The Showbox Sodo -- a large, squarish room with a stage, no risers or VIP seating -- was host to a pretty packed, very enthusiastic crowd this past Wednesday night. Jamie Hince and Alison Mosshart took the sparsely furnished stage -- a set of controls and effects on his side, a small keyboard on hers, mic stands for both of them, and in the rear of the stage, dead center, a Mellotron. (Or at least that's what it said on the back.)
I've wanted to see Alison Mosshart on stage for a long time now, whether it'd be with The Kills or The Dead Weather ... and she didn't disappoint. She seems to stalk and prowl the stage, whipping her hair out of her face and casting her witchy looks toward the audience. (She rocks a deliberately fake-looking blonde dye job better than any performer since Deborah Harry.) And her voice sounded great. Hince, being nobody's fool, doesn't try to compete with her stage presence. He just keeps the array of snarling, growling guitar licks coming, with just enough time to let the fans catch a breath between songs. (Those riffs could get a bit overwhelming, from time to time ... even drowning out the Mellotron that Mosshart played on a couple of songs.) Rhythm tracks were programmed or pre-recorded, start to finish.
And it was a generous selection of songs, sampling from all their past albums but incorporating nearly all of the latest album,
God Games. The new album left me a bit cold when I listened to it; it seemed too mannered, too restrained, compared to their earlier work. But its songs gained a lot in the live setting, so maybe I gave it short shrift. One thing for sure is that I'll keep an eye out for this band on tour again ... and I sure won't turn away from a chance to see her in The Dead Weather.
SETLIST:
Kissy Kissy
U.R.A. Fever
New York
Going to Heaven
Love and Tenderness
103
Better Days
Tape Song
Baby Says
Black Balloon
Wasterpiece
Kingdom Come
Bullet Sound
L.A. Hex
Doing It to Death
Future Starts Slow
ENCORE:
No Wow
My Girls My Girls
Sour Cherry
Fried My Little Brains
A young quartet from L.A. named The Paranoyds opened the show. They were quite enjoyable, with an angular New-Wavish sound. Apparently the two bands have hit it off well on this tour; I suspect we'll be hearing something collaborative before too long.
