Grandson & K.Flay | Milwaukee, WI
Grandson returned to The Rave in Milwaukee for his third time on a rainy Tuesday on June 13 with the I Love You, I’m Trying Tour that included K.Flay and Jack Kays.
Jack Kays took the stage to a full crowd, an unexpected sight for an opener, but it was well deserved, especially given the struggle he and his band endured to get to Milwaukee. On their way to town, their tour van broke down in the middle of nowhere, so they took a taxi to the nearest car rental, rented a minivan, grabbed essentials needed to put on a show, and hit the road again. Despite the rough start to the day, the group put on a great show - playing a mix of music that blended hip-hop, emo, and pop-punk elements. The majority of the setlist came from their debut album MIXED EMOTIONS and their EP MY FAVORITE NIGHTMARE which features Travis Barker.
K.Flay took the stage next with an athletic, dynamic show. On either side of the stage were well-placed risers that she used throughout the show to jump on and off of. At one point, she even lay on one during a guitar solo during “TGIF” doing bicycle kicks with her legs in the air. When she wasn’t pouring her energy out on stage, she was pouring her heart out and connecting with the audience in tender moments talking about “letting your weirdness shine,” the power music has to change a shy person into somebody leading a mosh pit, and how grateful she was to be performing again after adjusting to sudden deafness in one ear. Her setlist featured new singles “Shy” and “Raw Raw”, in addition to crowd favorites like “Blood in the Cut”, which was mashed with “Bulls on Parade” by Rage Against the Machine, and “High Enough” from a variety of albums and EPs in her discography.
Finally, it was time for Grandson to close out the show. Unfortunately, the audio mix seemed to be off, as Grandson’s audio was often overshadowed by the band which made it difficult to appreciate and pick up on his fast-paced lyricism. The crowd was not phased by the audio mix, however. From the get-go, they were shaking the barricade, swaying their arms, and singing every word of every song. After briefly addressing the crowd to ensure that the pit would remain inclusive and safe for even the smallest person, Grandson turned it up a notch. He rattled through hit after hit from albums like his newest, I Love You, I’m Trying, various a modern tragedy volumes, and some older hits like “Bury Me Face Down”. Towards the end of the set, he slowed things down and brought K.Flay back on stage for “Zen” and “Peaches”, while they sat on the park bench on stage, arms around each other. They reminisced about how they met, the first songs they worked on, and the first time they played sets with each other at Summerfest. After the brief slowdown, the energy went right back up to close the show out strong with “We Did It!!!” and crowd favorite “Blood // Water”.
If this tour is on your list for this year, plan to see the full show. Each set provided by Grandson, K.Flay and Jack Kays were all top-notch for fans of music that blurs the lines between alternative rock, pop punk, rap and hip-hop.
