The Kills Live in Concert at the 9:30 Club
It got loud when NPR Music live webcast these full concerts from two of the grittiest rock duos of the past decade, The Kills and JEFF The Brotherhood. Each band has an outsize sound, fueled by deafening guitar noise and trashy rhythms, and is known for feverish but playful live performances. JEFF The Brotherhood opened the webcast from Washington, D.C.'s 9:30 Club, followed by The Kills. Singer-guitarist Alison Mosshart and drummer Jamie Hince formed The Kills in 2001 after bonding over their shared love of blues- and punk-infused garage rock. Their fourth and most recent record, 2011's Blood Pressure — released after Mosshart heightened her profile alongside Jack White in The Dead Weather — is full of sex and swagger, dark guitar riffs and twisted beats. Real-life brothers Jake and Jamin Orrall founded the duo JEFF The Brotherhood in Nashville in 2001. Over the course of a half-dozen full-length albums, they've built a reputation on distorted, noisy rock with a wry sense of humor. For the band's Tiny Desk performance at the NPR Music offices, they insisted on removing their shirts for what they called "a sad love song," which was immediately followed by plenty of guitar shredding and messy beats. No promises on whether the duo will shirt-up for Thursday's live webcast.