The Kills Say Beyonce Puts 'Rock Bands to Shame'

Beyonce Knowles may be really busy lately what with a new record coming out soon, but that didn't stop her from taking the night off on April 29 to catch a Kills concert in New York.

"She was the first person I saw when we came on stage," guitarist Jamie Hince tells Spinner. "Someone told us that she had been listening to our ['Blood Pressures'] record and that she was going to come to our show."

After the show, the pop star went backstage to sing her praise to Hince and bandmate Alison Mosshart -- and, it turns out, the love is definitely reciprocated. "Her music's awesome!" says Mosshart.

Although the two sound nothing alike, musically, Hince says he sees similarities.

"If you listen to 'Single Ladies,' there's definitely a similarity to playground songs, and that was my big inspiration -- all those playground songs -- for [our 2008 record], 'Midnight Boom.' So when I heard 'Single Ladies' afterward it was like, 'Oh, she's doing the 'Midnight Boom'! It's similar!"

Hince also adds that the both of them share a common interest in the use of drum machines. "I like rhythm, I like drum beats and I like her take on R&B; she has a rhythm to her vocal delivery that's amazing."

If you're looking for an impressive show, Hince recommends Beyonce over rock bands.

"You see all these rock bands and you think they're really it and really happening but they barely move onstage, with their nonchalance and not caring," says Hince. "Go and see Beyonce and Jay Z and every single second has been taken care of where there's something going on; they put rock bands to shame."

The Kills aren't particularly sure what they personally bring to their own shows ("I don't know what we bring to live shows because I can't really see us," Hince says) but surely, they're not bringing you the same show as Beyonce.

"It's not the same sort of thing," says Hince. "It's not choreographed like a Beyonce show or a James Brown show used to be. Our show is like soul music; it just feels like we're playing from our souls and we happen to move around."

Categorize the Kills however you like but, whatever you do, don't liken them to an indie band.

"If you're an indie band, you're generally self-conscious -- that's what I see when I see an indie band," says Hince. "Conscious of what they are doing; conscious of how they come across; conscious of the style they've chosen. With rock and roll bands, you just do it and you embrace the theatrics of it; you embrace rock and roll as a performance."

The element of spontaneity plays a key role in the Kills, both live and on record, but Mosshart admits that it can be difficult to achieve.

"It's practically impossible with a drum machine but it's more of the attitude or the mentality than it is a reality half the time," she says. "You just sort of go up there and refuse to repeat yourself in a certain way."