K. Flay slays San Diego’s Observatory with special guests

There are some artists that are true enigmas in their craft… Ones that you can’t peel your eyes away from as they perform; ones that fully encompass the music they make. I was excited to finally see K. Flay live (been waiting over a decade for it!!), but little was I prepared for the wild ride that she was about to take me on at San Diego’s Observatory North Park last Friday night.

Let me preface with the fact that I can’t remember the last time I stayed till the end of a concert. To avoid traffic jams and to up sleep hours, I usually cut out about halfway to two-thirds through any given show that I’m shooting. Nope, not this time.

I stayed put till the house lights clicked on to signify mass exile.

But, let’s start at the beginning. Alt singer-songwriter Vienna Vienna started the show, oozing stage presence while playing songs off their latest album God Save The Queens. Raw, gritty… glimmer rock at the edge. It was a perfect introduction to a K. Flay show.

As everyone milled around the merch table and got drinks for the second half of the show, I was on high alert for the first indication the show was starting. I wasn’t going to miss a second of it. Back in 2017, K. Flay‘s Every Where Is Some Where got me through the toughest breakup of my life (well, at least thus far). It was my theme music, the score to my survival. Naturally, K. Flay has been at the top of my must-see list ever since.

When MONO dropped in 2023, I had to review it on our Top Shelf site — not only because it’s an incredible album, but because of the hardship that K. Flay had to go through making it. Losing all of her hearing in her right ear overnight, K. Flay has since had to adjust her life, her music, literally everything to be in monaural sound. She’s even reimagined some of her tracks to be softer, less ‘busy’ in last year’s I’m Making Friends With The Silence EP. Her art has had to shift, but the show must go on.

And speaking of the show, K. Flay can certainly put on one.

Appearing downstage behind a screen, K. Flay rattled through “Bar Soap”, “Giver”, and “Raw Raw” — the latter battling a mirrored version of herself on the screen. Punching, thrashing, crawling, and at time, strapped to a guitar, K. Flay continued on with “The President Has A Sex Tape”, “Weirdo”, and “Shy” before a surprise guest came out for “Irish Goodbye”. Instead of having someone ‘fill in’ on vocal collabs, like some artists do, Vic Fuentes (of Pierce The Veil) ACTUALLY came out onstage to do his part in the song! When does that ever happen????!

Another highlight (at least for me) was “Four Letter Words” (another perfect theme song for me going through yet another hard breakup) before launching into a series of her recreated “softer versions”. Sitting cross-legged delivering “Are You Serious?” was really powerful, with the sliding guitar adding an extraterrestrial element to it. “Punisher” was also much more personal pulled back and stripped down. Before going into another one of my personal favorites (“Zen”, a track collab with X Ambassadors and .grandson reflecting how we all felt at the onset of the pandemic), K. Flay switched up the soundtrack with a brilliant cover of “I Am The Walrus”. It was unexpected, yet deeply enjoyed by all.

Up till the last note, K. Flay writhed, rocked, and riled up the audience — it was art at its purest. She definitely brings the “Raw Raw” energy in all that she does. If you have a chance to see K. Flay in action, don’t hesitate like I did; she’s worth every concert penny.

Photography by Kristy Rose

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