The Kills’ Alison Mosshart (“VV”) and Jamie Hince (“Hotel”) brought their emblematic electro-garage-styled blues to the Showbox SoDo with indelible grit and sultry swag. The duo, whose menacing musicality and mesmerizing stage presence made them synonymous with effortless alt-rock-cool, opened with the commanding minor-driven “Kissy Kissy” from their debut, Keep on Your Mean Side (2003). The Kills kept their classic beguiling broodiness going with the blipped-out rock rant “U.R.A. Fever” from Midnight Boom (2008), and the bombastic “New York” from their current release God Games (2023). The sly selection of tracks highlighting The Kills’ twenty-year career as celebrated indie icons delighted the crowd of diehard devotees and superfan newbies.
Often imitated but never emulated, the whip-smart pair continued showcasing their chaotic creativity with Alison’s knife-sharp vocals and Jaimie’s ear-shattering guitars which cut through vicious synth-triggered beats and fritzed-out effects in the fiercely feverish “103” (God Games) and the sleazy saccharine “Baby Says” from Blood Pressure (2011). The Kills slid further into their silky sonic structures with the gorgeous gothic chorus of “Black Balloon” (Midnight Boom) and the searing wails of “Bullet Sound” (God Games).
Alison and Jamie’s edgy set continued with the death-from-above cinematic soundscape, “LA Hex” and the darkly embossed “Doing it to Death” from Ash & Ice (2016). The duo’s performance wound down with the dynamic, eerie glow of “Future Starts Slow” from Blood Pressure (2011), with the song’s decaying drumbeats ushering the pair backstage and signaling the end of the show.
Expectant of more, the concertgoers yelled out catcalls and sent up shrill whistles in hopes that the duo would reemerge. The crowd succeeded: Alison and Jamie returned to the lights for a hard-earned encore with the scintillating “No Wow” and the pop culture fav “Sour Cherry” (Midnight Boom). The last song of the ultra-energetic show, the bona fide blues rock-based “Fried My Little Brains,” (Keep on Your Mean Side), served as a perfect sendoff for fervent now-fans tightly wrapped around The Kills’ fingers. Look for the duo touring God Games in the States and Europe through 2024!
Setlist
Kissy Kissy
U.R.A. Fever
New York
Going to Heaven
Love and Tenderness
103
Better Days
Tape Song
Baby Says
Black Balloon
Wasterpiece
Kingdom Come
Bullet Sound
LA Hex
Doing It to Death
Future Starts Slow
Encore:
No Wow
My Girls My Girls
Sour Cherry
Fried My Little Brains
