Did your last concert have the headlining act drag an idiot fan onto stage, only to rough him and throw him head first into the crowd? I didn't think so.
It's another night where some crazy shit goes down involving The Kills. Last time, the roof was on fire. This time, it's sudden violence. All will be explained after the setlist, although it was changed up from the paper:
- U.R.A. Fever
- Pull A U
- Sour Cherry
- Tape Song
- No Wow
- Alphabet Pony
- Last Day of Magic
- Kissy Kissy
- Black Balloon
- Hook & Line
- Getting Down
- Crazy (Willie Nelson cover)
- Cheap & Cheerful
- My Little Brains
- ENCORE: I Put a Spell on You (Screamin' Jay Hawkins cover)
- Goodnight Bad Morning
- Dropout Boogie
So I'm standing up-front and to the left of Jamie Hince the whole show. During the encore, a guy a couple of people behind me was giving Jamie the Fuck You gesture (the backwards peace sign that's popular with Brits). The guy was probably early twenties, short hair, dopey expression on his face and wearing a winter jacket.
Jamie saw the rudeness, smiled and gestured to the guy to come up front. The guy made his way upfront and Jamie proceeded to swat at him with his guitar. The guy backed off a bit, but still continued to give him the finger. Jamie yelled at him to get back up front. Jamie then grabbed the dude and dragged him on stage. He then proceeded to poke him with his guitar neck playfully.
The song ended and the guy was still laying on top of the stage. Jamie went to his pedals and sequencers to gear up from Dropout Boogie. Allison saw the guy spread out on the stage and asked, "Jamie, what's going on over there? Do you find a dead body".
Jamie replied, "He's my new best friend." The guy stood up and walked over to Allison which freaked her out. She turned around to get away from him. The guitar tech grabbed the guy, only to have Jamie take a strangle hold on him. He dragged him back to my side of the stage and slammed him against the speaker, nearly knocking it over. He did this a few times before picking him up and throwing him head first onto floor, inches from me. All I heard was a loud CRUNCH! In instances of skull vs. hardwood floor -- hardwood floor always wins.
From the time Jamie grabbed the guy to when he tossed him into the crowd was no more then 3-4 seconds. It happened so fast. It was shocking and scary to see a guy lay motionless next to my feet. So what do I do? Grab my camera bag and rain poncho so that brain matter does spill on it. The thought did cross my mind to take photos of the guy on the ground, but I shoot concerts, not crimes. Thinking about it, I could picture Jamie grabbing my camera and smashing into little pieces just for taking photos. Then, they would have lost a fan.
In any event, people around me cleared out and everyone was equally shocked by the sudden display of violence. You expect that shit at an Akon concert, but not from the guy who tamed Kate Moss. Security eventually arrived and asked the guy if he was okay. They then picked him up because moving a guy's spine around who just went head first on to a hardwood floor is always a good idea. The guy was on his feet, and I saw for a quick second he has this goofy, "duhhhhhh, I'm cool" look on his red face.
Jamie and Allison continued with the encore as if nothing happened.
So what started as some playful back and forth, turned into a dicey scene. The dumb fuck giving Jamie the finger took it too far by walking towards Allison and freaking her out. Also Jamie took it to far by cleaning the guy's clock. Have security give the cockface a beat down and you play it cool. You never know, Jamie, this douche could be one of those trust fund fucks who then sues the band. Next thing you know, Jamie's visa is revoked and he can't come back to the U.S. to rock the joint. That would suck.
At the time, I thought it was just rock and roll and bad-ass. Now, I'm kind of disappointed that Jamie went berserk and Hulk like that. No telling what injuries that guy has now. That last encore song should have been a rousing finish, but it was awkward.
In the big picture, the show was another fucking awesome display of rock fortitude from Jamie and Allison. Unfortunately, the first thing I'll remember is the sound of a guy's head hitting floor. BLAH!
Awesome pictures below. Death Disco and The Horrors -- I'll write about tomorrow.
Do you ever go to a concert and not like it? Seriously, every time you review a show or album you say its amazing or kiss the ass of anyone you are interviewing. If something sucks, say it because a lot of the bands you review shows of suck balls.
Posted by: Dave Sardy | May 05, 2009 at 10:11 AM
Yes, sir, I do go to shows I don't like. Dan Deacon, Grizzly Bear, Kings of Leon, Vampire Weekend, Wavves, Dirty Projectors and The Horrors who were uninspired last night. But why would I bother seeing bands and interview acts I know I won't like? This is a blog, not a news site.
Posted by: MusicSnobbery | May 05, 2009 at 11:03 AM
I was to the right of Allison. That dude seemed really weird and out of it. When he got on stage he started sluring something and his pants seemed to be ripped all the way down the back. It was also strange how long it took security to intervene. Anyhow, I hope the guy is okay.
Posted by: Jacob | May 05, 2009 at 12:48 PM
He is okay he is a rock star.
http://www.allmylittlewordsonline.com
Posted by: fdsf | May 05, 2009 at 01:05 PM
i loved how, in the 3-5 minutes it took for security to arrive, no one around this guy leaned down to ask if he was okay, tried to see if he needed medical attention, etc. new york coldness at its absolute douchiness. i hope i never need help in a crowd, because i might die.
Posted by: williamsburg.is.full.of.heartless.douchebags | May 05, 2009 at 03:01 PM
Well, wmsburg.is.full.of.it., assuming you don't need help because you were being a creep and trying to attack Allison Mosshart, people might be more helpful...I was on her side (physically, I mean) so I didn't see everything that went down over by Jaime, but the guy was a HUGE creep and frankly, deserved what he got.
My own review is of the show is forthcoming. Thanks for the write-up, MS, I enjoyed.
Posted by: Radio Flyer | May 05, 2009 at 06:26 PM
Dude, I was right there when it happened. The guy was launched off the stage & his head slapped the floor.
I was super shocked at 1st but then i grabbed the kids arm and asked if he was ok.
He was holding his head & not saying anything.
After he was taken away, I lit a smoke cuz I was all pumped up. A security on stage came right up to me & disco balled his flash light in my eyes.
They are really serious about the not smoking thing............
Posted by: Stephen | May 05, 2009 at 10:02 PM
If you're interested...
http://radioflyerreview.blogspot.com/2009/05/live-kills.html
:) RFR
Posted by: Radio Flyer | May 08, 2009 at 05:09 PM