The plan was to have a quiet, romantic dinner, and quite possibly a few dirty martinis before making our way over to the Ritz to see the Kills, a blues and punk inspired noise-rock duo. It would be my second time seeing the pair in four months and I couldn't be more excited.
However, when following the maître d' upon our arrival to Bernini in Ybor, I noticed an unusual, yet sensuous looking woman sitting close to a window adorned in a red, flowy oriental shirt that engulfed her tiny frame, and black skinny jeans, set off with dangerously sexy black boots. Her face was striking, pale, and free of make-up. And if you looked hard enough, you caught a glimpse of dark eyes hiding behind her wild, tussled mess of pink and bleached hair.
My heart stopped when I realized who I'd been seated behind. She was a native Floridian, singer Alison "VV" Mosshart, 50 percent of The Kills and 100 percent of the reason why I was seduced back in 2005 upon my discovery of the band, following the release of their second album, No Wow.
Mosshart, who got her start in a Florida punk band called Discount, is perhaps better known for her role fronting Jack White's side project The Dead Weather. After being a fan of The Kills for so long and getting familiar with their style, it would make sense that she'd be so closely associated with White, because she and him are practically the same person, give or take a couple of appendages. Possibly the biggest downfall of this relationship is that The Kills have to work harder to sound more like themselves and less like the White Stripes, as some critics have noted. [Text by Melissa, photos by Tracy.]
Back to the story. The butterflies in my stomach flapped violently. I lost interest in the menu placed in front of me and couldn't help but eavesdrop on Mosshart and her guitarist bandmate, Jamie "Hotel" Hince.
For several minutes, I contemplated starting a conversation with the woman who sat so closely to me that I could sense her long mane brushing up against my chair. When I saw her reach for the check and sign the bill, I jumped on my last opportunity and asked her the only thing I could think of… "Are you Alison of The Kills?" Shyly, she replied, "I am. It's me."
I asked her how the tour was going and if she was enjoying Ybor. It would be The Kills first-time ever playing in Tampa, and she seemed excited.
While the show wasn't sold-out, there was definitely a good crowd, especially for a Monday night. The leopard-print backdrop and dramatic lighting throughout the performance was fitting to the primal feel the band seemed to be going for. And as I learned at my first Kills show, big things come in small packages.
Mosshart's lanky appearance says nothing about her presence. She's fierce in her entirety and sexual in her choreography. With an animalistic growl, the toss of a neon-colored lock, or the thrust of bony hips, "VV" shows her ability to easily command her audience.
Perhaps most impressive is the obvious chemistry that exists between Mosshart and Hince, and their great success in being able to make so much from so little. Other than a guest appearance by two masked percussionists banging floor toms in time with the rhythms — most of them pre-recorded — Mosshart and Hince make do on their own and they make do well. Short of the Black Keys, Hanni El Khatib, and some others, not many twofers can say the same.
The Kills treated fans to songs not just from 2011's Blood Pressures, but from all four of their albums, also spoiling us with a cover of Patsy Cline's "Crazy." Hince dedicated "Baby Says" to his model wife, Kate Moss, and the two finished up the night strong with an intimate encore of "The Last Goodbye," "Sour Cherry," "Monkey 23" and "Fuck the People." With a smile, Mosshart raised her middle-finger to the crowd. Her gesture was received well by her adoring fans and lovingly returned.
Setlist:
1. No Wow
2. Future Starts Slow
3. Heart Is a Beating Drum
4. Kissy Kissy
5. U.R.A. Fever
6. DNA
7. Satellite
8. Last Day of Magic
9. Crazy (Patsy Cline cover)
10. Baby Says
11. Black Balloon
12. Tape Song
13. Cheap and Cheerful
14. Pots and Pans
Encore:
15. The Last Goodbye
16. Sour Cherry
17. Fuck the People
18. Monkey 23
This article appears in Feb 2-8, 2012.