Webster Hall is not the largest venue in New York City by any means, but it can feel that way if you aren’t in the first five or six rows at any given show. With a prime spot comes the threat of being crammed up against some very annoying people, and, with a floor that seems to rubberize as the crowd becomes more excited, and the passing glimpses of sad looking dance parties that go down in other parts of the venue as you exit or enter the building, Webster Hall can be considered a pretty deplorable venue.
However, if the band you’ve braved all these various badnesses to see is outstanding enough, a good show can help you forget your current location. In this regard, The Kills, and, to some degree, The Horrors, rose to the occasion on May 2. Magic Wands, although not terrible, didn’t quite succeed; but, being the first band in a line-up of three, we won’t waste time on them.
I had seen The Horrors a few times before, in their past incarnation as a really incredible looking goth novelty band with no discernable songs. Despite the song deficit, they still knew how to put on a show, and like a curious girl going to see a really non-threatening version of The Birthday Party, I once got kind of roughed up at one of their gigs. The Webster Hall setting wasn’t intimate enough for The Horrors to do any harm, and, although they are now a legitimate band with actual songs, their live show is patchy. There seemed to be a lot of artifice going on to cover for the fact that--although goths are not known for having golden throats--lead singer Faris Badwan has really got a terrible voice. None of the songs sounded very coherent until the set was nearly over. That said, the two final songs, “Who Can Say” and “Sea Within A Sea”, sounded close to glorious and the band made up for incoherence with energy and flash. Badwan, who is 6’6 and last night kind of looked like a beak-nosed teenage Joey Ramone whose been transplanted to the ‘90’s (cool Nirvana Bleach t-shirt) was somewhat threatening, what with his penchant for hoisting up his mic stand and hovering it over the cluster of people in front of him. The new album is capital S Shoegazey--as guitarist Joshua Third’s haircut can attest--but the live show is anything but. The Horrors have also done away with what used to be their sole redeeming quality--fabulous goth style--and have branched out; now only one of them looks like a Nosferatu who’s still teething!
The satisfactions gained from The Horrors set instantly dissipated when The Kills took the stage. Allison Mosshart could easily do in all five feeble Horrors with a flick of her pinkie, so much was certain when she made her first speaker leap of the evening. Much like Nick Cave, she oozes charisma and sexual energy so much that all orientations are thrown out and the audience becomes submissive to the performer’s whims and hovers. Jamie Hince doesn’t have Mosshart’s sexual charisma, but he kept things audience participation-friendly throughout the evening. Although their live shows are notorious for the force field of sexual tension between the duo, this Webster Hall outing seemed a little tame. The tension was most evident on “Last Day of Magic,” but for the most part the two rocked out in their own special ways, Mosshart with her aforementioned speaker-hopping and offering her hand to lucky audience members, Hince with his robotic hand motions during the drum machine intros to “Sour Cherry” and “Getting Down,” some fancy footwork thrown in for good measure.
Perhaps the most amazing thing about the Kills live experience is taking in the amount of noise they produce with--at times--just one guitar and some samples. Yet another one of Webster Hall’s drawbacks is its less than stellar sound system, but Mosshart and Hince made the most of this setback by not scrimping on the rock. And, if all else had failed, there is little denying that an hour and a half of the two bandmates having a fierce staring match would have been worth the ticket price. Although something like that might lead to a mass water shortage, as we’d all have to take cold showers immediately afterward.
Level of Disappointment: 5;there wasn’t nearly as much sexual tension as expected, and I’ve got no clue why they didn’t play “What New York Used to Be” while in New York, but really, those are the only complaints I’ve got.
Watch: The Horrors--"Sea Within A Sea" (official video).
Watch: The Kills--"Last Day of Magic" (live on Jonathan Ross).
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