Staff Editor on January 26th, 2020

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“Is anyone out there gay?” Mikaela Strauss — better known as King Princess — asked the crowd at the Wiltern on Friday night.

She was answered by a thunderous roar, one of many that punctuated the singer’s 100-minute concert on the first of her two nights at the Wiltern.

It was a concert that was more like a wild party, on stage and off, with King Princess and her band imbibing during the show and the crowd soaking up the abundant energy. Gay or straight, the emotional outpouring in the songs on her debut album “Cheap Queen” resonated with everybody in the theater.

Kilo Kish opened the night with a 30-minute set, followed by a one-song turn by the drag queen Symone. Then King Princess came on, and the sing-alongs with her very young crowd began in earnest. It was a very rowdy show — at one point, she said something about her bass player being wasted. And then he proceeded to break his bass about halfway through the show. King Princess saved “1950,” her first big hit, and “Hit the Back” for the end of the main set, after which she flung down her guitar and jumped up and down on it before running over to the drums and knocking the kit down.

Her two-song encore included the album closer, “If You Think It’s Love,” and the fan favorite (and still unreleased tune) “Ohio.”

Setlist: Isabel’s Moment, Tough on Myself, Prophet, Useless Phrases, Cheap Queen, Pussy Is God, Ain’t Together, Do You Wanna See Me Crying?, Watching My Phone, Talia, Trust Nobody, Homegirl, You Destroyed My Heart, Upper West Side, 1950, Hit the Back. Encore: If You Think It’s Love, Ohio.

Photos by Dana Lynn Pleasant