That can also be said of the more AOR laden pop-rocker “I’ve Hurt Myself (By Hurting You)”, a slicker track that got a bit more edge live and held an upbeat groove the worked splendidly. It was during that song Marcello looked a bit unsure of if he was heard at all which he wasn’t unfortunately. Also, Ronnie asked the audience “Can you hear me out there?” and after the “YEAH” respond from the crowd he simply stated: “Good cause I can’t”. The truth is, we could hear him but he was still too low in the mix.
The ABBA-influenced title-track with its danceable beats and major swings is a real left-turn but turned out amazing on the album but how would it come across like live if it was played? Well it was played, it grooved like a MF and to these ears a song perfect for upping anyone’s mood out there. Also by now Marcello’s guitar had been corrected and he did Lasse Wellander’s solo brilliantly. The guy’s an amazing player. That Ronnie & co would pick up a couple of Pretty Maids tunes was something I was certain of, the question was, would he take the safe route or go for the more obscure stuff? The answer is: they did both. First out was “Bullet For You” from Motherland (2013), a ballad-ish distant cousin to “Little Drops Of Heaven” and a song I love and have never heard live, so thank you for that. It sounded fantastic and by now, Heaven was close despite the not so brilliant sound.
“Blood Cries Out” is heavy fekker on record but even heavier live. It’s as close to Pretty Maids’ more Metal moments as it gets with another one of those in your face refrains and come to think of it, this one would be great as the opener too. The groove laden “Unsung Heroes” is a Hard Rock meets Melodic Rock stomper with a sing-along friendly chorus – and we sang and sang. “I Prophesize” is one of the more gritty yet still very melodic numbers of Atkin’ solo albums and the firey energy of the song infected the atmosphere of both band and audience and became a fist in the face with a killer chorus.
Spooked (1997) is one of my absolute favorite Pretty Maids and the words “this one’s from Spooked” was enough for my arousal to rise no matter what song would be played. However the semi-ballad “Never Too Late” is a song very close to my heart and to finally get to hear it live sent shivers to my spine. Thank you, Ronnie! “Rising Tide” is another awesome uptempo melodic rocker that could have had the opening spot that worked brilliantly live and so did the softer laden pop-rock number “The Tracks We Leave Behind”, a phenomenal tune.
“Before The Rise Of An Empire” might be one of the more anonymous songs from Atkins’ solo debut but hey, I love all the songs so no complaints from me but it kinda showed by the crowds’ reaction that the songs is a bit a “hmmm, which song is this again”. It came across terrific to my ears, though. “A Place In the Night” from Pretty Maids debut full-length album Red Hot And Heavy (1984) has been a fan favorite for as long as I can remember but rarely played live by the band for some reason. The song was aired this evening and it got itself a roaring welcome back and for myself, I couldn’t have been happier if I were twins. It sounded so, so, so good.
The single “Picture Yourself” is a pop-song in a Rock disguise – or vice verse, pretty smooth with captivating melodies and it became clear that many recognized the tune – I wasn’t the only one who sang along to every word. It’s a fantastic song that worked very well in a live environment. Thumbs up – and then some. Ex- Therion and At The Movies singer Linnea Vikström-Egg sings back-up on Ronnie’s solo albums and came up on stage to do the splendid half ballad, half rocker “One Shot” with Ronnie and it sounded awesome. They work so well together vocally – maybe a real duet will be in order in the future?
I knew beforehand that Ronnie & co. would play a couple of Ronnie’s must-play Pretty Maids tunes – because that’s the norm. But to be honest, my opinion was that did he really have to? With Pretty Maids, yes but solo, I wasn’t so sure. Play more obscure stuff is what I told myself. Well, it took all about three seconds in to the intro of “Future World”, Pretty Maids’ own “Smoke On The Water”, “Paranoid”, “Highway To Hell” and “Rock And Roll All Nite”, to admit I was wrong. Of course he must play it. And when they did, the place more or less exploded. It’s a masterpiece of a song and it sounded just as good with Atkins’ solo band as with Pretty Maids.
Another one of the must-play’s and a “modern” Pretty Maids classic is the semi-ballad “Little Drops Of Heaven”. It’s a song I can listen to a million times and never get bored with it. They played it, Ronnie told us to sing with him and sang we did with all our lung capacity. Amazing. But it didn’t end there as the tune went right into the cover of Tina Turner’s “We Don’t Need Another Hero”, the At The Movies version that Ronnie lent his voice to. A strike of genius, if you ask me. To make it complete, Linnea came back up together with another ATM participant, Björn Strid (Night Flight Orchestra, Soilwork) and the atmosphere was all smiles.
To be quite honest, I was so happy to finally be at a gig and even more so to see Atkins on stage again that I might not be all that objective to the whole thing. But what I do know is that the sound in the small tin-box we were in wasn’t all that great, that Atkins’ vocals were too low in the mix and that Sörensen’s drums were too loud and broke through the rest of the music. I also know that Atkins and his band mates had only rehearsed for three days before this gig and still sounded awesome and were tighter than a camel’s ass in a sandstorm.
How about the setlist then? Well, for the Pretty Maids stuff, I loved it even though I hope that I one day will get to hear “Die With Your Dreams” live, be it with Atkins solo or Pretty Maids and yes I do missed “Subjugated”, one of the best Atkins solo tracks but what we did get was more than enough. So for once, I really don’t care that the sound left a whole lot to be desired. Besides, the guys’ happiness to finally be on stage again was contagious. I had an awesome time and therefore I think the gig was awesome. I really hope that this wasn’t the last time I got to see this band perform.
Setlist:
1. Real
2. Scorpio
3. I’ve Hurt Myself (By Hurting You)
4. Make It Count
5. Bullet For You
6. Blood Cries Out
7. Unsung Heroes
8. I Prophesize
9. Never Too Late
10. Rising Tide
11. The Tracks We Leave Behind
12. Before The Rise Of An Empire
13. A Place In The Night
14. Picture Yourself
15. One Shot
Encore:
16. Future World
17. Little Drops Of Heaven
18. We Don’t Need Another Hero
CD & Festival reviews 