Rock Concert Review—The Pretty Reckless at Electric City in Buffalo

The Pretty Reckless

Electric City, 433 Pearl Street, Buffalo, NY

May 6, 2025

theprettyreckless.com

Taylor Momsen of the Pretty Reckless (with guitarist Ben Phillips) at Electric City in Buffalo 

It’s pretty difficult for a rock band to succeed in a musical landscape dominated by streaming singles and assembly-line pop. Even the Pretty Reckless, led by singer-songwriter Taylor Momsen, has been the opening act on AC/DC’s worldwide 2024-25 stadium tour but hasn’t yet broken through to a larger audience.

On an off night from AC/DC, the Pretty Reckless came to Buffalo for an intimate show at Electric City (the old Tralfamadore Café for those who went to shows there in the 1980s, like I did). Opening was the female quartet Plush, whose fervid 45-minute set was highlighted by a cover of Heart’s “Barracuda,” belted out by lead singer Moriah Formica, who has a lot of Ann Wilson in her powerhouse voice. As satisfying as Plush’s straight-ahead hard rock was, it was the Pretty Reckless’ fusion of grunge, metal and Beatlesque melody—Momsen names the Beatles and Soundgarden as her two favorite artists of all time—that everyone came for, and which was on display right from the opening song, the aggressive title track from its latest album, 2021’s Death by Rock and Roll.

As solid as the Pretty Reckless’ output has been—Light Me Up, its 2010 debut, introduced the teenaged Momsen as a talented writer and singer who wore inspirations like Courtney Love, Alanis Morrissette and Fiona Apple on her sleeve; but the next two albums, 2014’s pummeling Going to Hell and 2016’s bluesy and soulful Who You Selling For, made further artistic strides—Death by Rock and Roll is the most musically diverse and emotionally varied group of songs in the band’s career so far. 

Momsen has described how the deaths of Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell and her band’s producer Kato Khandwala less than a year apart caused her spiral into depression and drug abuse. But the resulting Death by Rock and Roll is an unsparingly honest self-portrait that moves poignantly from denial and anger to, ultimately, acceptance. 

Momsen at Electric City

Surprisingly, in Buffalo the band only played three songs from that record—the title cut, the Soundgarden-like “Only Love Can Save Me Now” and the defiant anthem “Witches Burn.” It would have been great to hear “And So It Went” or “My Bones,” two potent slabs of post-apocalyptic mayhem, though I can see why none of the exquisitely crafted quartet of poignant songs that finish the album was played—they may be too personal, too introspective to fit into a high-energy rock show (although “Turning Gold” is a killer tune with one of Momsen’s best vocal performances).

The rest of the too-short performance (only 11 songs in 70 minutes—maybe they can’t play longer shows while still on tour with AC/DC?) was heavy on tunes from Going to Hell, including the seductive title track and lusty “Follow Me Down.” Also on display throughout was Momsen’s singular stage presence: she sings powerfully but effortlessly while stalking the stage in her combat boots, dancing and spinning to the music as gracefully as if she’s performing a ballet. 

Guitarist Ben Phillips, who writes the band’s songs with Momsen, can create big riffs and play incendiary solos but also knows when to pull back tastefully: he also gets a vocal spotlight in the unsettling duet with Momsen on the marvelously creepy “Sweet Things,” a song that underscores her remarkable facility for marrying the mundane to the macabre. Bassist Mark Damon and drummer Jamie Perkins’ lockstep rhythm section rounds out the excellent instrumental trio that provides the blistering backdrop for one of rock’s most charismatic and compelling singers.