The Kills Killed It at KCRW’s Apogee Sessions

I have been lucky enough to have gone to many, many, many concerts over the years, but the KCRW Apogee Sessions stand out as something really special to me. It’s always a thrill to be at Bob Clearmountain’s intimate space, not to mention being in the same room as Bob, who has worked with so many of my favorite artists (Springsteen, The Who, Paul McCartney, David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, Rolling Stones, etc. etc.).

Last week the Kills stopped by the studio to perform for a select audience in between their weekend appearances at this year’s Coachella festival, and – no surprise – it was amazing! They played a lot of songs from their forthcoming album, Ash and Ice, many of which we were hearing for the first time. New tracks like “Hard Habit To Break” and “Heart Of A Dog” sounded great! I’ve already been playing their latest single, “Doing It To Death,” on my KCRW show, and the live version was a winner too. They also did cool versions of “Sour Cherry” and “Tape Song,” two of my favorites from their back catalog.

Jason Bentley, looking as dapper as ever, kicked off the evening with a great interview with the core duo of Allison Mosshart and Jamie Hince. It was really fun to hear about their writing and recording process and how their relationship works. Jamie is really funny and told some hilarious stories. Jason did great job of keeping the conversation going; very informative, but fun and freewheeling as well.

I have to admit I am a bit smitten with Alison. I think everybody who sees her is. She is a force of nature as a performer: strong, smart, wild and more than a little bit sexy. She prowls around the stage like an elegant animal, flicking her hair around her head and spitting out the lyrics. Oh, and her partner in rock, the talented songwriter and guitarist Jamie, was pretty good too.

(all photos by Dustin Downing)

KCRW’s Apogee Sessions featuring THE KILLS

hosted by Jason Bentley – Wednesday, April 20

Broadcasts and streams on KCRW’s MBE: Wednesday, May 18

SET LIST:

URA Fever

Hard Habit To Break

Heart of a Dog

Impossible Tracks

Black Balloon

Doing It To Death

Baby Says

Tape Song

Whirling Eye

Sour Cherry

Monkey 23

Musicians:

Alison Mosshart– vox, guitar, keys

Jamie Hince– guitar, vox, keys

Scott Paterson– bass, keys

Jonny Scott– drums