In October of last year, The Kills put out God Games their 6th studio album and announced a US tour to promote their new material. The duo kicked off the God Games tour on February 2nd at The Observatory in Santa Ana, CA and we were lucky to be there.
I got to the venue a good twenty minutes before the doors were set to open and the line outside the venue was already pretty long despite the freezing SoCal cold (somewhere around 60 degrees). Over the course of their existence, The Kills have gained a loyal fan base and people were reminiscing over the previous shows they attended as they entered the building. The floor filled up pretty quickly and you could feel the anticipation build up in the room. At 9pm on the dot, LA locals The Paranoyds stepped on stage. If you’re into rock music and live in LA, chances are you’ve seen The Paranoyds perform somewhere around town or open for some bigger names, like Jack White or in this case The Kills. The band delivers a raw and groovy punk-flavored sound. They opened with “BWP” from their 2022 album Talk Talk Talk and the audience loved it. Throughout their set, the band dug through their two studio albums and played their most recent EP I Like It Here (2023) in its entirety. The lighting on the stage could have been better, as it’s sometime the case for opening bands, but it didn’t impact the band’s performance in any way, shape, or form. “Freak Out” and “Girlfriend Degree” were my personal favorites from the setlist. I definitely recommend giving them a listen.
A little after 10pm, the lights went out and a drum track started playing as Alison Mosshart and Jamie Hince got on stage. The air got charged with electricity as the guitars tear the air and the duo started playing “Kissy Kissy” from their debut album Keep On Your Mean Side (2003). The venue was roaring and The Kills didn’t give us a second to rest when they immediately hit us with the timeless banger “URA Fever”. It is obvious that the two musicians feed from each other’s energy and from the crowd’s vibe. Throughout the night, they played the whole twelve songs from their new album God Games. Live rendition of “Wasterpiece” and “New York” particularly stood out in my opinion.
Alisson walks around the stage as if she owns it, dancing and moving around like a wild animal. Jamie on his end is more static but twitches as he delivers his electrical riffs on guitar. Only backed up by some pre-recorded drums and some synths, it is amazing the magic these two can create with a couple of guitars and microphones. “No Wow” from the 2005 album of the same name remains to this day my favorite song to watch them perform live. It transforms the atmosphere of the venue and all of The Obsevatory became one during a moment. A few other notable moments of the night were “Doing It To Death” and “Future Starts Slow” which were transcending.
After over an hour of perfect communion with us, the duo stepped out only to come back a couple of minutes later to give us a few more treats before letting us resume life with the memory of a great night spent together. The Kills will keep cruising through the US until mid-March and will stop again in the LA area, at The Wiltern this time. I have already got my tickets because I just cannot get enough of them, and I suggest you treat yourself to a Kills show too. This is something you will not regret and I can 100% guarantee it.
THE KILLS SETLIST: Kissy Kissy / URA Fever / New York / Going To Heaven / LA Hex / Love & Tenderness / 103 / My Girls My Girls / No Wow / Baby Says / Tape Song / DNA / Black Balloon / Wasterpiece / Kingdom Come / God Games / Bullet Sound / Doing It To Death / Future Starts Slow / Blank / Better Days / Sour Cherry / Fried My Little Brains
THE PARANOYDS SETLIST: BWP / Lizzie / Glass / Freak Out / Rita Lynn / Heather Doubtfire / Girlfriend Degree / Destructive Banter / Ratboy / Bear / I’m JK
THE KILLS
THE PARANOYDS
Photos + Review by Manuel Gay | Exclusively for Music, Why Not!