*blows nose loudly*
The night began after a long day of hyping up at work, as is tradition. Also after a day of scarfing handfuls of lemon-honey cough drops to stifle the sore throat blues from the Midwest Mother Nature mood swings. I chugged a 5-Hour Energy, put on makeup with Piff, and hit the road shortly after 5PM to make the journey down to St. Louis.
I had not experienced a show at Delmar Hall, but the ambiance did not disappoint. The entrance opens right up into the bar which echos a similar style to the one inside The Pageant. Bright colors and dedications to musical acts everywhere. God, I love the Delmar Strip. To the left of the bat opens entrances into the auditorium and an open area to but band swag. I immediately bought Piff and myself concert tees, as is tradition.
Piff and I walked in to the opening act performance. The band was Them Evils, an L.A.-based group birthing a sound of flawless hard rock heavy revivalism. So much sound from a three-piece! They ended their set with a killer version of Motorhead’s “Ace of Spades.” 
In between sets, Piff and I met and chatted up two lovely ladies, one complementing Piff’s seemingly innate hand for makeup artistry. It must be all that practice with the Halloween makeup. You can meet some pretty awesome people when you’re elbow to elbow focused on the same stage. I also learned Facebook live is not best used when you’re in live audiences. The audio scratches like a tin can.
It wasn’t long before we heard those sirens, that familiar riff, and “SINCE I’VE MET YOU, I’VE BEEN CRAAAAZYYY!!!”
The band evokes a loose jam sound while simultaneously possessing the capacity to rubber snap back after a quick derivation away from the original songpath. Multiple times throughout the show, I felt Taylor Momsen transmit Robert Plant’s spirit (yes, I know he’s still with us) through her bluesy vocals and sunny Goldilocks draped over her face. They blew me away. If you love their albums, you MUST see them live. Taylor, in all of her rockstar swagger stomping across the stage, repeatedly exposed her excitement to be in St. Louis. “THIS IS MY FUCKING HOMETOWN, ST. LOUIS!!! MY FIRST CONCERT WAS AT BLUEBERRY HILL JUST DOWN THE STREET. I SAW CHUCK BERRY! I FUCKING LOVE YOU!”
At one point in the middle of the show, there were technical difficulties, so Taylor proceeded to tell a story about her family tree house and guitarist, Ben Phillips, playfully chastised his fellow bandmates.
Too soon, the end of the show was upon us, but not before the band came back out for an encore. Not only did they throw down with “Fucked up World,” but they threw in a massive drum solo by Jamie Perkins. MUST WATCH!
Less than a week after the St. Louis show, The Pretty Reckless opened for Soundgarden at the Fox Theater in Detroit, Michigan on what would be Chris Cornell’s last night on this Earth.
