Chrissie Hynde oozes attitude. At 57, she still possesses a distinctive and charismatic voice suited so well for rock ‘n roll. Or any of rock’s offshoots: punk, new wave, R&B, balladry, even country, among others.

Hynde’s charisma on stage is in place as well. She’s sexy, sarcastic and devilishly fun to watch as she puts her latest version of The Pretenders through their paces of playing a mix of classic Pretenders material and newer tunes, many from 2008’s Break Up The Concrete.

Her guitar, bass and pedal steel band, with original member Martin Chambers on drums, played a 90-minute set Friday at the Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford, Connecticut that included all those mixed elements of repertoire and rarely let down in execution or energy.

She opened without her trademark Telecaster and sang the title track from last year’s album, a Bo Diddley flavored tune with perfectly orchestrated stage movements and syncopated lighting that accented her vocals at the end of each chorus — dramatic and effective. Then donning her guitar, she and her band went right into Middle Of The Road, an ’80s staple from one of The Pretenders most successful albums Learning To Crawl. Continue reading New Pretenders have old allure →