Live: The Kills @ Metro

ARTICLE BY BOB MCCABE
PHOTOS BY CANDICE KAFFENBERGER

MAY 9 | CHICAGO—Having never before seen The Kills and having only heard their albums a few times, I went into the show cautiously optimistic. When you are first introduced to a band, a concert can serve as a great way to propel your excitement in a band; it can also kill the spark of interest before it ignites to a flame.

But before we talk about The Kills, who played Friday night at the Metro, let’s take a moment to discuss the opening act, Telepathe, a band who describes their sound as “the future.”

What a ... curious quartet. “Awkward” comes to mind as a way to describe them. Their dancing was awkward, their bad-’80s fashion sense was awkward, and their music was even awkward—all seemingly driven from the perspective of highlighting their passion for the music, yet still awkward. That the band consisted of attractive types (even though they desperately tried to obscure that) helped. But was it enough? We were a respectful crowd, but I didn’t get the sense that the band made any lasting connections. In fact, one person described their performance as being like a group of “A/V club members messing around in the gymnasium, kind of like the Star Wars Kid.”

The Kills, on the other hand, completely connected with intensity and attitude.

In front of a canvas displaying black-and-white videos often featuring acts from punk rock history (The Ramones, The Patti Smith Group and Blondie, among others), Alison “VV” Mosshart drew the crowd in tight while circling the largely vacant stage with measured strides, lulling the crowd. Occasionally lunging to the edge, Mosshart stared intently out into the audience before playfully retreating to share a steamy mic exchange with guitarist Jamie “Hotel” Hince—or perhaps just to laugh over the sudden appearance of a bra thrown out from the crowd.

The duo played their own brand of post-punk interpretation to great applause, with a set list consisting mostly of songs from their latest release, Midnight Boom, including “Alphabet Pony,” “U.R.A. Fever,” “What New York Used To Be” and “Tape Song.” The set also included a few of their older hits, such as “Fried My Little Brains” and crowd-pleaser “No Wow.”

Moving quickly between songs, The Kills got through their set in only 50 or so minutes, but that was followed by one of the loudest, most-sustained curtain calls I’ve heard in a while. The audience wanted The Kills back, and the band was happy to oblige to the order of another 20 minutes, including another one of their hits, “Love Is A Deserter.”

About that spark I referenced earlier? I think it’s time to go find a stash of Kills songs to do some catching up on this band.

Comments

[mychelle]

ok, i'm sorry. but telepathe was THE single worst band i have ever seen. my dear bob o'clock, i respect your opinion, but you are far too kind.

the kills were great though!

[paulag]

yeah i hear mychelle was faking suicide wrist cutting while listening to the opening band.
and for mychelle to do that--- that's pretty hard core.

other than that, awesome review. you rock bobster!

[mychelle]

his name is bob o'clock, thank you.

[paulag]

ok ok ok bob o'clock .. how about bobo'blockster?

[Candice]

omg. You guys are seriously cracking me up.

Hahahahahahaha

[Bob McCabe]

You're cracking me up, too. Except for the bit about Telepathe. Poor Telepathe!

Hahaha.

So you've really never seen a worse band? Not even Jay Reatard? :p

[Bob McCabe]

PS Thanks for the compliment about the review! :D

[Candice]

I don't know, man.....Telepathe were pretty Jay Reatarded their damn selves.

[Candice]

Wait wait wait...I got it!

Telepathe are the Jay Reatards of THE FUTURE!!!!

[mychelle]

Jay Reatard rocks compared to Telepathe. Heck, I'd even take the simulated blow job again over Telepathe's painful "dance" spasms.