The Wong Janice

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GIG REVIEW: Hanging with Kaki King at Bimhuis

Like BFFs with Kaki King. Haha. 

I saw Kaki King perform in 2009 in Melbourne and that was not her best gig. More than two years on, without her band, and in Amsterdam’s most beautiful venue for jazz and improvisation, Bimhuis, I was ready to give her another chance. When my friend Laura and I walked towards the entrance and saw this spectacular view over 'het ij', I already knew this gig was going to be special. 

Kaki had four guitars, including her custom-made seven-string from West Virginia, 6-stringOvation Adamas 1581-KK, 12-string Gryphon, and a Taylor guitar her dad gave her. She played each one by one, like a singer-songwriter evening in a round. 

Kaki was in a great mood. It was the first stop of her solo European tour and she said she really loved Amsterdam. Holland in general. How she was amazed by Dutch architechture and how Bimhuis is held up only by two pillars. The first song she played was Bone Chaos in The Castle and she said she named that song after a friend who broke their collarbone. The rest of the set was fantastic, with Kaki’s funny introductions and amazing us with her mesmerising instrumental music.