Concert Review: K. Flay at Terminal West

Energetic as ever and more than eager to return to the stage, K. Flay (Kristine Flaherty) brought a fiery and emotive performance for the second night of her Inside Voices Outside Voices Tour. Fresh off the release of her latest album, Inside Voices / Outside Voices, a combination of two previous EPS and two new singles, K. Flay came prepared with plenty of music for her fans. 

Its hard to quite pin down K. Flay's style, ranging from hip-hop to rock, into pop and different styles of alternative, back to some conglomeration of the aforementioned. Just as wild as in person as she is recorded, K. Flay's frantic, yet calculated, moves across the stage kept the show kinetic and intimate for everyone in the room. Kristine kept flailing, head banging,  jumping, and kicking her way from left to right without mercy.

Sonically K. Flay and her band sounded amazing. A combination of crisp guitars, tight drums, and distorted bass, mixed with some tracks layered over with Flay's vocals had the group sounding spot on. Raspy with lots of power, yet still silky smooth when needed, K. Flay has some chops. Her background in rapping was also on full display as she laid down bars. The music had a way of being felt in your chest throughout the whole night.

The Inside Voices Outside Voices Tour sees K. Flay unleashing her true self. Between songs Kristine would open up to the crowd, commenting on her life story, giving encouragement, and connecting with her fans. Acceptance of one's true self was a common theme in her talks, which gained many cheers from the audience. 

Since her start in 2003, K. Flay has built a cult like following of people of all different backgrounds. Her fans range in age, race, and sexuality; punks, hip-hop heads, indie kids, you name it and they're there. An impressive feat for any artist. K. Flay brought a proper community in for her show. 

New comer corook opened up the show. This was only her second show ever, the first coming the night before on the same tour. The 27 year old singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist has started to make waves online on TikTok and now has major label backing with Atlantic Records. Her set was very performative, layering her quirky and fun personality over strong instrumentals and a really impressive vocal range. Expect her to take off quick, as she's only just release her third single on the night of the show.

Australian indie-pop star G Flip, aka Georgia Flipo, hit the stage second. After gaining a huge following back home down under, G Flip is looking to bring that success to the states. Their unique take on pop stems largely from Australia's largely isolated music scene that seems to breed creativity. Georgia got the crowd pumped up, commanding the stage and controlling the mic with ease. They also made good use of the drum kit, Georgia used to drum before their solo project and continues to feature it in their live set. G Flip is an act to catch live when you can, especially with their limited touring in the US. 

With four studio albums and several EPs and mixtapes to her name, K. Flay had a lot of ground to cover. The bulk of her setlist came from her most recent album, as well as her 2018 LP, Every Where Is Some Where. A personal favorite of mine was "I'm Afraid of the Internet," is an anxious slow burner that strikes a nerve live. "Black Wave" got the crowd wild early on as it broke out into a mosh during it's chorus. K. Flay ended the night on her hit song "High Enough," where Flay left everything on the stage.

          1. Four Letter Words

          2. Giver

          3. FML

          4. Black Wave

          5. I'm Afraid of the Internet

          6. Weirdo

          7. Bad Vibes

          8. TGIF

          9. My Name Isn't Katherine

          10. Bad Memory

          11. Make Me Fade

          12. The Muck

          13. Maybe There's a Way

          14. Can't Sleep

          15. Dreamers

          16. Zen

          17. Blood in the Cut

          18. Nothing Can Kill Us

          -

          19. This Baby Don't Cry

          20. High Enough

K. Flay's Terminal West show was just the second on her headlining tour. She's got about a month of gigs left before she hits the open ocean with Kesha and eventually onto Europe and the UK (the latter of which she'll be supporting PVRIS). Her full dates are below;

          2/12 Nashville, TN — The Basement East*• (SOLD OUT)

          2/14 Asheville, NC — The Orange Peel*•

          2/16 Washington D.C. — 9:30 Club*•

          2/17 New York, NY — Irving Plaza*•

          2/19 Boston, MA — Big Night Live*•

          2/20 Buffalo, NY — Town Ballroom*•

          2/21 Toronto, ON — The Danforth Music Hall+•

          2/23 Detroit, MI — Saint Andrew's Hall+•

          2/24 Milwaukee, WI — The Rave+•

          2/25 Minneapolis, MN — First Avenue+•

          2/26 Chicago, IL — Park West+•

          2/28 St. Louis, MO — Delmar Hall+•

          3/01 Kansas City, MO — The Truman+•

          3/03 Colorado Springs, CO — The Black Sheep+• (SOLD OUT)

          3/04 Denver, CO — The Summit+• (SOLD OUT)

          3/05 Salt Lake City, UT — The Grand^•

          3/06 Boise, ID — Knitting Factory^•

          3/08 Portland, OR — Wonder Ballroom^•

          3/09 Seattle, WA — The Showbox^•

          3/10 Vancouver, BC — Hollywood Theatre^•

          3/12 San Fransisco, CA — The Regency Ballroom^•

          3/13 Los Angelos, CA — The Fonda Theatre^•

          3/15 San Diego, CA — The Observatory^•

          3/16 Phoenix, AZ — The Van Buren^•

          4/01 Kesha's Rainbow Cruise

          4/06 Tampa, FL — The Orpheum

          4/07 Orlando, FL — The Beacham

          4/09 Miami, FL — Sound Money Festival

          5/03 Berlin, Germany — Columbia Theatre

          5/04 Cologne, Germany — Luxor

          5/05 Hamburg, Germany — Gruenspan

          5/07 Manchester, UK — O2 Victoria Warehouse%

          5/08 Glasgow, UK — O2 Academy Glasgow%

          5/09 Birmingham, UK — O2 Academy Birmingham%

          5/11 London, UK — O2 Academy London%

          5/12 Amsterdam, Netherlands — Melkweg

          5/14 Paris, France — Le Trabeendo

          * with G FLIP

          + with UPSAHL

          ^ with Kid Sistr

          • with corook

          % supporting PVRIS

WEGL weren't the only ones from Auburn with their eyes on K. Flay's tour. Auburn student Rachel Johnson designed several shirts and stickers that were printed for this tour, including the shirt above. She's been gaining attention from some big acts as of late, including a recent collaboration with Fall Out Boy. You can check out her work here.

In short, K. Flay's live shows are a wild bout of creativity and passion that are sure to draw you in. Her honesty,  openness, and attitude help shape the people around her and translates to an unforgettable show experience.