Alison Mosshart (VV) and Jamie Hince (Hotel), AKA The Kills, have put out another grunge-blues gem in Blood Pressures so it would make sense that their appearance at this years Splendour in the Grass is one of the festival’s most anticipated performances. This hype is further demonstrated by the overwhelming demand fans have placed on promoters to include two Sydney sideshows to the band’s downunder excursion - the first show sold out quite quickly, faster than when they were here least, which is a testament to how their already-large following is continuing to grow at a rapid pace.

As an appetizer we were served local garage rock band Teenage Mothers, and to continue with the lame metaphor, they were delicious. The band fit in well with the image surrounding The Kills, unabashed, unashamed dirty rock. While the band come across as immature young punks, their sound is undeniably mature and their grungy, head-banging songs work very well. As their set went on, their music went from strength to strength and served as nice change to the usual indie-dance-rock support acts I’m so used to seeing.

You could tell these boys were trying hard to leave an impression on the crowd, even engaging in strange crowd interaction like giving us tips on how to get out of parking tickets, and doing back flips into the audience. While their music spoke for themselves, they proved a very entertaining band and although their youth shows, they are a welcome addition to Australia’s music scene.

Thankfully, the wait for The Kills wasn’t too long, as Alison Mosshart stormed the stage and caused mass hysteria - Jamie Hince quickly followed but it was clear all the fans adoring eyes were on VV. The anthemic “No Wow” served at the sets opener and quickly spread through the crowd, causing a mosh up the front of the now ridiculously packed Metro. The track I expected to open the set was next, “Future Starts Slow” - one of Blood Pressures standout tracks, and it sure sounded as epic live as it does recorded.

The thing about The Kills live is that every one of their songs sounds very different from what you would hear on one of their albums, Hotel’s guitar work is a lot more distorted which makes for a ‘dirtier’ sound and takes their grunge-blues sound into more of a straight grunge territory.

On some tracks, however, the blues infused sound was undeniable, the early appearance of the soulful “Kissy Kissy” was a perfect example of this, and it’s always a stand out in their sets. The Kills did well in scattering the fan favourites throughout the set - “U.R.A Fever” was met with lively cheers and sounded great live, a lot less ‘cleaner’ than the studio track - it was a welcome alternate take. Following this was one of their newer singles “DNA,” a song that serves as proof that The Kills are not changing their sound anytime soon - truly one of their greatest songs to date. As good as “DNA” was, the old favourite “Tape Song” stole the show, as VV’s voice thrashed around on stage, giving us that really dirty, trashy rock & roll vibe.

The highlights all seemed to concentrate around the middle of the set, as Mosshart gave us something else to rave about - a sweet, grungy cover of Marilyn Monroe’s “One Silver Dollar,” a cover which was drenched with originality and is surely something The Kills can be proud of.

The set could have used a bit more crowd interaction, seeing that pretty much everyone adores Alison Mosshart, however, all we got were a few expressions of gratitude here and there. Though, it did seem like the two were having as much fun on stage as we were - Alison strutting around the stage like a true performer, while Hince expertly strummed away at his guitar, doing a great job at making all the songs sound brilliant.

The main set closed with “Sour Cherry” and the encore quickly followed with the ballad “The Last Goodbyë,” demonstrating the strength of Mosshart’s voice before “Pull A U” quickly brought the rock & roll presence back. The night closed with “my personal favourite “Fried My Little Brains” which was a bit of a surprise as I expected the much-loved “Cheep and Cheerful,” which was nowhere to be heard.

Alison Mosshart and Jamie Hince took a gracious bow and left us to hope for a second encore, to no avail, but we sure did get our money’s worth - it was a set I’d definitely want to experience again.

Set List

No Wow
Future Starts Slow
Heart is a Beating Drum
Kissy Kissy
U.R.A. Fever
DNA
Satellite
Tape Song
Baby Says
One Silver Dollar (Cover)
You Don’t Own The Road
Sour Cherry

Encore

The Last Goodbye
Pull A U
Pots and Pans
Fried My Little Brains