The Kills and Heartworms
The Fox Theater
Oakland
March 16, 2024
If you’ve ever wondered whether a band consisting of just two people could make enough of a racket for an impressive live performance, just go see the moody rock maelstrom proffered by The Kills live. (You could offer up the now-defunct White Stripes as another example of a two-person band that makes a big impression in concert. And coincidentally, White Stripes frontman Jack White has played in a band with Kills singer Alison Mosshart and shares a similar penchant for moody, guitar-driven garage rock.) Oakland’s Fox Theater played host to The Kills on the last date of their 31-concert tour, as Mosshart noted in between songs, but there hardly seemed to be any fatigue in evidence. She and guitarist Jamie Hince kept up a keening, preening rock performance that was greater than the sum of its parts.
If you’re unfamiliar with what The Kills sound like, imagine if the Rolling Stones were of this generation, but born and raised in the U.S. (though Hince is English), and with a gothic heart pumping at the center of their sound.
Hince kept his head down but guitar ready for an absolute caterwaul of guitar licks. Meanwhile, Mosshart, with her larger-than-life mane of wavy blonde locks, stalked the stage like a deadly rock leopard, ready to slay us with her deeply menacing vibrato. With a pre-programmed drum machine and vocals filtered through with distortion, it sounded like bluesy rock with a spooky techno strain that recalls ‘90s Portishead. Couple that with lyrics like, “Be right back, going to heaven / Gonna raise hell,” from a track off of 2023’s God Games, and you’d be in the right frame of mind for a night of gritty, guttural rock.
The setlist, which covered six albums’ worth of music, might have inadvertently leaned toward aural fatigue for the audience midway through. An unrelenting, two-hour set of moody, sparse rock might become rote even with performers as capable and charismatic as Mosshart and Hince. But the show was certainly geared towards the band’s diehard fans, who had no need for being antsy or unconvinced. They were the converted dark hearts, ready to worship and believe. They kept their heads down, their ears attuned, and did just that.
Heartworms, the opening band, relies on another gothic rock idol-in-the-making — singer-songwriter Jojo Orme. As a counterpoint to Mosshart, Orme wears the heart and spirit of another post-punk goth, Siouxsie Sioux, on her sleeve (and on her tousled raven hair, and on her fitted black jacket … you get the picture). With her own self-assured rock wail and the polished dark gloss that careens through the music, she set the perfect stage for the headliner. Dancing more like a slinky black cat, a bit of an anti-Debbie Harry, the English band filters ‘80s goth-rock through early-aughts indie rock bands like Interpol — angular guitar riffs and breathy vocals you are absolutely meant to dance to all night. Orme is hypnotic on stage, with a self-assured leonine swagger. The band played a tight set of dynamic post-punk that promises good things in their future. With more shows under their belt, they can start to let loose for a wilder, even more riveting live act. If you see them live, expect to be whipped into submission, and hope that in the future, you’ll be whipped into a frenzy.
