The Kills at First Avenue on 5/11/09

By: Amber Schadewald

---

The Kills - Photo by Amber Schadewald

As the dial tone and telephone sound intro to their set began, the crowd hush only slightly, too excited to hold back their screams of anticipation. My knees went weak as the two figures dressed in black let out their first notes to “U.R.A. Fever”, the bass tones hitting my chest with a erotic thrust, followed by strong, smoky vocals. The Kills’ Midnight Boom is by far one of my favorite albums to date, so you only imagine how much I was anticipating this show. I was not disappointed.

Alison Mosshart is totally badass in the sexiest way possible. With her long black hair and tight black jeans she strode around the stage with immaculate confidence. She’s my modern-day Janis, a rough voice that takes prisoners when accompanied with that piercing stare. In between songs Mosshart paced the dimly-lit stage, mimicking a lurking shadow as her counterpart Jamie Hince ripped apart his guitar solos. From atop the speakers Mosshart crouched, bent over backwards, and she twisted wildly as the music had its way with her body. While singing she’d flip her long locks with serious head-banging, leaving her rosy cheeks in a tornado of tangles. She was hard not to watch.

An immense amount of sound erupted from the duo as they played a variety of songs from their three albums, although Midnight Boom definitely dominated the set. The song “Sour Cherry” was hot, along with “Alphabet Pony” and “Last Day of Magic.” The more dramatic slow songs, “Goodnight Bad Morning” and “Black Balloon” were eerie and intense. Mosshart was relentless with her burning eyes, playing her shiny red guitar for about half of the songs. Hince consistently scratched away at the rough and ragged melodies throughout.

Mid-set the duo set-up their mics center stage and sang to one another with only inches between their faces. Wearing dirty grins as they strummed and sang, “Kissy Kissy” felt like ease dropping on a deep secret. The Kills are not only super entertaining to hear, but visually they know how to work it. Stomping in their cute boots, their energy was in just the right place. Sweat streamed down their faces and by the end of the night Mosshart’s hair was soaked and ratty.

The end of the show included a cover of Patsy Cline’s “Crazy” that sounded like a drunken ode at the corner bar. Mosshart lit a cigarette, encircling herself in a cloud of smoke as she played up the lyrics with her distant body language. The encore featured a cover of “I Put a Spell on You,” which was equally creepy as “Crazy”, Mosshart thrashing around and staring down the front row with a death grip. Hince wore a captain’s hat and for the last minutes of the show he created loud reverb while perched on one speaker while Mosshart sprawled out on the one above.

---

Location Info: First Avenue
Artist Info: The Kills

Share this story:

Article comments powered by Disqus