Returning for the third time to headline her Get $leazy tour, Kansas City welcomed Ke$ha this past Friday, Sept. 2. After bringing her tour to the Midland Theater in February, Ke$ha decided to come back once more, bringing LMFAO and the relatively unknown Spank Rock with her. Regardless of whoever may accompany her though, this girl clearly knows how to party.
Upon purchasing tickets for the concert back in July, I wasn’t expecting to hear a beautiful symphony comparable to Beethoven. This was Ke$ha, the so-called queen of auto-tune, and LMFAO, the partiers who hadn’t impressed me the time I saw them perform live on TV. Despite their reputable abilities as performers, I was still looking forward to the concert.
Arriving at Starlight Theater, I was impressed with the atmosphere that was much more relaxed than at concerts at places such as the Sprint Center. The weather turned out to be perfect and the outdoor feel was enjoyable. The venue’s security seemed to be well enforced; it was easy to navigate the venue and besides for the long lines for merchandise, it was not overwhelmingly crowded.
Looking around, the venue was noticeably full of hot messes which included endless amounts of Ke$ha imitators and glitter. The sun hadn’t gone down and the nearly sold-out crowd had not completely arrived when the first opening act, Spank Rock, took the stage. I was barely familiar with him as an artist but found his music to be full of good beats with entertaining lyrics. His new album is due out Tuesday, Sept. 27 and, based on what I heard on Friday I will definitely be buying it.
Next to take the stage was LMFAO. Quest Crew, a well-known dance crew from America’s Best Dance Crew, acted as their backup dancers and opened their set, helping to enthuse the crowd. The duo performed music from both their debut album, Party Rock, and their most recent album, Sorry for Party Rocking. Their vocals sounded good and the two were full of energy, dancing while a blow-up zebra and beach balls made their rounds in the crowd. Everyone was up on their feet and shouting the words to every song, only proving the effect these two party rockers had on the concert-goers.
Soon after LMFAO’s set had finished, the infamous Ke$ha took the stage. The opening acts had tired concert-goers from all of the jumping and shouting, but had nonetheless prepared their excitement for Ke$ha. Opening with “Sleazy” from her most recent album Cannibal, lasers lit the stage as Ke$ha began performing hits from both Cannibal and her debut album, Animal. The overall value of her concert seemed a bit low-budget and the set pieces seemed lackluster, but that did not distract from her performance. During a few points in her set, I was able to notice a hint of what sounded like auto-tune. However, her vocals offered what I believed to be a steady and live performance.
While also having hesitant thoughts in regards to her stage behavior, I soon realized that drinking alcohol on stage was completely normal behavior for Ke$ha. And for that, I applaud her. Seeing someone on stage in front of thousands of people and not having a care in the world what they think is something I can respect. Ke$ha is her own and seeing her live in concert only helped solidify that.
