Just above a week after our last concert with Pretty Maids, here we were, ready for another dose. The big difference being, of course, that last time, Pretty Maids had been a support band for another band, and this time around, they were headlining their own show. Their annual Christmas show at Amager Bio, no less.

“Here comes one of the tough ones, one we haven’t played for a very long time. So, now’s the time when I need to keep an eye on the front row, to see what you’re singing.”
- Ronnie Atkins (vocals)

Coincidentally, this year we didn’t just get the Christmas show - this show was also part of a mini tour, which celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Future World album.
This meant, that we basically got two shows for the price of one - first, the entire Future World album played from start to end, and then, after a short break, we got a regular set of mixed songs from the band’s long career, though mostly concentrating on albums from 2010 and forward. No complaints here, the band’s recent albums are some of their best in my opinion.
The difference was further shown by the fact that during the first segment, the backdrop and the drapes on the stage, all showed the Future World artwork, whereas the second segment had bare speakers on the stage, and a Motherland artwork backdrop, fitting as the first song here was Mother Of All Lies from that very album.

Last week, we had been introduced to the newest member of the band, drummer Allan Sørensen, and if you remember what I wrote about his performance there, I am happy to report that had improved by this show! It wasn’t bad to begin with, but there was a definite lift in vitality and showmanship for this concert. Possibly the length of the show gave him some more elbow-room to play around in. Whatever it was, we now saw a man standing and paying at several points, and overall just having much more fun with it, resulting in a vastly more enjoyable experience for us in the audience.

The rest of the gang was up to their usual antics, although I noticed (impressively enough) an increase in energy from bassist René Shades. He’s always been the wildest of the bunch, but this night he’d put an extra log on the fire, so to speak. He was dancing wildly with his instrument high in the air, he was out on the side podiums, and he was messing around with the other people in the band when he could get away with it. Just once was his speed slowed down slightly, and that was when one of his billowing scarfs got stuck in Ken Hammer’s fan. Here I of course mean the metal object which turns round itself to produce a stream of cool air, not a person who likes him a lot. Just to clarify, as both types were present at the show. In fact, at a later stage in the show, Hammer used the one to cool down the other. You guess which did which.
I noticed that Chris Laney spent more time behind the keyboard and less out front with a guitar than usual, especially during the Future World part of the concert. Sad, since he to has a great stage presence when able to break free of that confined position; but when the second segment of the show took place, we got to see much more of him out front again.
A thing that struck me regarding Atkins is, when he’s so gladly swinging that microphone stand around, why does he use a regular, nondescript microphone stand instead of the custom made Pretty Maids logo microphone stand that we’ve seen in the past? Here’s a vote delivered for bringing that back to the stage!

“Copenhagen, you sing wonderfully! Just as per usual.”
- Atkins (vocals)

The support band this evening, Eclipse, had done a very good job of getting the sold out hall warmed up and good to go, and Pretty Maids were now reaping the benefits of this. The Copenhagen crowd was fired up and ready to sing along with the band. Already during the first track, voices were raised in a uniform “hey” chant, and from this point, it only grew wilder. Atkins paused Yellow Rain in order to let everyone have fun shouting their throats out for the title, and Rodeo held a resounding “i-yeah i-oh” shouting contest between fans and frontman. Little Drops Of Heaven was another song that got a very good response going, but it was Please Don’t Leave Me that, as usual, was the real winner. For some reason though, we got Whammed! by Atkins, as he began singing Last Christmas over our Please Don’t Leave Me chorus.

“If you go out and freshen up a bit, we’ll go out and freshen up a bit as well, and we’ll see each other in a bit.”
- Atkins (vocals)

This was a Christmas show after all though, and while Wham may not have gotten the support it needed from the audience, the traditional The Greedies cover of A Merry Jingle certainly did. And with that, another year had passed by, and another Heavy Christmas together with Pretty Maids. Stronger than last year, altogether entertaining, and with a superb choice of support, Pretty Maids was unstoppable. See you next year, if not earlier!

Setlist:

Future World
We Came To Rock
Love Games
Yellow Rain
Loud ‘N’ Proud
Rodeo
Needles In The Dark
Eye Of The Storm
Long Way To Go
Mother Of All Lies
Kingmaker
Clay
Red, Hot And Heavy
Little Drops Of Heaven
Pandemonium
Bull’s Eye
Please Don’t Leave Me (John Sykes cover)
Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi (Carmina Burana) (Carl Orff song)
Back To Back
A Merry Jingle (The Greedies cover)
Sit On My Face (Monty Python song)