I'll Strive To Make Them Hurt.

Last night was The Horrors and The Kills @ Webster Hall.

I think I sold Webster Hall short. It's a nice venue, much nicer when
the atmosphere is laid back and there aren't a billion sweaty teenagers pushing against you, screaming "I LOVE YOU GERARD!", and you can barely stand up because you haven't eaten or drank anything in hours. Yeahhh...

I came late, aroud 7:40, missed most of the first band, The Magic Wands', caught the last song and liked what I heard. I was gonna buy a CD but they had sold out, so I bought the new Horrors album, Primary Colors, and waited for them to come on.

The Horrors:

The Horrors' new stuff is nothing like their old stuff. The age of the big hair, black suits, and combating instruments is over and a more polished sound has taken its place. This isn't too say that they've lost their edge. I was texting my best friend, Claire, who had seen them earlier in the tour, and told her some of their new shit is creepier than their old shit. Live, it definitely is. Faris is still a tall British menace on stage, constantly waving his arms like a preacher to his choir, and brandishing his mic stand as though try to keep the demons away. His rough British voice has taken more of a melodic air, but over the meandering music, it seems as though he's narrating a bad acid trip.

I love their new album and I suggest you all buy it (I dunno if it's out in the US yet. I'm fairly certain its out in the UK. If it isn't out here, it should be soon, so keep your eye out) and if they're in your city, I suggest you see them.

The one gripe I have about The Horrors has nothing to do with their change in sound. I wish they would've toured the US more for their first album, Strange House, since they're not playing anything from that album on this tour. I was supposed to see them back in the day, when Irving Plaza was still Irving Plaza and not The Fillmore. They were opening for Schoolyard Heroes (how bitchin' is that?!), but they cancelled at the last minute. I think they might've gone to NYC one time before that but that was it. Was it lack of fans, lack of funds, or lack of interest? Perhaps a combination of the three? Hopefully, this album will get them big enough so they can headline and play some Strange House for me.

The Kills:

I had mixed feelings about The Kills live. I love their album, Midnight Boom, and I have No Wow but I don't really have patience for it, if that makes sense. It probably doesn't.

I think my feelings stem from the fact that they sound so different live than they do on the album. Not neccessarily shittier but definitely more raw and varied. I definitely liked "Tape Song", "No Wow", and "Black Balloon" performed live.

I came home and watched two episodes of Torchwood and despite the fact that Captain Jack is sexy beyond belief, he isn't in it enough, and when he is in it, the acting just seems really poor, and the show is wayyy too much about sex and not enough about clever alien hunting for it to be as awesome as Doctor Who.

-cyanide.