The Kills - 5/26 in Kansas City, MO
Warning: giant rambling review ahead. Read at your own risk.
Yesterday was a giant flaming bag of shit in almost every way possible. It wasn't an hour before this show started that I was sure I'd even get to go. But the weather let up, and I was able to get out of work at a decent time, so I sped home (sorry KCPD), grabbed the kid, and headed to the Midland (I love this venue) for her first rock concert. I tried all day to find out if there were opening bands, but I couldn't find any info. So screw it, let's do this.
Sierra got scanned by security for the first time. It was relatively uneventful, but the wand started beeping at her boot, and the guard gave her a little playful look before telling her it was just the buckle. Then we were in. We looked at merch for a little bit, but decided to go watch a little before purchasing anything. The place is gorgeous, and Sierra's little eyes were darting all over the place, taking it all in. She wanted to go upstairs, but I regrettably told her we were on the floor level, but also reminded her that meant we were closer, so she was fine with it.
It turned out there was an opening band called L.A. WITCH. I had never heard of them before, but they started in and I was immediately hooked. It's three girls doing some grungy stuff. I'll check more of them later on. They're definitely worth a listen.
They finished and left the stage and a few minutes later Sierra looked up at me like "what the hell, dude?" and I realized she'd never been at a show before. "They've got to tear the other band's equipment down before the next comes on", I told her. "Why?" "Because the band needs their own instruments up there, and it takes a bit to set it up." So she half-patiently waited.
Then The Kills took the stage. And I mean took it. Guitarist and co-vocalist Jamie Hince practically dismantled it, and Alison Mosshart carried it home in her pocket. After a Wikipedia search, I learned that they co-founded the band together and have a sort of revolving door of other band members, but you can tell these two are as tight as they come. I even thought halfway through the show that maybe they're romantically together, but alas, they live their own lives. They're just that good on stage together.
Anywhozle, they started with "No Wow" which I found incredibly repetitive when watching the youtube video, but as I found out, The Kills is one of those bands that are so much better live than they are on cd, I can't come up with a word for it. A couple of songs in, Alison grabs a guitar and delivers a solo worthy of being on a list, while I'm standing there with my jaw dropped, and I look at Sierra and she doesn't know it because she's just staring.
I only knew a few songs going in to the show, but once "Black Balloon" hit, we both looked at each other like we should've bro-fisted but we didn't know how, and went back to staring. I love that song. The thing is, Jamie and Alison do such a good job at commanding the attention of the crowd, it was so inviting and forceful at the same time. If the police put a blacklight on Alison's footprints, it'd light up the entire stage. I swear she stared in the eyes of every single person in the crowd. It was mesmerizng.
Of course, Sierra started to get tuckered out and asked me how many songs were left. They left the stage and she looked relieved. Then I reminded her there might be an encore, and of course there was, with more awesomeness that she just had to suffer through. My favorite songs would have to be "Heart Is A Beating Drum", "Black Balloon", "Doing It To Death", "Siberian Nights", "Tape Song", and "Sour Cherry". They concentrated on their new album (obviously), and it sounds like when it drops in a few days it's gonna be amazing.
The show finally ends, and the band leaves, and I tell Sierra to hang out for a few minutes to let the crowd thin out, and then we go to check out the merch table. Big mistake. There was one guy who had a credit card machine that ran super slow and took all cash orders first. He kept yelling "You shouldn't have waited until the end" and there's some truth in that, but hire more than one merch guy! There was definitely some stuff I wanted to buy for me and her, but it wasn't worth the wait since I don't carry cash. We ended up bailing into the rain, running through downtown KC streets to get to the car and headed home.
I don't expect anyone to read all of this, much less care about my opinion of a simple one-time concert that was free to begin with (thanks Bryon Banhart). But a few months ago I saw TOOL, and this rivals that performance (no joke). On disc Tool murders The Kills, I get it, but the concert that I just saw was comparable to a religious experience. And it's one that I'm going to annoy the rest of the family with for months to come.
EPILOGUE: Today I realized Alison is also the vocalist for The Dead Weather. I'll have to give them a little more attention.