KITTIE LIVE PHOTOS
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Review and photos by Greg Maki
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Celebrating 30 years as a band and marking its first full headline tour in more than a decade, Kittie’s stop in Baltimore, Maryland, on its Legacy of Fire tour felt nothing short of triumphant. The show was moved from Baltimore Soundstage to the larger Nevermore Hall to accommodate high ticket sales, and the crowd that packed the venue came prepared on this Sunday night.
The raucous crowd brought the energy starting with opening act Gore. Hailing from Texas and with two EPs released via Spinefarm Records, the quartet led by vocalist Haley Roughton specialized soft-to-heavy dynamics that got the floor moving and the crowd surfers flying over the barricade. That reaction only increased as Kingdom of Giants, more of a standard metalcore act from California, brought loads of energy to the stage and the audience responded in kind.
But the night, of course, was all about the headliner, which annihilated everything in sight throughout a career-spanning, 20-song set. Even without bassist Ivy Jenkins (taking some time off from the road to focus on her family; Rachel Gonzales filled in), the band was tight and heavy, filling the room with a huge sound and showing a level of musicianship far higher than most probably gave them credit for earlier in their career. It feels like since Kittie reactivated a few years ago and released the comeback album “Fire” in 2024, the band finally has started to get the credit it’s due for being a true trailblazer, emerging as it did in the late ‘90s amid the very masculine nu metal scene. (One can’t help but wonder if bands and artists like Spiritbox and Poppy would be doing what they are today if Kittie hadn’t come first.) But performances like this—and a predominantly younger-skewing audience—show that the appeal is more than nostalgia. Kittie is a vital force in metal in 2026, with the four songs from “Fire” among the standouts on the set list. This tour is the culmination of three decades of Kittie, but I can’t wait to see what’s next.
KITTIE SET LIST: “Fire,” “I’ve Failed You,” “Cut Throat,” “Oracle,” “Spit,” “Do You Think I’m a Whore,” “Ugly,” “Empires (Part 2),” “We Are Shadows,” “Pain,” “What I Always Wanted,” “Suck,” “Burning Bridges,” “Come Undone,” “We Are the Lamb,” “Vultures,” “Charlotte,” “Mouthful of Poison,” (encore) “Brackish,” “Eyes Wide Open”
LINKS:
www.kittie.net
linktr.ee/kingdomofgiants
www.goretheband.com
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