We, the music nerds of Spinning Platters, love K.Flay (aka Kristine Flaherty). So much so that after I submitted Mono as one of my top 3 albums of 2023, she not only made the final top ten (as voted by all of us), but she won the whole damn thing! Despite all of this, I had only seen her perform twice: once opening for Imagine Dragons and once at a LoveLoud festival in Salt Lake City. So when I saw that she was going to be playing back-to-back shows at a tiny SF venue, I jumped at the chance to finally see K. Flay headline a show!
The evening began with Cam Kahin, who drove all the way from Toronto to play for us. I would describe the band as garage-y neo-grunge indie rock, and while I have no idea what I was expecting, it wasn’t that. Their set was far too short for my liking, but at the same time, I couldn’t wait for K.Flay to start. I will be keeping an eye out for more from Cam Kahin, though. Favorites from their set were “Compass” and “Old Shoes.”
A little while later, K.Flay graced the stage decked out in a black and white satin boxing uniform, complete with boxing gloves, a black satin robe, and fantastic makeup that made her look as though she’d lost her previous fight. (This plays into the idea that this tour is essentially K.Flay against herself -mono vs. mono- and, of course, also works nicely with the name of the album.)
After the room was sufficiently “ready to rumble,” Flaherty began with “Are You Serious?” and then “Raw Raw,” which is such an earworm that it’s usually several days before I finally get it out of my head. After welcoming the crowd to the Mono: Live in Stereo tour, she made mention of her recent hearing loss, saying that she had learned she could be “half deaf and still make a fuckin’ sick album!” If that’s not inspirational, I don’t know what is!
Flaherty also explained that we were “here to lose ourselves for something that is bigger than what’s inside every one of us.” She added that she wanted us to feel “no anxieties, no bullshit… feel like your most authentic self. Scream, cry, do whatever you need to do… don’t punch someone!”
A little while later came one of my new favorites from this album, “Irish Goodbye,” which, despite missing featured artist Vic Fuentes, was every bit as fantastic live as I had hoped. After another song, Flaherty again paused to speak to the crowd, noting that she knew we’d all “been through battles” and wondering aloud if anyone had “thought during those battles that you might not make it?” Flaherty paused to smile, offering as an aside, “That’s why you’re at a K.Flay show!” The point she made was that despite everything any one of us has been through, every single one of us present that night had survived every event life threw at us; we should be proud of our ability to survive and celebrate our ability to overcome anything.
After “Punisher,” “Shy,” and “Spaghetti,” all off of Mono, Flaherty took a moment to explain a free program that had been passed out to the crowd. Inside was a card designed to be burned. She explained that she wanted us to take them, write on them, and then put them in the collection box to be physically burned later this weekend. Flaherty promised not to read them and encouraged fans to write on “as many cards as you want” while noting how hard it can be to let things go. She then took a moment “while we’re all here together” to lead the crowd in a deep breath before asking us all to “imagine something you can get rid of, and it’s tied to a string. Imagine letting go of the string, watching it float up into the clouds. Watch it go way, way up into the atmosphere, to a place you can no longer see…” Flaherty then commented on the sense of relief and lightness we can feel when we give ourselves permission to let go of something. “Also, think of all the things you didn’t put in that balloon: power, peace… just sit with those feelings for a minute.” Eventually, Flaherty was ready to get back to the music: “This is not a meditation, it’s a fuckin’ rock show! Take all those things you needed to let go of, and give them a proper burial with a song called ‘TGIF.’”
Before beginning “Dreamers,” Flaherty mused, “no matter what age we are, we all still think, ‘Am I doing this shit right? It reminds me to keep imagining, to keep dreaming about a world that’s different, and maybe a little bit better…”
“Blood in the Cut” was next and had a slow, sort of acoustic start. I didn’t love that choice for the intro, but once the song got going into all of its typical, rockin’ glory, I was completely satisfied with Flaherty’s performance of one of my favorite songs. After “My Name isn’t Katherine,” Flaherty thanked the crowd for being there that night and for selling out her shows, commenting that she “used to live about two blocks from this venue.” She then had another request for the audience: “I feel like you know this song, so sing it with me. It’s fun!” The song was another of her big hits, “High Enough,” and it was indeed fun to have the whole crowd singing along and thoroughly enjoying the performance.
Finally, Flaherty closed with the final song from Mono, “Perfectly Alone.” Overall, the show felt thoughtfully planned, taking us full circle through many emotions. I adore K.Flay for her candor, her humor, and, of course, her many talents; seeing her crush a fantastic set at a tiny little venue was everything I’d been waiting for and worth every minute. I hope I get to do it again soon!
