As The Kills wow with new tunes like “Hook and Line”, their current tour across the states is being sunk by those pesky opening acts.

Last night in the Paradise saw a slow startup to what would become a main set with swagger.

Opener of all openers Magic Wands, a duo with roots in L.A. and Nashville, attempt to make dreamy psychedelic pop tunes mired in angsty topics like “Teenage Love” and “Heartbreak Whirl”. But this trending indie dream is falling up short (live that is) thanks to a “hairy” introduction to the band Pulp and Circumstance had last night in the Paradise—yes, hairy, for real. The band, for some odd reason, presented gig goers with two giant, stuffed tigers stage left and right. But the two heads did little to entice, rather leaving the event in one giant hairbally snarl with that collective, “What the…?”

In all fairness, it’s hard to be an opener opener…P&C simply says “Slow Down There, Tiger”, leave the furries at home and I’ll be glad to re-check your gig again with open ears.

The Horrors, who have moved slightly away from “shock rock” and more toward sonic explosion and layered instrumentation with sophomore release Primary Colors (out this week), appear to fit the bill with the aforementioned Magic Wands a bit thanks to their new found sound, but quite frankly, the band was definitely a horror…show.

Lead singer Faris Badwan frequently sprawled across the floor before stripping off his leather coat and raising his arm to pay homage to the God of Horr-ible, aka himself, while creakily yelping (yes, that’s his vocal range and quality), as bassist Tomethy Furse stared intently (cough creepily) at the crowd as he executed what I’ve dubbed the wiggle wobble wane—a move that sees him absolutely ignore movement below his waist, preferring to awkwardly jar his body side to side and back again.

I suspect Furse does not own a full-length mirror in his place. I doubt he loves looking at his bottom half….

Regardless, The Kills, well, killed it. Gig goers (self included), moved steadily to hits including “Tape Song” and “URA Fever” and Allison exuded, stank, and breathed of sex. A stunning performer, she whipped that hair around, all the while sharing some intimate moments with band mate Jamie amidst the growl and shake—lining their mics up in front of each other as if they were practicing in a basement and jacking each other up on excitement, rather than wowing a crowd of hipsters paying homage. If those sound guys would just get on it, maybe we’d hear more of their instruments and less of all the reverb.

File Under: ‘Paradise the Effect’ and kill the opening acts.