February 6, 2024 brought in The Kills to the Commodore Ballroom. They were supported by The Paranoyds.
"GET FUCKING CRAZY!"
Things didn’t look good as I looked into the near empty Commodore Ballroom, a mere 20 minutes before showtime. With no line outside, it looked as if it was going to be a lean night. Thankfully for the bands, the room started filling out, and by the time the opener–The Paranoyds–were in full swing, the crowd was too.
"Vancouver!!!"
It didn’t take long for the space to start thumping. With an energy that would belong in the heyday of CBGB’s, it’s as if The Paranoyds were pulled out of a different time, and have began to carve out their own space in this one. Swapping vocals…and sometimes instruments, the three women of the band led the way, bringing their own flavour to each song they took the lead of.
Watching The Paranoyds play is like watching your friends play in their garage, in the best of ways. It’s unpolished, and a ton of fun. But they have the chops to get out of the garage and onto the bill of a veteran band like The Kills. The crowd itself was having a good time. While the outer edges stood bobbing their heads along to the beat, the inner circle was pulsing, rising in energy as the energy from the stage grew, both feeding off one another. In one of the few quiet moments, a patron let the band know exactly how he felt, exclaiming “YOU GUYS FUCKIN’ ROCK!!!”
"This is a lot of fun"
"Thank you. This has been out best night on tour, so far...Seriously"
For their first time in Vancouver, or “Vancouchie” as singer Staz Lindes put it…to which she admitted she didn’t know why she said it. The Paranoyds will have left the city with the assurance that when they return, they’ll have a few or more folks seeing them for the second time. But it wasn’t just the band that made an impression, with Lindes calling out both the crowd and the venue, as wonderful hosts.
"Such a pleasure to be in Vancouver."
As the Kills took the stage, all had filed in a filled the Commodore. The Kills themselves brought a different energy to the room. More mellow than those who opened for them, but just as engaging. Instead of jumping to the beat, the crowd just let it wash through them. Captivated in a completely different way.
"It's been a weird few weeks."
While the music is less thrashy, The Kills heads were banging and hair was flying. Both Alison Mosshart and Jamie Hince rocking’ some offbeat guitars. He a Hofner, her a Grestch. It took nearly 45 minutes for me to realize that it was just the two of them up on the stage, a backing track picking up the slack behind them. Normally I’d call for there to be a band, but I didn’t miss it here, clearly. The two only needing one another to captivate the crowd. There’s something in the was Mosshart stalks the stage, whether she has a guitar slung over her or not. It’s like she’s the predator and the crowds attention is her prey.
"It Wasn't me. It was the pedal."
A fun moment came, when mid song, Mosshart pulled out what looked like an old point and shoot film camera (from what I could tell from the back of the room) and took pictures of the crowd. she put down the camera, and continued on with the song.
All in all, it was a fun night of different vibes. Giving the crowd something to anticipate for the inevitable return, of not just The Kills, but The Paranoyds, too.
Were you at the show? What did you think?
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— Jade Dempsey