motorcycle sidecar drama: The Kills at Stubb's (1/25/2012)

For those of you that don't live in Austin, the weather on Tuesday night was horrifyingly bad. Insane lightning. Flash flooding. Tornado watches and the like... So, I was worried that this show wouldn't happen because Stubb's venue is outdoors. But everything cleared for Wednesday, and my oh my were we treated to an excellent show.

I've said it before. I'll say it again. Alison Mosshart is the sex. Alison Mosshart is captivating. Her stage presence, her charisma...You just can't take your eyes off of her. She owned the stage like it was her playground. For this performance, the raven-haired beauty with the intoxicating voice sported auburn hair and a red, white and blue Texas shirt. It had stars on the shoulder. It was awesome. Her partner-in-crime, Jaime Hince was (as always) the quieter cool. He wielded his ax with a James Bondian swagger.

Alison and Jaime have amazing chemistry. It got me thinking... Whereas Jack White and Alison (in The Dead Weather) have this insane, sexual tension that drives and fuels the music, Alison and Jaime are more like an old married couple who still have this amazing, familial loving spark. It's fun to watch. Really fun to watch.

As for the show itself... it was electric. For the most part it was the same show that they did in April with a little variation, but that didn't make it less awesome. The Kills put on a hell of a show featuring past and present hits. My own personal favorite song from the set (which they didn't do last time 'round) was a fantastic cover of Willie Nelson/Patsy Cline's "Crazy".

Two bands opened for them. I only caught Jeff the Brotherhood. Unfortunately... meh. I was interested as they had recently worked at Third Man Records for a couple releases but I didn't listen to said releases. As a result, I was totally green. I was expecting something like a poor man's Black Keys but they weren't even that. It was almost like the duo played late 90s/early 2000s generic rock and roll. It wasn't terrible. To be sure, they are technically proficient but I heard no song that made me take interest. They're the kind of band that'll be on the radio that is neither going to make me change the channel nor take note who the artist is. It felt like white noise. That was disappointing.

Set List

No Wow

Future Starts Slow

Heart is a Beating Drum

Kissy Kissy

U.R.A Fever

DNA

Satellite

Last Day of Magic

Crazy (a fucking awesome Patsy Cline cover)

Baby Says

Getting Down (slowed down)