The Kills spend their Valentines Day in Chicago for a memorable evening

As undefinable as they are effortlessly cool, Jamie Hince and Allison Mosshart—known as The Kills—arrived at the Vic for a Valentine’s Day show that also served as the 22nd anniversary of their first show together.

Those twenty-two years have seen some of the best and most unique garage rock out there, and The Kills’ have proven to be the perfect cocktail of sex, swagger, and style, with no real peers and existing largely outside of genre. Opening with the droning shuffle of “Kissy Kissy,” the band leaned heavily into their brand-new album God Games, playing nine of the album’s twelve songs and still leaving plenty of room for deep cut classics like “Pull A U” from their 2003 debut Keep On Your Mean Side and the title track from their 2005 follow-up No Wow.

“I see a lot of making out in the crowd tonight,” Mosshart laughed at one point early in the set. “I like it, keep it up.” Trading her guitar at times for just a microphone as she strutted and stalked the stage like a jungle animal, the singer had a hard time not smiling throughout the set as she and Hince traded knowing looks and played off the crowd, ending on “Fried My Little Brains,” the band’s very first single.

Supporting their new EP I Like It Here, L.A.-based foursome The Paranoyds opened the show with a sharp, hooky set of power-pop tunes reminiscent of mid-90s girl groups like Veruca Salt and Jale.

The Kills – Vic Theater, Chicago, February 14th, 2023 (setlist)

Kissy Kissy
URA Fever
New York
Going to Heaven Love and Tenderness 103

God Games Tape Song Baby Says Black Balloon Wasterpiece Kingdom Come Pull A U

LA Hex
Doing it to Death Future Starts Slow No Wow
Better Days
Fried My Little Brains