all photos: Raisa Patron
Leopard print never looked so good. Guitars never seemed so loud. And Kate Moss never seemed so close. Friday night at the Black Cat was perfect for The Kills, including a nearly sell-out crowd (although it may have sold out after I got inside, the line was fairly long). Absolutely, fantastically amazing
and fantastically loud. Like OMGWTFBBQ!!!11! loud. Needless to say, I was impressed.
Not as blissful, however, were the openers. I’m sorry Telepathe, but it just didn’t work for me. The rest of the crowd didn’t seem too into it either, milling around and chatting amongst themselves. The
Brooklyn-based band was dark, brooding and uninspiring. The noise rock featured a few raps from the lead lady and the remaining band members stood about lifelessly, occasionally swaying from side-to-side. The only bright spot in their set was the closing song. And the little rays of light came mostly from a few eager dancers who got pulled on the stage to move with the band.
Before the show, my boyfriend asked if I had my earplugs. I shrugged him off. I shouldn’t have. Even from the very back of the room where the seats and couches are for everyone who is too lame, too drunk or too tired to make it through an entire set (I was the latter), the sound was still intense. But not a fuzzy, annoying feedback intense, it was crisp and clear - just remarkably loud.
The Kills are really intense in pretty much every way imaginable. Alison Mosshart and Jamie Hince are an amazing on-stage presence. As far as frontwomen go, Alison simply cannot be topped. Dressed in
leopard, a band T-shirt and a slinky scarf she was all over the stage.
Her strut, her looks to the audience and just her stance scream sex. She’s absolutely amazing in every way possible. I don’t think I can express just how powerful that woman is on stage. And her voice is
just as sultry and powerful as her moves.
Touring for their latest release “Midnight Boom,” they opened with three off it before delving into earlier works from “No Wow” and their debut “Keep on Your Mean Side.” We got “Sour Cherry” and “URA FEVER,” which also happens to be one of their newer shirt designs, right off the bat.
Against a white backdrop with a videos of old, black-and-white CBGB performances amongst other things, the duo’s garage rock permeated the crowd and never let go. Even with a couple different song-starting slip ups, the pair didn’t seem to miss a beat. Very little crowd chit-chat, just straight to the point with the rock for a solid 90 minutes or so.
I wanted to hear “Rodeo Town,” but didn’t get it. Boo. We did get “The Good Ones” in the main set and “Love is a Deserter” in the encore. So, really, I can’t complain.
Also, WaPo (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2008/05/04/AR2008050402238.html)
is reporting that Kate Moss was at the show, tagging along with now-boyfriend Hince. Post reports say she was in the Red Room playing pinball , I never saw her… I wasn’t looking for her either though.
Telepathe is the worst band I have ever seen. The amount of hate I felt for that band was on par with my hate for people who kick puppies.
May 5, 2008 at 4:26 pmYeah. That first band sucked hard. It was laughable.
May 5, 2008 at 4:57 pmThe leader “singer” of Telepathe looked like The Karate Kid.
May 5, 2008 at 5:45 pmIt wasn’t until about halfway through Telepathe’s set that I realized said ’singer’ was actually a girl. That haircut did not work.
Also, I had no clue why the line was so long to get in when we rolled up at like 10 p.m. Thanks for shedding some light on that… How was the scooter rally anyway Michael?
May 5, 2008 at 11:01 pmWell Baltimore -may- have jumped the shark as far as rallies go, but it could have just been an off year. The cops at the Lithuanian Hall were f’ing assholes. I was going to write it all up but mostly nothing much happened except:
Drank a lot.
Slept very little.
Made fun of people on new Vespas and other assorted scooters.
Drank more.
Almost got in a fight with a Nazi skinhead but then didn’t when found out he was just retarded.
Had a really big breakfast at Denny’s on the way back.
There were shenanigans in there, but I don’t feel like writing this week.
May 6, 2008 at 8:32 amGood review, but please please please stop using “garage rock” to describe every band that plays loud pentatonic scales. Just because Wikipedia says something is garage don’t mean it is. They ain’t. Sorry for picking your nits.
May 6, 2008 at 1:01 pmExcellent performance by The Kills. They know how to work the crowd…best stage presence I have ever seen at the Black Cat…only wish they would add a live drummer and bassist to the band. It would prevent the awkward ends to each song when the drum machine cuts off. Telepathe was not only forgettable, but an annoyance.
May 10, 2008 at 12:02 am
1: Kate Moss was there. Seeing a supermodel in person proves that photographers don’t see “pretty” like most people see pretty. They see bone structure because if you have that then you can be made pretty. Yes I am calling Kate ugly in person.
2: I had to leave for Baltimore and waited and waited for these assholes to go on, but they were being rock stars and showing up late, which caused the Red Room to fill with underage kids (and I mean fill) by 9:00 waiting to go upstairs, but they couldn’t because the bands were late, which means you couldn’t get a drink. It also meant the line outside was held so none of them could get in, either.
I did catch a bit of the first band and do agree that they weren’t any good.
Not a good night at the Cat. I assume, though, that if you stayed there and caught the show it may have been good.
May 5, 2008 at 3:48 pm