Distracted

BY ALLIE RUSSELL

Upstairs at the Middle East in Boston is built for nights like this. It’s a room just under 200 capacity where the air hangs thick and the floor moves like it’s seconds away from caving in. It’s the kind of space artists like KennyHoopla thrive in. The first night of his “conditions of an orphan//“ tour reflected the room completely: sweaty, intense, and completely alive. 

He launched into “orphan//“, and the shift in the room was instant. The song is already emerging as the standout track from “conditions of an orphan//“, which dropped September 19th, but live, it hit with a new kind of urgency. Between songs, he laughed about being nervous to share this new material, saying that it feels different. But “different” might be exactly the point. The new tracks sound like growth happening in real time. 

Even when the tech started acting up, he never lost the crowd. He cracked jokes, shook it off, and pushed forward like nothing happened. He tossed in a handful of unreleased tracks, including live show favorites like “birthday card” and “new americana”, a track created with Albert Hammond Jr. of The Strokes. When the opening notes of “estella//“ hit, the set took a nuclear turn. He played it three times – yes, three – and it only got wilder each round. Somewhere between the backflip and the double-twisting stage dive into the crowd, it became apparent just how much this song means to him, and just how deeply that energy loops back from the fans. 

Despite how new the EP is, the crowd stayed with him every second. This wasn’t just polite interest either; the room was full of people who had been there since the beginning and would scream every lyric until their voices were gone. “how will i rest in peace if i’m buried by a highway?//“ sent the room into chaos before he closed out with “hollywood sucks//“ and “silence is also an answer//“, both tracks from his 2021 album “SURVIVORS GUILT: THE MIXTAPE//” in collaboration with Travis Barker. 

KennyHoopla’s “conditions of an orphan//“ era feels like he’s stepping fully into his own. It’s confident, unfiltered, and fearless enough to dive straight into the crowd if that’s what the moment calls for. In a packed room that felt ready to implode at any second, the chaos matched him perfectly. To put it simply, it was explosive, unpredictable, and entirely KennyHoopla.