Hayley Kiyoko w/ Flor
Crocodile, Seattle, WA
03.09.17

Young women in the LGBT community need all the strong female figures they can get, and Hayley Kiyoko gave them just that. She brought her “One Bad Night Tour” to Seattle’s Crocodile and the crowd ate up her pride, love, and good music.

Indie-pop band Flor opened the show with a loving, happy set. Their music was fun, got the crowd moving, and had plenty of perfect sing-along moments encouraged by the quirky band. Between many jokes about how the band and the crowd alike were just one big Hayley Kiyoko appreciation group, they rocked out with some straight-up summery pop music.

As the lights went down and the screams went up, Kiyoko’s band ran on stage and began playing the intro to “One Bad Night.” Kiyoko herself ran on stage among screaming fans and absolutely killed her first song. Her stage setup was a little wonky, and had the potential to take the performance down, but she worked her way around it really well.

She had a keyboard to her right, perpendicular to the stage, then drum pads hanging all around her at about head level, making sight lines from the sides a little odd. Given this, choosing an intro song that would keep her primarily at the keyboard, with just her side to the audience was a bit risky. However, Kiyoko had a confident and demanding air to her, making it impossible to be anything but sucked into her performance.

The night continued, showing off her humorous personality as Kiyoko described how she just wanted the night to be a safe and fun place where everyone could try out their new dance moves and not be judged by anyone. “Except me,” she added sarcastically. Her set went on with more pop hits like “Cliff’s Edge,” and her latest single, “Sleepover,” which had everyone singing and dancing along.

Finally closing out with her biggest song, “Girl Like Girls,” Hayley ran all around the stage dancing with a big pride flag and having fun with the crowd. During the end of the song, she even got everyones hands up, waving back and forth in time with her whipping the flag around. It was a moment that summarized the entire night.

Kiyoko’s “One Bad Night Tour” brought exactly the kind of acceptance and love that needs to be more prevalent in media for young teens, and she delivered it perfectly. Her performance was energetic and exciting, each song more fun than the last, and she held a stage presence that made her a great performer.

Review by Lulu Dawson
Photos by Zach Etahiri

Hayley Kiyoko


Flor