Making appearances at Bleached Festival & as an opener for SZA, the last time Omar Apollo headlined in San Diego was two years ago. From playing in run-down churches, to now 10,000 capacity venues, it’s fair to say Omar Apollo is no stranger when it comes to performing here.
On October 11, 2024, the Rady Shell at Jacobs Park hosted opening act Kevin Abstract & Prince Diana, better known as Omar Apollo, for the evening. Celebrating the release of his album God Said No, the night consisted of beautiful visuals, skilled choreography & a grito competition. More on that later…
Upon arrival at the venue, I was starstruck at how gorgeous it was. I’m a frequent concert goer, & I had yet to set foot at the Rady Shell. Opening in August of 2021, The Rady Shell is San Diego’s newest open air venue. Sitting right by the water, with the San Diego Convention Center & Petco Park right around the corner, you can’t help but be amazed by the layout & location of the venue.
As the stage crew started buzzing around on stage, I knew Kevin Abstract was about to go on. Being a huge fan of BROCKHAMPTON growing up, & a huge fan of Kevin’s solo endeavor, I was beyond excited about Kevin being the opener for the San Diego show. I was lucky to catch his set at Tyler the Creator’s Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival 2023, so I was curious about how different his set would be in comparison to the last time I saw him live. As he appeared on the side stage, I was able to witness him physically go onto the stage. As the house lights went off & the pre show playlist came to a halt, the fog machines turned on & the speakers started booming “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)” by Whitney Houston.
As he shuffled through songs in his discography, my favorite song of his “American Boyfriend” started to play. I couldn’t contain my excitement for this one. The girl next to me bonded over our shared love for this song – it was so wholesome. Kevin then did the unexpected. He asked the crowd if anyone knew of BROCKHAMPTON, then played not one, not two, but four BROCKHAMPTON songs. I feel like I was the only person in my section going crazy about this. BROCKHAMPTON songs live in 2024? I never got the chance to see them when they were together, so I was ecstatic.
Steering back into his solo work, Kevin then played his most popular songs, “Peach”, “Georgia”, “Baby Boy” and “Blanket”. During these songs, Kevin actually jumped into the pit section and walked through the crowd. I was lucky enough to even be serenaded by him during “Baby Boy” before he said goodbye to the crowd.
Kevin Abstract opening for Omar Apollo in San Diego // by Gabby Ortiz // October 11, 2024
Kevin Abstract’s Setlist // October 11, 2024 // San Diego // The Rady Shell
- I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)
- Empty
- Tennessee
- Voyager
- American Boyfriend
- Post Break Up Beauty
- RED LIGHT
- GUMMY (BROCKHAMPTON song)
- BUZZCUT (BROCKHAMPTON song)
- RZA (BROCKHAMPTON song)
- STAR (BROCKHAMPTON song)
- Peach
- Georgia
- Baby Boy
- Blanket
While waiting for Omar’s set to begin, we decided to converse with those around us. The group in front of us during the show had actually been waiting for their spots since the morning! They all met through being fans of Omar Apollo in 2018, and every time they’ve seen him live, their group of ten all go together. How cool is that? I think I’m more impressed by the fact they were all able to score ten tickets!
As I witnessed somebody running around backstage in a fur coat, I knew immediately that it was Omar Apollo getting ready to jump on stage. I’ve been a fan of Omar Apollo since 2018, and actually avoided getting any spoilers from social media about the tour. I wanted to go into the show with a fresh mind, and be fully surprised by the night.
As soon as “Dispose of Me” started to blast through the speakers and multiple dancers started to appear, I knew immediately this show would be unlike any other time I had seen him live. Coming out in a brown fur coat, I’m assuming the same coat he’s wearing in the cover art for the God Said No album, the crowd’s reaction sent chills down my spine.
As the show went on, I could see why tickets for this tour were so much more in comparison to his last headline tour – the production of the show. The lighting, props, visuals, and dancers made this show so theatrical. Before jumping into “Useless”, he addressed the crowd by saying he couldn’t be happier about closing the tour out in San Diego – a city he’s always shared his love for. He played more songs off of God Said No, an album I personally think is a masterpiece. It’s sad, it’s funky, it’s fun. Playing “Spite”, “Less of You”, and “Done With You” back to back, I was left wondering how many songs he would play off the album. I was also hoping he would play my favorite song off of God Said No, “Against Me”.
I couldn’t get over how beautiful the show was. The overall vocals, imagery, and interpretative dancing really spoke to me. It was unlike any concert I’ve been to, and I’ve been to over a hundred live shows. Already halfway through the show, Omar Apollo introduced this next song “En El Vido”, which sheds light onto his Mexican heritage. With San Diego being so close to Mexico, Omar shared how everytime he was in the city, he felt at home. He even did a grito contest before the song! Interacting with the fans throughout the whole show, he picked several fans to do their best grito! Fun fact, the group of ten I mentioned prior got picked by Omar, and won!
After dancing and singing the night away with friends who shared their love of Oamr with me, we were all losing our minds when “Endlessly”, “Killing Me”, “Want U Around”, “Kamikaze” and “Tamagotchi” played basically back to back. Glancing at my phone, I started to get sad because we were already an hour into the show, meaning he would have to get off the stage soon. Then, the unthinkable happened. “Against Me” started to play. I feel like the crowd went silent during this song and you could only hear me singing…
Exiting the stage, the crowd cried out for an encore. Coming back out on stage, Omar expressed gratitude for the thousands of people in the crowd. He even asked for the lights to be turned on, and was shocked at how many people were in attendance. Closing out the night with “Go Away”, the crowd was left smiling. I was even lucky to be handed a setlist from the night! Thanks Omar’s team for the gift! 🙂
Omar Apollo during his last night of God Said No Tour in San Diego // by Gabby Ortiz // October 11, 2024
Omar Apollo’s Setlist // October 11, 2024 // San Diego // The Rady Shell
- Dispose Of Me
- Be Careful With Me
- Useless
- Spite
- Less Of You
- Done With You
- 3 Boys
- Petrified
- While U Can
- Drifting
- How
- Invincible
- En El Olvido
- Endlessly
- Killing Me
- Want U Around
- Pedro
- Empty
- Kamikaze
- Tamagotchi
- Life’s Unfair
- Against Me
- Evergreen (You Didn’t Deserve Me At All)
- Glow
- Go Away