My love affair with The Kills began in 2009. I was a college radio DJ, head-to-toe American Apparel was my idea of dressing hip, and the extent of my knowledge of rock ‘n’ roll started and ended with “You Shook Me All Night Long” by AC/DC.
On a Sunday night in May, I rode shotgun to the Wonder Ballroom in Portland. I only knew two things about The Kills then: 1) my good friend and personal music encyclopedia Lex Chase adored them, and 2) Jamie Hince was engaged to Kate Moss – so they must be hip and I should totally wear my Urban Outfitters leather jacket, right?
What’s changed in five years? Not much, besides a sold-out show at the Neptune Theatre, two live drummers, and Alison’s hair color. What hasn’t? That raw, undeniably sexy chemistry.
The Kills opened with two of their most Spotify-friendly hits,“U.R.A. Fever” where phone dials introduce a slinky bass and “Future Starts Here.” A mix of old and new followed, such as “Fried My Little Brains” off the duos first LP Keep on Your Mean Side released in 2003. This is also where their blues and lo-fi garage rock-inspired roots shine.
So how did a girl from Florida and British guitarist steal my heart? It’s quite simple, actually. When 2008’s Midnight Boom came out, nothing else sounded like it at the time. A minimal boy/girl act in a time of excess and Flo Rida.
“Last Goodbye” is a melancholic and sentimental ballad – hardly what you’d expect, or maybe even want from The Kills’ final song. Jamie is on the piano, for god sake. Yet it continues to be one of my favorite live tracks. Alison’s vocals take center stage, and as she sings “I won’t forget I swear / I have no regrets the past is behind me” you think that maybe, just maybe, this will be their final US tour.
But I’m not sad, rather I think back to that show at the Wonder Ballroom five years earlier. As they exited the small stage, Jamie flicked his guitar pick into the crowd and hit me square in the head. I scrambled on the ground, knowing I’d had my first taste of rock ‘n’ roll, knowing that in some small way, this band had changed my life and whatever I thought I knew about music before.
I still have that guitar pick stored safely in a box, except now it sits next to a Velvet Underground record and a vintage (and much cooler) leather jacket.
