Mark Ambor’s The Rockwood Tour made its 10th stop in San Diego on Friday November 8th, and with it, brought Los Angeles-based alternative pop artist kenzie. Both artists, while presenting different tones in their respective artistry, were able to get the crowd at SOMA Sidestage up and moving, and share the space with their loved ones.
Thoughtful and introspective, kenzie grabbed our attention immediately upon entering, muffling the lively chatter of the crowd with deep blue lights, lilting harmonies, and resonant backtracks. Her first track, “Biting My Tongue,” accompanied by the powerful riffs of her guitarist, introduces the tone of her set as well as her similarly-titled album. “Biting My Tongue” gave the audience a glimpse into her mind, as her soulful voice reflected her wishes to break out into the world.
Her next couple of songs, “Casualty,” “Paper,” and “Face To Face” received awws, cheers, and laughs as she discussed the nuances of getting over a past relationship, being jealous of their newfound love, and the humorous circumstances of a situationship evolving into a current connection.
kenzie’s last three songs, “Six Feet Under,” “Anatomy,” and “Bad 4 You” were some of her own favorites as well as the audiences, and were the core of her performance, as all were reflections of her past and present self, as well as a result of a therapy-driven message to her father. “Anatomy,” especially, garnered the most audience participation of all, as it did not take much prompting on kenzie’s part for most to whip out their phone flashlights, scream along to the catchy rhymes that were “trust issues and soaked tissues”, and give into the beautifully isolated vocals that rode to the end of the song. After a personal thank you to the audience for singing along as well as to Mark Ambor, she ended her set with the memorable and grungy “Bad 4 You,” leaving the audience dancing and wanting more. While her presence on stage and engagement with the audience fell a bit short with only a couple words and smiles, the interesting production, passionate accompaniments from her guitarist and drummer, and layered emotions and harmonies that Kenzie embodied more than made up for it.
Following kenzie was Mark Ambor, the newest force of nature in the stomp-and-holler genre. And a force he is, as he brought boundless energy, flashing multicolored lights, and immediately got the crowd dancing along. The stage was set up like a backyard patio party, with string lights blinking above Ambor and his band, the sounds of crickets and bird calls filtering in between each of the songs. Ambor’s first two songs, “I Hope It All Works Out” and “Academy Street” were a lively peek into the rest of the concert.
Mark Ambor’s song “Rockwood” was the emotional centerpiece of the show, as it called the audience towards a park in upstate New York that inspired an album and Ambor’s tour. In a brief conversation with the audience, Ambor described the park as a place to forget about the world and let everything melt away, which encouraged everyone to let loose, scream, and to “hold each other when the world gets too loud.” From then on, there was a constant flow of call and response between Ambor and the crowd, in which Ambor stepped out into the crowd during “Someone That’s Better” and “Hate That I Still Love You” and helped everyone feel closer to him and his music than ever before.
The show ended on a high, with Ambor and his band bursting into “Belong Together.” Throwing some beach balls into the audience, Ambor had the room truly feeling like we belonged together. With voices mixing, there was a brief moment where it was just the audience singing the chorus together, perfectly capturing the space that Ambor had created with his music. In a swell of cheers and chants, Mark Ambor sent off the audience with some waves and blown kisses, and in the front right corner of the stage, a large wooden record player slowly closed its lid, signaling the end of night.
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