I thought I might have been the only one at Sunday night’s Mountain Goats show more excited and amped for Kaki King‘s opening set, but I was surprised to see a few others were wearing the same hat. She is every bit as good as I’ve read in magazine praise-pieces and heard from Dave Grohl‘s sound bytes. (Yes, he actually has been quoted to have said “There are some guitar players that are good and there are some guitar players that are really fucking good. And then there’s Kaki King.”) Man, she owns more guitars than Kimora Lee Simmons owns shoes! Not to mention, she’s diminutive at a whopping 5-feet tall (!) and I find it hysterical how someone so tiny could have such huge talent and wildly entertaining stage presence. Basically, King knows she’s a guitar virtuoso and a sarcastic wiseass and isn’t the least bit ashamed of either. Not that she should be, since it seems to work for her.
Her musical talent is undeniable. This girl can seriously rock out to “emo” songs, to some “hardcore” German rock song (I think she said it was called “Dogs and Horses”. Or was it “Horses and Dogs”? Either way, it was pretty awful and unintentionally funny), to gorgeously moody instrumental pieces (“Montrealâ€), to catchy rock ditties (“Pull Me Out Alive”). Some may argue a lack of fluidity in her set since she played pieces that varied in intensity, style, and genre, and perhaps say it felt more like a talent showcase of “Hey, look what I can do next!” instead of a cohesive set. Hmm, maybe.
But the aforementioned incohesiveness works for someone as musically flexible as King. If she can play it all, why not work it for the audience and provide a musical pu pu platter to whet our collective appetite while we wait for The Mountain Goats (i.e.- the main course)? I think this was a smart move since I’m fairly certain some previously Mountain Goats-only attendees became King fans by the end of her set, simply by virtue of the fact that she wow-ed them.
Playing a generous mix of songs off her 2008 masterpiece Dreaming Of Revenge, King also performed favorites from older albums like Legs To Make Us Longer and Until We Felt Red, as well as a few well-received tracks off her EP with The Mountain Goats (Black Pear Tree). Between the fret-tapping on her guitars, drum solos during songs, and some dude on stage with an electronic valve instrument (apparently not just a fancy term for a “recorder,†my friends), there was a lot of action on stage. And while these elements solidified her performance, her theatrics and witty stage banter made it all the more worthwhile.
King would fall to the ground during instrumental pieces and continue strumming her guitar while laying on her back, long after the song ended. When she wasn’t being a total rock star, she shared her open mic nite experiences at Sidewalk Restaurant and the disappointment she felt when her friend landed a deal and she didn’t, but was quick to point out that she’s over that now due to her obvious success — the whole story sounded very Ani Difranco and Suzanne Vega, except there is no beef and King didn’t have to write the song ”Napoleon” like Ani did, haha.
Ever-emotional, she even fell to tears during a few tracks while discussing how much heartbreak sucks and was super-affectionate towards her band mates, all of whom originate from places like Teaneck, NJ and Brooklyn to Tel Aviv. Her stage presence is so casual and personal, I actually left Webster Hall feeling like I’d just hung out with Kaki King.
As far as a show highlight, perhaps it is unanimous in saying her encore.  King reappeared on stage alone for one last song and as she was strapping on her guitar in the spotlight, Mountain Goats lead singer John Darnielle appeared from the dark and stood behind her pointing at her with a “She’s the man!†look on his face. They hugged as the crowd cheered in anticipation for his set to follow and he left Kaki to close with an acoustic Smiths cover of “Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want“, which funnily enough, only left the crowd wanting more.
Kaki King: website | myspace | @ the Slowdown | @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
The Mountain Goats: website | myspace | Heretic Pride review | @ the Slowdown | @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
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