We See Your Face, and We Like It

In our preview of Kenna's show last week, we hit on his three faces as seen in the new album Make Sure They See My Face: the danceable side ("Loose Wires"/"Blink Radio" and "Say Goodbye to Love"), the rock side ("Daylight" and "Face the Gun/Goodluck"), and the contemplative side ("Static" and "Be Still").

Thursday night, all three of these faces were present and accounted for. Though the first few songs were marred by sound trouble, Kenna quickly found his groove. Our friend, amped up on too many jack and cokes, said he wished the tempo was a little more upbeat. "Wait for it," whispered this Phillyist. Sure enough, "Loose Wires" came on next and the crowd's frenetic energy buzzed throughout the room as Kenna sang, "Isn't it electric in here...isn't it amazing in here?"

Indeed it was. Having been a fan since the first album, it was so nice to see how many people were into the music and truly appreciated it. Though Kenna was opening for She Wants Revenge (SWR), it was apparent that many in the audience were there for him. At first we thought it was an odd pairing, but his dark synth-pop sound actually was a nice precursor to the Interpol-for-the-masses stylings of SWR.

In terms of the stage lighting, it was a direct contradiction to the name of the album. Lit mostly by strobe light and the occasional back lighting that outlined his silhouette but kept his face mostly in the dark, Kenna's features remained mainly a mystery until the album signing afterward.

We took a peek. Yum.