Kill Hannah live!

Kill Hannah
Metro, Chicago
Saturday, August 23, 2008

For whatever can be said about Kill Hannah, the group’s enthusiasm and affection for their hometown is undeniable. After years of Next Big Thing proclamations — from Billy Corgan to local radio to this magazine — their long-awaited superstar status would never arrive. Yet the outfit seem unfazed and less concerned with their place in the mainstream, and more intent on making sure they deliver in the here and now. Such was clearly the case Saturday night at the Metro, where they touched down following a long string of away games that only seemed to heighten the group’s fervor.

In many ways, Saturday’s show could’ve been so many Kill Hannah shows before it. The smoke and lights, the dolled-up fans, all at the venue they’ve played at so many times before. Rumor is the band have played the venue more than any other act. Yet the group avoided turning in a routine performance, instead delivering a passionate and heartfelt love letter to the city, the venue, and the fans.

Drawing primarily from their major-label arsenal, the group delved into numerous anthemic selections from Until There’s Nothing Left Of Us and For Never & Ever. Songs like “Believer” and “The Songs That Saved My Life” exemplified Kill Hannah’s dire aesthetic and ambitious intensity. And, though not as prevalent, older material like the dreamy “Nerve Gas” and the somber and melancholy “No One Dreams Anyway” served as reminders of the group’s earlier, more shoegaze-inspired roots. In between, the morose “Black Poison Blood” demonstrated that the better elements of the group’s older sound still find their way into more recent works.

If the impassioned performances weren’t indicator enough, bandleader Mat Devine’s frequent banter, giving love to practically everyone the band have ever worked with or found support from, further drove home the group’s genuine appreciation. The gushing thanks preceding set closer “Lips Like Morphine” was practically an acceptance speech, with Devine giving love to the audience, the Metro, and a seemingly endless stream of others.

Whether the group ever achieve the stadium status seems irrelevant. What’s certain, however, is it won’t be for lack of trying.

— Jaime de’Medici

Category: Live Reviews, Weekly