Kaki King
London ULU
17th May, 2008

While she’s not yet a household name, she should be. Forget your soporific 20-something jazz divas, KK is a captivating stage presence with more than just amusing banter and good pipes – though she has that in spades (as well as a bottle of red). She’s a stunning guitarist, swapping between electric and acoustic throughout her 17-song, 100-minute set, and playing the living daylights out of both on tracks from her three-album catalogue, including latest, Dreaming Of Revenge. While that opus is less acoustic guitar splendour as avant-garde ambient, her stripped-down body-slapping versions on the six-string are blinding. Accompanied by Dan Branigan on breath-control synth (think a school melodica that produces a Wakeman bank of keys and a drummer), she engages in kick-ass space-rock (whale song, bleeps), drifting prog instrumentalism, indie-rock and acoustic gypsy/Latino dexterity that would have Gordon Giltrap grinning. Highlights include her double-tapping Playing With Pink Noise, vocal LoveStoned and closing Jessica. But it’s her playing on any number of cuts from debut Until We Felt Red, along with her synth backing, that captivates – like Bjork meeting Malmsteen. If you only see one show this summer, it’s got to be Kaki.