Sometimes, immense talent lies just beneath the surface, waiting for its opportunity to rise and shine.
In 2003, Kristine Meredith Flaherty was a freshman at Standford University, pursuing a double major in psychology and sociology. On a lark, she wrote and began performing a song called “Blingity Blang Blang”, which she described as a “low budget rap parody that contained far too many obscenities” (credit: Kevin Yeanoplos, axs.com, December 27, 2014).
The rest, as they say, is history. Realizing how much she enjoyed writing and performing, Flaherty, working as her hip-hop alter ego K. Flay, started channeling more energy into a burgeoning career in music.
Immense talent lying just beneath the surface, waiting for its opportunity to rise and shine.
Last night, K. Flay brought that immense talent to the stage of the Summit, as part of a twenty-five-show tour that runs through the end of March. This is the second time in a little under a year that K. Flay has played Denver… in March of last year she played back to back sold out shows at the Marquis (https://denverentertainmenthub.com/k-flay-marquis).
And oh, what a difference a (little under a) year makes. Last year’s shows were stripped down and raw, with K. Flay backed by drummer Ulf Wahlgreen and guitarist Alex Foote, a modest amount of show specific lighting, and no bells and whistles. Last night’s Summit show was a significantly different affair. Yes, Walhgreen and Foote still provide the backup support. But this year’s show is at the same time both more nuanced and elaborate, with impressive multi-colored strobe lights along the floor behind the singer, in front of a large opaque, textured screen.
Over the course of the twenty-one song, hour and fifteen-minute set, K. Flay performed both in front of and behind the screen. While behind, lighting effects created a three-dimensional impression of her in a lighted box. While in front, rear projected images, many of which made it look like K. Flay was performing alongside herself, generated dreamy, atmospheric backdrops.
What wasn’t different was the raw, uncontained energy that has become the hallmark of K. Flay liveshows. Well, almost…
By her own admission (which she shared with a crowd of about fifty people who attended a meet and greet event prior to the show), K. Flay has learned a lot about the art of putting together a setlist for a live show. One of the things she’s learned is that it’s good to insert some “softer” material into the setlist, to create a more textured listening and viewing experience for the audience.
Last night’s show featured three and a half of those “softer” breaks, all taken from her I’m Making Friends With The Silence EP, which was released last November. The songs on that EP are reimagined versions of previously released material, presented in softer, more restrained arrangements. Last night’s show opened with one of these softer versions… “Bar Soap,” from 2023’s MONO album. Later in the set, softer versions of “Are You Serious,” “Chaos Is Love,” and “Punisher” (all three also from MONO) were performed back-to-back to back. “Punisher” started in its softer form, but half-way through switched over to its original, “energetic” self.
All the “hits” were there… “Raw Raw,” “Shy,” “Irish Goodbye,” “Can’t Sleep,” “Bad Vibes,” “Blood In The Cut,” “Carsick,” etc. A really nice addition to the setlist was “Four Letter Words,” from the 2022 Inside Voices/Outside Voices album. This was the first time I’d heard that infectiously catchy tune performed live. (And does it ever provide a bang-up opportunity for crowd engagement!)
A nifty cover of the Beatles “I Am The Walrus” came late in the set, leading into “Zen,” a collaboration between K. Flay and X Ambassadors. That latter tune was seamlessly blended with K. Flay’s own “FML” … it was uber cool how well that worked.
No review of a K. Flay show would be complete without a HUGE shoutout to the audience. As noted in the piece I wrote following the Marquis shows last year, K. Flay audiences become a part of the show. The Summit was absolutely packed last night… I don’t know if I’ve ever seen it jammed so full. I made it a point to wander through the crowd (to the extent I could) to make sure I could truthfully make the following statement.
Other than the two K. Flay shows last year, I have never been to a show (and I’ve been to a lot of shows) where the crowd is so engaged with the songs, the vibe, and the general flow of the show itself. They sing, and they dance, and they respond on cue to every hand and arm motion that has become inextricably linked to parts of each song. K. Flay commented on how important the engagement of the crowd is during that pre-show meet and greet I mentioned earlier. She joked that she would be keeping an eye on everyone to make sure they were sending the necessary energy back to her on stage. It’s all part of an incredible love affair between the performer and her audience. Major kudos to everyone who attended the show last night. You guys were absolutely awesome.
Absolutely awesome, as well, was K. Flay herself. Everything about her just keeps getting better. The song writing, the willingness to venture into new and uncharted territory, the live performances. That immense talent has long since risen from below the surface, and it’s on full display, for all the world to see (and hear).
Story and photos by Rick Witt www.rickwittphotography.com
