Texan Mosaic

by SARA MARSHALL //Editor-in-Chief

Feeling that loud, obnoxious bass reverberate through your whole body is the most surreal experience you can have at a rock concert. 

Playing a mixture of rock‘n’roll and deep, soulful blues, headliners The Pretty Reckless, and front bands Them Evils and Holy White Hounds rocked Wild West in Lubbock on Oct. 26 for the FMX FreakFest.

As my first concert, I couldn’t have chosen a better one.

The entrance line was well out the door. The blasting music could easily be heard from the parking lot. Any hope of hearing clearly for the next several hours had to be left at the door with your ticket.

“Them Evils” began the night with several original songs to get the crowd pumped up for the main attraction.

The Huntington Beach, California-based band has a music style that is much more hardcore rock than I anticipated. But the band had a pretty good energy when interacting with the crowd and definitely was able to keep the liveliness going. Personally, I wouldn’t choose their music on a regular day, but the crowd loved their hardcore nature.

The second front band, the Holy White Hounds, is based out of Des Moines, Iowa. Holy White Hounds was full of raunchy jokes and sarcastic comments about West Texas, which were said with good intentions to lighten the mood. Their biggest complaint: it’s not cold, but it’s fall. What in the world, Texas?

Despite having several pancakes thrown at them during their performance, (still unsure of why this happened), guitarist James Mason stayed in good spirits, taking a bite out of one of the pancakes thrown.

The Holy White Hounds had an interesting approach to their alternative rock sound, performing original songs and a cover of a Michigan band that recently disbanded.

Both front bands will be touring with the Pretty Reckless for the duration of The Pretty Reckless Fall 2016 North American Tour, which continues through Dec. 6 in Los Angeles, Calif.

After both bands played, there was a break so concert-goers were able to walk around or purchase drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) while The Pretty Reckless could have time to set up. The wait was completely and wholeheartedly worth it.

As the background music died out, Wild West quickly grew quiet and dark. The crowd buzzed as the realization set in: The Pretty Reckless was on stage.

Taylor Momsen, lead singer of The Pretty Reckless, opened the set with crowd favorites such as classics “Follow Me Down,” “Heaven Knows” and “Messed up World.”

Momsen is best known for her roles as Jenny Humphrey from “Gossip Girl” and as Cindy Lou Hoo from “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.”

Gladly engaging the crowd in their performance, Momsen encouraged everyone to sing along to her songs. During several songs during the set, Momsen paused on stage so the crowd could truly partake in the concert.

Throughout the set, Momsen sang several hits from their new album, “Who You Selling For,” including “Take Me Down” and “Living in the Storm.” Prior to singing “Living in the Storm,” Momsen admitted that it was only the third time the song had been performed live.

Though the crowd begged for an encore, The Pretty Reckless closed the night with that final performance. The crowd then slowly trickled out of the building, still buzzing from the sheer energy the concert provided (or the shots, I’m unclear on this).

This stop on The Pretty Reckless’s 2016 tour is the third time the band has performed in the Hub City in the past 18 months. Hopefully, they will keep coming back for more after such a successful concert.