The Kills • The Paranoyds • February 9, 2024 • The Union
Reviewed and Photographed by Mark Daluz
On the morning of February 9th, Park City experienced a monster of a snowstorm which naturally drew me in with a day filled with powder skiing. I genuinely had one of my best days skiing and right as I was about to take my well-deserved nap, planning on taking the rest of the day off. I got a notification on my phone reminding me that my day wasn’t over. The Kills’s “God Games” tour was rolling by the Union and I immediately got a spike of pre-concert energy.
I arrived at the Union around 30 minutes before the show started to stay out of chilly lines. Upon arriving, the first thing I noticed upon entering was a drape splitting the venue in half. Essentially making it smaller. After going to shows where you couldn’t even find an inch of breathing space, it was nice to finally get plenty of moving room. At around the 7:45 mark, the band The Paranoyds took the stage.
The Paranoyds
The LA group didn’t waste any time starting the show as the guitars, drums, and synthesizers went off into pop punk/garage rock riffs. Though we were in a pretty big venue, the drape made the venue feel smaller which in return gave it an intimate vibe. Close up, I felt like I was at a concert where my friends threw out of their garage. If you’ve ever been to a Kilby Court show, that’s exactly what it felt like. The Paranoyds played roughly 9 songs before they exited the stage, leaving us in high spirits before the Kills took the stage.
During intermission, I forgot to turn around during Paranoyds’s set because once I did, I noticed a significant jump of people in the venue. Which you can expect only made more excited for the Kills to take the stage.
The Kills
It didn’t take long for the Kills to do that. Intermission flew by because before you knew it, the venue lights focused center stage. Their entrance wasn’t grand or anything of that matter. It was Alison “VV” Mosshart and guitarist Jamie “Hotel” Hince simply walking to their instruments and mics waving along the way. Thinking this was going to be a mellow show was a mistake as once the guitars started ringing across the stage, my idea of them immediately flipped.
They opened with “Kissy Kissy” which reminded me a lot of Shakey Graves music. Hince and Mosshart then dove straight into fan favorite “U.R.A. Fever”, giving way too soon to fan favorites like “New York” (Both songs gave me White Stripes Vibes). The first three songs had booming grooves that prove the Kills are still making powerful music more than two decades into their tenure. Hince took vocals on some songs but Mosshart had the spotlight on her the whole show. She shimmered, danced, vamped, and raged through the set. They were dialed in for the two hours to come.
After finishing their planned set, Hince and Mosshart returned on stage for their encore to perform “No Wow”, “Better Days”, and “Sour Cherry”. Despite the late hour, most of the crowd stayed for their last hoorah in Salt Lake. While the evening was a long time coming, The Kills left their mark on the Union Center that night, solidifying their status as one of Rock’s most unique and dynamic acts.