May 22, 2016
We have to stop calling it frontman. Alison Mosshart has the biggest balls in the business. And what exactly is The Kills' business? Luckily, their performance at the intimate St. Andrew's Music Hall in Detroit, Michigan tonight was streamed live via Yahoo Music, so you can see for yourself.
Mosshart and Jamie Hince, after ten plus years of varying degrees of grimy, sludgy, punky, bluesy, and electric rock and roll. Their four previous records reflect great diversity that translates well into their live show. On June 3rd, their fifth album, Ash & Ice will likely continue their streak of mean, intimidating music.
With that being said, there was a great warmth in the sold out St. Andrew's Hall tonight. The Kills often smiled and joked with the crowd, an entity which during their early touring days they reviled. At one point, Hince called to the crowd that "one of our first shows in the United States was in Detroit;" they played and were received like Sunday night was a great homecoming show.
After California punk outfit LA Witch warmed the crowd up with some highly listenable almost-metal-but-still-kind-of-punk tunes, The Kills came on a bit after 9. They played a solid hour and a half set, encore considered. At no point did the foursome (Hince on guitar, Mosshart leading vocals and guitar, and two touring members men at a drum kit and bass/keys respectively) show the fatigue of the rather long tour they are on in support of Ash & Ice.
Mosshart is an electrifying performer, and while there were often chants from the crowd supporting Hince's excellent and physical performance behind the guitar, the band (and crowd, and universe, really) are all under Mosshart's spell. She kicks her legs. She flails her hair, as if in pain, as if in rage. When she bellows into the microphone her eyes bulge. In between songs she is sure to smile, or wink at a familiar face in the VIP section. There is Mosshart singing the vicious "Tape Song" and there is Alison, the friendly and talented woman.
Holy shit @TheKills at @StAndrewsHall tonight #KILLed it. pic.twitter.com/UYUEJanbJM
— Tony Ravoli (@tonyisapoet) May 23, 2016
The band showcased a great number of songs from their forthcoming record, including lead singles "Doing It To Death," which will likely be a mainstay in The Kills' setlist, and "Heart of a Dog." Taking a departure from the electronic vibes of 2011's Blood Pressures other new songs were guitar heavy rock tunes, more in line with their earlier work. Deep cuts, fan favorites, other live staples pepper the setlist, including "URA Fever," "No Wow," and "Pots & Pans." See the whole setlist here.
At one point during the show, Hince and Mosshart sang together "put your hands up and do your dipsy and dropsy, and line up, we're hanging up. We're double sixing it, night after night." The crowd raised their hands, their beers, their voices, and sang along. "We're doing it to death!" into a chorus of 'woah-ohs' you got the sense that The Kills have been doing exactly this, night after night, for many years.
But The Kills are not even close to doing it to death. Not yet.