By Josh Herwitt //
The Kills with Heartworms //
The Wiltern – Los Angeles
March 14th, 2024 //
It has been a wet winter in Southern California this year, and some of us are still drying off from all the rain that bombarded us over the past three months.
But with the clouds finally parting and clear skies paving the way for the impending spring (and warmer temperatures naturally), spending 90 minutes up close and personal with The Kills was not such a bad way to celebrate the end of one season and the start of another.
The last time I packed up my camera gear was almost two months ago when Texas post-rock quintet Explosions in the Sky came to town and performed two nights at The Wiltern where we witnessed the second date (read our show review here), and my next opportunity in the photo pit just happened to be back at the same historic theater that has stood for more than 90 years now in the heart of Koreatown.
Alison “VV” Mosshart (vocals, guitars, dictaphone, production) and Jamie “Hotel” Hince (vocals, guitars, dictaphone, organ, harmonica, electric viola, drum machine, production) have been at it for more than two decades themselves, releasing their sixth studio album God Games to critical acclaim last October and embarking on a North American tour that spanned 31 concerts across six weeks beginning in early February at Santa Ana’s The Observatory.
Shortly after London post-punk outfit Heartworms led by singer-songwriter Jojo Orme had wrapped up their opening set, fans had either found space on the tiered floor or taken their assigned seats up in the balcony as the clock struck 9 p.m. And as we waited for Mosshart and Hince to make their entrances, I couldn’t help but remember when I drove 45 miles east on a weeknight one summer to watch The Kills strut their stuff in Pomona (read our show review here). Fortunately my commute for this engagement was much shorter, though I have no regrets about making the trek out to The Glass House more than eight years ago.
The British-American rock duo had yet to release 2016’s Ash & Ice at that point, but we did hear three of the LP’s tracks — including lead single “Doing It to Death” that has since become one of The Kills’ most popular songs alongside “Future Starts Slow” off 2011’s Blood Pressures and “Black Balloon” on 2008’s Midnight Boom. Mosshart and Hince, meanwhile, have managed to cook up another hit on God Games with the gritty opener “New York”, and hearing it live for the first time at The Wiltern was certainly one of the evening’s highlights for us — not to mention other new material such as “Love and Tenderness” and “LA Hex” that sounds more like balladry than the higher-tempo, full-throated bangers loyal listeners have come to expect from them. Heck, maybe that’s one reason why Hince has even traded in his boots for a pair of white penny loafers (and they look good on him, too).
God Games, in that regard, undoubtedly shows The Kills continuing to take some chances and expand their sonic horizons without guitars. And for an act consisting of only two full-time members, it sure does deliver enough sound that you might think a full band was onstage in a similar way that Royal Blood do after seeing the UK two-piece occupy the same space in November and command a sold-out audience with a full-blown mosh pit breaking out (read our show review here). Sure, it would be epic if a drummer and bassist could be part of The Kills’ live show in the future, but with touring costs rising and a number of advancements in technology affording musicians a lot more flexibility, it would most likely take playing much larger venues for them to make a move like that — and we are more than A-OK if they don’t ever headline arenas or stadiums.
There wouldn’t be any pushing or shoving among audience members on this occasion considering The Kills’ music doesn’t really lend itself to that sort of aggressive behavior, but with a trio of backup singers joining them for “Blank”, “Better Days” and “My Girls My Girls” from God Games during what proved to be a four-song encore in LA, you got the sense that the return of Mosshart and Hince to their adopted hometown represented a special moment for them. This wasn’t the final stop of the “God Games Tour” unfortunately, yet that didn’t matter at the end of the day. Because when music like The Kills’ constantly replays in your head long after the show ends (and as I write these words), you know quite simply that it’s damn good.
Setlist:
Kissy Kissy
U.R.A. Fever
Love and Tenderness
103
Going to Heaven
Baby Says
New York
Wasterpiece
Kingdom Come
Hard Habit to Break
God Games
DNA
Black Balloon
LA Hex
Doing It to Death
Future Starts Slow
Encore:
Blank
Better Days
My Girls My Girls
Sour Cherry