Some reviews of new release, “Junior,” on which her vocals are more prominent than before, suggest that she does her music no justice by singing her own songs.
Sometimes this suggestion is framed apologetically, or as a counterpoint to praise for her virtuosity and originality on guitar. And true, there may be no more interesting or talented woman guitarist on the scene today. But I understand why a music critic probing for affronts to perfection might prefer that King focus more on instrumental guitar-techno noodlings such as “Bone Chaos in the Castle” — which uses an intricate loop bed of guitar slaps and fingerpicks that suggest a younger, hipper Leo Kottke.
King and her three-piece band played the aforementioned song early in Tuesday’s set at the . Though it dazzles and 15 just like it would make a superb show, King went beyond it to showcase styles ranging from Sleater Kinney-style indie-punk to Stanley Jordan-esque jazz fusion, all delivered with a charming and effusive attitude
Sporting a shaggy “in-between” haircut, King told the crowd of her life’s turning points that had occurred in the immediate vicinity of the Fox — concerts, tantrums and tattoos. Though the theater was just half-full (it was blizzarding in May, but still), she relished the vibe and the Boulder community, at one point remarking, “I better tune, because everyone in Colorado is a musician, and you’ll know right away.”
She and her unconventional band curate their sound with 21st century enhancements galore, of which a broad array of guitar pedals is only the beginning. Though Jordan Perlson plays an essentially traditional drum kit and style, the mix of ethereal sounds Dan Brantigan coaxes from his synthesizer, laptop and EVI (a wind-activated synthesizer) is harder to pigeonhole; I wondered futilely how the show might sound unplugged and what adjustments might be necessary. Brantigan surely fills a vital role, but playing an EVI looks much like playing a bong, and despite cannabis’s recent local popularity, that look doesn’t pass cool school on stage.
At the center was King’s guitar-playing. Though her ability to routinely coax uncommon sounds from her guitars is astounding, her raw skill does not equate to an obsession with note-for-note perfection. She values the guitar as much for its rhythmic and percussive capacities as for its melodic capability. Watching her play can resemble watching a dog trainer coax her pet to follow her lead by any means necessary. No one in the crowd obsessed over missed notes—the warts were integral to her sound.
And so too, her voice. Simon Cowell might have scowled, but King’s vocals did the trick, during and between songs. The audience was charmed throughout, not least during the encore, when King put her lap steel guitar down on the stage amid a repeating loop, and jumped into the audience to dance ecstatically with the crowd for several minutes. Warts and all, she was one of us. So why would anyone want her to shut up?
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Jeremy Simon is a Lafayette freelance writer and regular contributor to Reverb.
Denise Chambers is a Denver freelance photographer and regular contributor to Reverb. See more of her work .
