The Pretty Reckless and Louna take Indianapolis to Hell

Female-fronted bands in metal are becoming more and more typical. Lately there have been a large number of impressive female-fronted rock bands emerging and taking over the industry. Two of those bands, The Pretty Reckless and Louna, are on tour right now- together- and The Going to Hell Tour recently hit Indianapolis for a night of female-fronted metal for the masses. Louna, being from Russia, are currently on their first-ever U.S. tour. It’s hard for an international band to break it big over here but, based on Louna’s international debut, Behind a Mask, they should be well on their way. They kicked it off with “My Rock and Roll” and launched right into “Fight Club” and “Business.” They’re stage presence was impressive and it was obvious they’re no rookies. In Russia Louna is used to headlining every show they do and they’re a larger than life band over there, so they know how to handle their business on stage, how to work a crowd and leave them wanting more and more. Despite a few sound glitches, where the sound went out on stage during their set, they put on one hell of a show and developed numerous new fans. The sound problems, though on the surface may be frustrating, they weren’t the band’s fault at all and made the band seem more human than most bands- everyone has glitches from time to time and sometimes fan forget bands fall into that as well. [lg_slideshow folder=\”2013/Going to Hell Tour/Louna/\”] They played a good portion of Behind a Mask– “Up There,” “Mama,” “The End of Peace” and “Let’s Get Louder” were all part of a set that included 8 of 11 tracks from the record. They even played a song in Russian, which the crowd ate up like crazy and were left screaming for more of. Louna’s gratitude and appreciation for the crowd’s approval was obvious and the fans’ excitement poured into the merch area after the set, where frontwoman Lousine Gevorkian signed autographs and took pictures with a large line of enthusiastic fans who were blown away by the set. It’s not easy for any band to break it big in the United States, let alone an international band to break big. However, after seeing Louna live, it’s more than clear they’re well on their way and if they can continue touring here and get on the right treks, it won’t be unrealistic to see them headlining in the next few years. If you dig Behind a Mask and are wondering what they’re like live, it’s as simple as this- Louna live is everything you could hope for and more from the band and they’ll give any headliners a run for their money. Up next on the evening was The Pretty Reckless, who were the evening’s tour hosts, hit the stage with authority to hundreds of screaming, excited fans. They blasted through a set that included fan favorites like “Hit Me Like a Man,” “Follow Me Down,” Miss Nothing,” “Going to Hell,” “Fucked” and more and fans were loving every minute of it. It’s hard to believe Taylor Momsen is the same Taylor Momsen who once graced the big screen as Cindy Lou Who in the Jim Carrey adaptation of How the Grinch Stole Christmas but it is and she’s all grown up now and has taken on a persona of her own and reinvented herself as the provocative, sexy, femme rocker of The Pretty Reckless. The band’s set was solid and impressive but the stage was overwhelmingly full of strobe lights and bright LED lights that made it hard to see Momsen and company and Momsen seemed mentally in another place for much of the set but snapped in and out of it from time to time. [lg_slideshow folder=\”2013/Going to Hell Tour/The Pretty Reckless/\”] It’s pretty clear she relies on her sexual appeal and rebellious attitude quite a bit but that doesn’t stop her fans from loving every bit of her and every minute of her performance. When the night was all done, there were a few fans who were disappointed Heaven’s Basement, who were billed as the second band on the evening and normally play right after Louna, weren’t playing but they got a longer set from Louna, who, in the end, stole the show. -Reggie Edwards