LIVE REVIEW: Katy Kirby @ the High Noon Saloon
WORDS AND PHOTOS BY AIDEEN GABBAI
“Thanks for coming here instead of the Flogging Molly show!” Katy Kirby joked to a crowd at the High Noon Saloon on a Saturday night, after finishing the first two songs of her set. “Though I’d probably be there too if I wasn’t otherwise occupied.” The crowd laughed, and Kirby and her band plunged into the third song of the night, “Table”, a rock-folk single from her most recent album, Blue Raspberry.
When the band got to Madison, they were about a month into their tour for Kirby’s sophomore album. The floor was filled up with people, as well as onlookers from the balconies, a beer-induced buzz taking over the venue before the show started.
It was my first time at the High Noon Saloon, a country western-themed venue in Madison. Allegra Krieger opened up the show, coming out onto the stage themed with the venue, wearing a black midi skirt and little red cowboy boots. She warmed up the crowd with bluesy folk tunes in a high yet husky voice and talked about the noodles she’d had just before the set. Her songs were a mix of existential thoughts and New York appreciation, accompanied by just her guitar with her name written across it. She started off her set seeming kind of nervous, but by the end, she was joking with the crowd and laughing.
Katy Kirby took the stage without much fanfare, starting off slow and sweet with “Redemption Arc.” They didn’t talk much as the set started out, focusing more on making sure their instruments were set up correctly for the next track, but a few songs in they seemed to shake off the jitters. The band was supremely casual but made sure to loop the audience in during their on-stage banter. Between sets, as they tuned their instruments, they traded jokes and asked the audience for their feedback. Kirby quipped at one point that they were thinking of starting a podcast, and the guitarist muttered “Today’s episode is sponsored by…”
“Cheese!” Someone in the crowd yelled out.
“I bet you have like a Dairy Council of Elders or something here” The guitarist quipped, and there were a few bashful yeses that came from the crowd, “seriously?”
They played an unreleased song halfway through their set and confided in the crowd that they’d only played the song once before, in Minneapolis the previous night. “It’s unreleased because it’s weird,” Kirby said. I didn’t manage to catch the name of the song, but it was rhythmic and cool, though not that far out of their wheelhouse in terms of sound.
“Cool Dry Place” was a high point of the evening for me, because it’s been one of my favorite songs since Kirby’s debut album came out in 2021. The song has more of a groove than some of Kirby’s other pieces, so it gave the audience something to sway to and sing along with.
The show closed out with “Portals”, and the rest of the band abandoned the stage as Kirby performed the song alone. “Please don’t kiss and stuff during this song, 'cause it makes me emo and then I mess up the song. It’s happened before,” Kirby disclaimed. She then gave a tender and moving performance to finish out the set.
After the show ended, the house music came on and the lights came up, but the crowd kept cheering for an encore, which continued for three minutes. Finally, Kirby dashed out without the rest of her band, donning her guitar. She admitted to the crowd that she doesn’t usually do encores, but that tonight she would because of the crowd’s enthusiasm. She asked the crowd if it would be alright for her to play a cover of a Mountain Goats song and was met with resounding whoops. Personally, I was ecstatic, because I’ve been going on a deep dive into the Mountain Goats' discography recently. She launched into “No Children” with the crowd singing along softly, with her version containing much less resentment and anger than the original, taking on more of a wry tone.
While the show wasn’t exactly the type to have an uber-energized pit with lots of dancing, it was supremely enjoyable, and a nice way to have a calmer Saturday night while still going out and meeting new people. If you’re a fan of folk music, I’d highly recommend a Katy Kirby show if she stops by your city, or catching her when she opens for the Mountain Goats soon.
