And The Crowd Says Wow!
The Kills@ Maxwells, NJ
April 9, 2005
Proving once again that even the most minimal of line-ups can rock, The Kills tore apart Maxwells with just two guitars and a drum machine that needed to actually be touched to skip to the next track. From the moment singer Alison Mosshart took the stage, staring blankly through the audience, you just knew the rock was gonna come. Along with partner in crime Jamie Hince, The Kills tore through a 45-minute set consisting of most of the band’s fantastic new record “Now Wow” and a smattering of tunes from their last effort, the bluesy rocker “Keep On Your Mean Side.”
Most of the set featured Mosshart sticking strictly to vocals, brooding around the dark-lit stage, and just singing her pretty head off. Hince effortlessly produced layers of guitar sounds that came off like a wall of groove. Every now and then Mosshart would crawl onto an amplifier behind Hince and writhe in the background while he tore through distorted solo after solo. His vocals carried off into the background as she crooned like siren in the night.
Tossing one of the mic stands aside, the two would meet in the center of the tiny stage singing to each other so close that they seemed to be kissing. The Kills barely acknowledged the audience, only speaking out loud once. It felt eerily like the crowd was a collective of voyeurs peeping in on one of rocks best kept secrets. Whatever you do, don’t tell a soul, because The Kills are about to explode.
