Photos and Review by NOTES FROM VIVACE
Los Angeles – Kid Bloom, AKA Lennon Kloser, captivated hometown fans who prepped the talented musician for his U.S. Tour with thunderous applause at the El Rey Theatre. The show was the first on his 20-stop tour in support of his new EP called Inner Light Phase 1.
His home crowd started his tour off with a bang. Demand for the show was so high that the night was shifted from The Roxy to the El Rey Theatre.
Kid Bloom’s response? “Kinda f*cking lit,” he said. “This was supposed to be at The Roxy. You folks packed the shit out of this place. It’s really crazy. It’s really crazy. Insane.”
The passionate fan base could be heard screaming well before the red curtains rose to reveal the 5-piece band that went into their first song “Cowboy,” a smooth R’n’B tune to start off the night. During the song “Have U Seen Her,” the microphone was extended across the photo pit to those in the front row who were thrilled and sang back,”Flawless skin bleedin’ through the dress.”
His press kit had this to say about the new EP Inner Light:
“Kloser found himself drawn to more ‘weird stuff,’ in an effort to ‘sound completely off the mark of whatever it is that I’ve already done. This time, I’m really looking in and wondering what that sound is that I am.’”
The band introduced this new sound with “Dead Butterflies.” It starts off with an upbeat dance hook that has punctuated beats. It is a song that has you dancing through the sadness of the lyrics, “You know the reason that I come over. And we get closer, dead butterflies. Feelin’ my stomach, leavin’ me lonely. No, I can’t hide dead butterflies.” A relationship where love has died and that support he once felt was gone, “I stand my ground, you break me down.”
You could sense an uncertainty in Kloser’s confidence in the new tunes connecting with his fans, “We’re just trying the new shit. Just go with me . . . You can hate them. Just don’t tell me after,” but with songs like “Dead Butterflies” he has nothing to worry about.
The music slowed down for the song “I Fell in Love Again.” He dedicated it to those who came with “a man or woman or someone in between.” The audience held up heart shapes as lyrics such as “Was I in the moment Or have I lost my mind? Keep me in a daydream” were sung.
“Kid Bloom measures growth on a microscopic level, a rare deviation from most people who like to quantify things on grander scales . . . ” the press kit says. “The artist born Lennon Kloser is focused on a little bit more each day, each hour, each minute, and each second.” This belief was stressed in a slightly different way during the set when he said, “Never too late to go back to school. Never. Matter of fact, we should be learning every day.”
Kloser had fun with those up in the VIP section, “Look at those f*ckers, they didn’t buy their tickets. Let’s go ‘BOO!’” He was in a good mood, “I don’t know about you, but I’m having a good time.” He also did a shoutout to his dad a couple times during the set, “Who would have thought, Dad?”
The song Electric U had the audience swaying to the chords and when his vocals hit that higher pitch the crowd screamed. They sang along with the chorus, “Every time I need my fix. I can get it. It’s easy to believe it.”
The set closed out with the “bangers” as described by Kloser. The band was introduced during “Hold In, Hold On.” They were let loose to jam and the song ended with him holding his guitar atop his head. As the set headed towards the final two songs of the set, he asked the house lights to be turned off. It took a moment for the El Rey light staff to fully understand his request, but then as everyone started to take out their camera phones the staff got the idea. Camera lights swayed across the floor of the venue. For his farewell, he went up to the front of the stage and fans reached out with their arms. With guitar held high he exited with a, “Thank you, Los Angeles.”
Opening up the night was Ava Maybee. She was the opener, but her fan base was there for her as she went into her roller coaster life with songs such as her opener, “Puke.” Her song “Mood Swings” was about her manic emotions, “Maybe it was all in my head.” It is a perfect song that highlights her vocals that glide up the scales and proves that she has the lungs to carry out those long lingering lyrics.
She closed out the set with her hit “Colors.” “Somebody here just brought you up. I’m three tequilas deep and I forget. But honestly, I’m not that drunk. My sweater still smells like your cigarettes. I guess you ain’t been gone too long. My friends keep asking, ‘Aren’t you missing him.’ No. It’s probably ’cause you did me wrong.”
She has a real ability to connect with her audience. When she introduced the song “Self Doubt,” she joked with the audience that they knew the song before she had even released it. Hey, she obviously has a fan base that goes to all her sets. Later, she sympathized with a fan who had just gotten a text from an ex. As the set ended, there was a, “I love you guys very much.” But that wasn’t the end of it. She could be seen walking the floor of the venue, graciously taking photos with fans in the audience.
Kid Bloom Setlist: Cowboy, Have U Seen Her, Dead Butterflies, Walk With Me, Baby You’re Alright, I Fell in Love Again, That’s What Happens, For The Best, Backseat Driver, Electric U, Smoke In My Eye, Water, Hold In Hold On, I Kissed a Girl And She Kissed Me, A Different State of Mind, More Life. Follow on Instagram
Ava Maybee Setlist: Puke, Lay Low, Self Doubt, Limerence, Mood Swings, See Me Now, Colors. Follow Ava on Instagram
Check out ‘Inner Light Phase 1’ here:
