The Kills Get Salty and Sweet at The Neptune

The Kills at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)

The Kills at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)

The Kills rocked The Neptune Monday night with their primal, unbridled energy. Alison Mosshart’s sweaty, almost dreaded hair went handsomely awry as she whipped around, belting out lyrics in sneering harmony. Jamie Hince orchestrated the sound of the band, shooting sparks from his effects-laden guitar. Seemingly chaotic, once the beat hit a groove, their frenetic movements found rhythm amongst sexy, churning chords. The sound balanced salty and sweet — chaos and control.

The band grew out of a long term collaboration across borders circa 2000, but are now based in New York and London. Their fourth and most recent studio album, Blood Pressures, came out in 2011. A new album is in the works, but Mosshart and Hince gave the audience no new tastes Monday night, and have been very quiet in interviews about the process. The show was also being streamed by Yahoo Live, so the band may have wanted to avoid giving any spoilers to worldwide audiences. Nevertheless, the crowd was treated to a great rendition of “Fried My Little Brains,” an oft-overlooked song from 2003’s Keep On Your Mean Side.

Their signature sound is backed by a simple drum machine, giving the songs a direct and punchy attitude on record. This isn’t rendered live easily, and the band made a good choice to have two tom drummers on stage with them. The result was a beefed-up Kills, full-bodied and all-encompassing with a steady, grooving beat that reached into the soul — and the crowd nodded along eagerly.

As his guitar crooned through the end of “Baby Says,” Hince sank down onto the floor, inviting Mosshart to kneel opposite him. He strummed through the last delicate notes, affectionately headbutting her as they stood up. There’s a great comfort between them that can be at once sexually charged and suddenly familial, and it’s powerful to watch them interact.

Opening band Baby in Vain from Copenhagen, Denmark was a pleasant surprise. Comprised of three teenage women wearing Beatles and Velvet Underground shirts, the band had a hard edge beyond their years. They coursed through dirty, dark sludge grunge with feedback the likes of Jack White, and their writing was raw and unrefined in an honest and refreshing way. Singer Lola Hammerich asked the crowd, “Are you excited for The Kills?” dropping her voice at the end and putting two rock fists to her head as devil horns. The crowd laughed, and the band rolled onward, a wonderful mix of dark and playful.

Baby In Vain at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
Baby In Vain at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
The Kills at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
The Kills at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
Baby In Vain at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
Baby In Vain at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
The Kills at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
The Kills at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
Baby In Vain at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
Baby In Vain at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
Baby In Vain at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
Baby In Vain at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
Baby In Vain at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
Baby In Vain at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
The Kills at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
The Kills at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
The Kills at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
The Kills at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
Baby In Vain at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
Baby In Vain at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
The Kills at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
The Kills at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
The Kills at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
The Kills at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
The Kills at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
The Kills at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
Baby In Vain at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
Baby In Vain at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
The Kills at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
The Kills at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
The Kills at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
The Kills at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
The Kills at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
The Kills at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
Baby In Vain at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
Baby In Vain at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
The Kills at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
The Kills at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
The Kills at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
The Kills at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
The Kills at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
The Kills at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
The Kills at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
The Kills at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
The Kills at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
The Kills at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
The Kills at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
The Kills at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
Baby In Vain at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
Baby In Vain at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
The Kills at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
The Kills at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
The Kills at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
The Kills at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
The Kills at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
The Kills at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
The Kills at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
The Kills at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
The Kills at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
The Kills at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
Baby In Vain at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
Baby In Vain at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
The Kills at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
The Kills at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
The Kills at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
The Kills at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
Baby In Vain at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)
Baby In Vain at The Neptune (Photo by Victoria Holt)

SETLIST:

  1. U.R.A. Fever
  2. Future Starts Slow
  3. The Heart is a Beating Drum
  4. Kissy Kissy
  5. Satellite
  6. DNA
  7. Baby Says
  8. Black Balloon
  9. Tape Song
  10. Last Day of Magic
  11. Pots and Pans
  12. Monkey 23
  13. ENCORE:

No Wow

  1. Sour Cherry
  2. Fried My Little Brains
  3. The Last Goodbye
Originally from San Francisco, CA, Victoria completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography at Seattle University. Her passion is making live music look as great as it sounds. Her work has been featured in The Stranger, The Seattle Weekly, The Capitol Hill Times, and online with KEXP, Live Music Blog, and Back Beat Seattle. Her 2012 BFA thesis, “Seattle DIY: Live Music,” has exhibited at various venues in the Seattle area, and offers an in-depth exploration of six “Do-It-Yourself” underground spaces. For a behind the scenes look at music, she shoots in-studio performances at local radio station KEXP.