The Kills are on the road supporting their 15th anniversary with a handful of West Coast dates that wrapped up at Oakland’s Fox Theater.
Those who arrived early were treated to an amazing set by Dream Wife. Based in London with an Icelandic vocalist (who spent the first 10 years of her life in the Bay Area and was clearly stoked be back), the band tore through a generous 40 minute set that showed why The Kills have tapped them for this tour. Crunchy, searing guitars juxtaposed with dreamy, charged vocals made for a set that few will forget.
Sufficiently primed for the headliners, the anticipation for The Kills 9:30 set was palpable as the crew transformed the stage, finally revealing a giant Ash & Ice backdrop. Strolling out onto the stage and blasting into “Heart of a Dog,” The Kills quickly demonstrated that they meant business.
Jamie Hince played muse on guitar to Alison Mosshart’s vocals … the stone-faced yin to her wild, hair-flinging yang. Near-perfect opposites that together were a combined force on stage that had the crowd ecstatic and rapt with attention.
The set found Hince cruising along on guitar, showing no signs of the hand surgeries that waylaid the band and required him to adjust his playing. Not surprisingly, the setlist drew heavily from The Kills 2016 release Ash & Ice and it felt like the band had something to prove—back with a new album and stronger than ever.
The 90 minute set flew by all too fast but it’s hard to imagine that they won’t be back soon. Ash & Ice is an album with a lot of legs left on it.
The Kills
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DREAM WIFE
Dream Wife
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THE KILLS SETLIST
Heart of a Dog
URA Fever
Kissy Kissy
Hard Habit to Break
Impossible Tracks
Hand
Black Balloon
Doing It to Death
Baby Says
Dead Road 7
Tape Song
M.E.X.I.C.O.
Echo Home
Whirling Eye
Telephone Radio Germany
Pots and Pans / Monkey 23
ENCORE
That Love
Siberian Nights
Love Is a Deserter
Sour Cherry
