Pretty Maids - Planet Panic Tour
Pumpehuset, Copenhagen Denmark,
April 6, 2002
Review
and Photos By Anders Sandvall
The opening act for Pretty Maids was the Danish band Royal Hunt. They suited
the show better than the former opening band on the Carpe Diemm tour that I saw in Copenhagen Denmark. Royal Hunt also plays
80's melodic hard rock. Royal Hunt was okay as opening act. It
wasn’t bad, but not good either. It is hard to say something about Royal
Hunt when you haven’t heard any of their records and you see them live
for the first time. The band was very technical and the lead-singer was
very good.
I got a short chat with the key player Andre Andersen about the band.
He told me that they are doing very well in Denmark. Why they haven’t
been in Sweden is unknown according to Andre. They were asked if they
wanted to join this tour and of course they took the chance to go with
Pretty Maids and become more well known. Royal Hunt and Pretty Maids lie
near each other due to their
music. The whole band and their manager were really nice.
Setlist
The Mission
Surrender
Clean Sweep
Wasted Time
Lies
Running Wild
Day In Day Out
River of Pain
Last Goodbye
Total Recall
The Planet Panic tour has started. This is the third concert on the tour.
The band celebrates twenty years as a band but there are only two
original members left.
Ken Hammer guitar and B.vox
Ronnie Atkins lead vocals
Kenn Jackson bass and b-vox
Michael Fast drums
The two first guys have been members from the beginning, Atkins and
Hammer.
The show last night was really, really good! The band never does a bad
concert. Pretty
Maids has plenty of routines on playing. Pumpehuset in Copenhagen
Denmark was sold out and the audience was really eager to see the band
live. It was about ninety minutes of magic. The first half of the show
the band played a whole lot of new material from the brilliant new
record ”Planet Panic”. They played such great songs as ”Playing God”, ”Face My Enemy”,” He Who
Never Lived” and ”Natural High”.
The public was awaiting the new songs. I don’t know how long the record
has been out in Denmark. It is not yet released here in Sweden.
The band seemed comfortable on stage and satisfied to be on the road
again especially Kenn/Ken and Ronnie. Michael was behind a huge drum
set.
Ronnie has a voice that is splendid and magic and with a broad register
that seems to get broader and broader every year. Ken is a big guitar
hero and impressed me a lot. Kenn on bass bangs his head almost through the
whole show and only smiles.
The head actors in the band are Ronnie and Ken. They move the most. Ronnie
has a great stage-personality. He works hard to get the audience going.
Ronnie is all over the stage. Kenn is more anonymous and only sometimes
gains. Halfway through the show it was Michael ’s turn to show his skill
on drums when he preformed a short drum solo. It isn’t the best I have heard
but he acts as a support behind his drums.
As a Swede it is very difficult to understand Ronnie’s talk between the
songs because he speaks Danish.
The last half of the show was old classics. The band has a great register
to choose from and they played among others ”Eye of the Atom”, ”Shelly
the Maid”, ”Red, Hot and Heavy” and ”Live Until It Hurts" A big favorite
of mine)
As an encore they played ”Back to Back”, ”Wouldn’t Miss You” and ”Please
Don’t Leave Me” with the audience’s sing-along as they always do . There
was a really glorious guitar solo of Mr. Hammer Also a big favorite of
mine, I have a lot of nice memories from this song.
Ronnie got the audience fully in his hands and they sang along with him
on all the oldies. He invited us to sing-along as well. As the last
encore they play ”Future World” before the concert was over.
It was a great experience and I have seen them several times before but
never so complete as this time. Though, It missed two songs, ”Walk Away”
and ”Lovegames”
which are big favorites of mine.
Thanks to Rockon Managements for their help during the show.
Set list
Playing God
Snakes In Eden
Face of My Enemy
He Who Never Lived
Scream
Virtual Brutality
Natural High
Until It Dies
Running Out
Drums
Who’s Gonna Change
Eye of Storm
Live Untill It Hurts
Red, Hot and Heavy
Please Don’t Leave Me
Back to Back
Wouldn’t Miss You
Det bedste til mig og mine venner (a cover of Gasolin)
Future World
