Hynde and Pretenders come ready to mock

PRETENDERS leader Chrissie Hynde stood on the House of Blues stage in West Hollywood on Tuesday and scoffed playfully at the notion of promoting “Pirate Radio,” the veteran band’s new box set that’s chock-full of rarities. “I’ve never asked you to buy anything,” she said in that husky purr of a voice, one of rock’s most distinctive. Still, the material on this first of a two-night stand (followed by two more tonight and Friday at the chain’s Anaheim club) reflected the box’s contents, and even dedicated fans came away commenting that they didn’t recognize many songs.

That wasn’t a problem, unless you only wanted a greatest-hits show. Still, listeners seeking comfort sounds could be lulled by such classics as the tough-sweet, Ray Davies-penned “Stop Your Sobbing,” the wistful, pretty “Talk of the Town,” and “Back on the Chain Gang.” Yet during the 90-minute set, singer-guitarist Hynde, lead guitarist Adam Seymour, bassist Andy Hobson and original drummer Martin Chambers also pulled out such early B-sides as “Cuban Slide,” “My City Was Gone” and “Porcelain.”

Wearing a sparkly sequined jacket over jeans, Hynde displayed more of the brash bravado in her rock persona, and less of the underlying vulnerability that’s another key to her appeal. At times one wondered if she was trying to tell this Hollywood audience something, offering up the sellout-excoriating “How Do I Miss You” and wailing fiercely on harmonica for “Pack It Up” -- not exactly a message of love with its opening accusation, “You’re the pits of the world!” She gleefully played the snarky femme fatale, bantering viciously with Chambers, mock-abusing an audience member who wanted his birthday acknowledged, and joking salaciously about being compared to Rolling Stone Keith Richards.

Like the Stones, the Pretenders have distinct components to their style -- blues, ‘60s girl groups, punk, a touch of reggae. Their signature churning-to-chiming guitar sound, created early on by James Honeyman-Scott, bridged pop and punk and put them among the more popular and influential acts of the new-wave era. But they also teased out a variety of sound and feeling, and Hynde has always been interested in incorporating contemporary elements, such as electronica. Tuesday, however, some of that variety was missing, and that was disappointing.

Although Hynde hit emotional notes ranging from seductive to yearning to sick of it all, much of the music remained in a mid-tempo bag. The band limned nuances from Stonesy R&B-rock; to airy pop, but so many songs rolled along at a medium pace that at times the mind wandered and the back-of-the-room bar buzz increased. Hynde never unleashed the full hurt her throaty alto can convey in a true ballad, and rarely rocked really hard, except on the occasional nasty-tough number such as “Tattooed Love Boys.” The gentle propulsiveness of such tracks as “Don’t Get Me Wrong” and “Message of Love” is a big part of the Pretenders’ sound, but it’s not the whole story.

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The Pretenders

Where: House of Blues Anaheim, 1530 S. Disneyland Drive, Anaheim

When: 8 tonight and 8 p.m.

Friday

Price: $50

Contact: (714) 778-2583