The Pretenders In Argentina, a night to keep in our hearts
Last night, May 15th, Movistar Arena hosted a magic evening! The Pretenders, the legendary band led by the great Chrissie Hynde, was about to give a unique show!
At 9 pm, the lights went out, and starting with “a rare and original Intro, with a costumed keyboard player,” Chrissie and her band took the stage! Opening with “Hate for Sale”, and “Turf Accountant Daddy”, the audience couldn’t stay seated and automatically stood up from the first song! Then came the first big hit of the night, the gorgeous “Kid” (their second single, from 1979) continuing non-stop “My City Was Gone” and The Buzz (dedicated to Johnny Thunders).
Something I want to highlight before continuing, incredibly, there’s not a hint of age in Hynde’s singing voice and her shiver-inducing vibrato is intact, At this point, Chrissie shows all the talent and artistic quality she possesses and that has kept her current for more than four decades of her career. And not to mention how she looks physically, the years have not passed for this beautiful woman.
As the show progresses, it’s the hits, inevitably, that stir the emotions of the crowd: Talk Of The Town, the rousing if elegiac Back On The Chain Gang.
The hit that made the fans dance was of course “Don’t Get Me Wrong”, which sounded incredibly good, with an audience mostly made up of older people, who felt like they were young again with this beautiful song.
We had a great cover of Bob Dylan’s “Forever Young” with the venue lit up by the audience’s cell phone lights.
Capping the main set is Mystery Achievement (the closing track from 1980’s self-titled debut). Once the song was over, Chrissie and her band said goodbye and left the stage for a few moments (something funny was seeing many of the people who were about to leave the venue believing that the show was over, and when they saw the band enter the stage again, they quickly return). How could they not have thought that the band’s big hit was missing?
And so it was, they returned to play “Message of Love”, “Stop your Sobbing” (The Kinks cover), “Tattooed Love Boys” and now yes!!! The long-awaited “I’ll Stand by You”, what a beautiful song!!! How much emotion is felt in each note, and Chrissie’s voice that penetrates our veins.
When it seemed the show was coming to an end, they returned to play the last and greatest song, “Precious.”
Over 20 songs and an encore, Exploring, pop and country, but never losing the essence of song-writing she honed from the early days.
All that remains to be said is that thanks to Chrissie, it’s proven that age is just a number and that it all depends on attitude, energy, and good vibes. Of course, it’s admirable for someone her age to still rock like a 25-year-old! Thank you, Chrissie and The Pretenders, for this wonderful concert! We look forward to your return!
Photos By Eliana Fernandez
Review by Maria Fernanda Capici
Produced by Ake Music Productions
Press Agencia PR by Vicky Roa