Photo Credit: Allen Halas
Going into Kesha’s Saturday night show at the BMO Harris Pavilion, there were plenty signs of looming danger. A late rush of fans to the Summerfest grounds flooded the non-ticketed area around the pavilion, making it near impossible to get in or out. The headlining set was delayed over 45 minutes, possibly in an effort to curtail sound bleeding from the stage into the American Family Insurance Amphitheater during Dave Chapelle’s stand-up show. When you add in the unseasonable heat and alcohol, while it felt like a traditional Summerfest for once this year, it was a recipe for disaster.
Then the lights went down, the crowd got up, and a 90-minute party took place.
While many other crowds would likely have gotten unruly, Kesha fans were fiercely loyal on Saturday, chanting her name during the extended delay while grooving to a medley of empowering pop hits. By the time she finally appeared on stage, there was a flood of screams that was deafening, only made louder by reverberating off of the BMO Harris Pavilion roof. Surrounded by inflatable mushrooms and umbrellas on stage, she appeared in black lace and not much else, flanked by a pair of dancers in gear that leaned on BDSM cosplay. One listen to the crowd response to set opener “Cannibal” and it was apparent, there was going to be no stopping Kesha on Saturday.
At first, the set list appeared like it may have been condensed for time, as each hit record got the crowd louder than the previous one. In truth, however, it was just a stacked show from front to back, with her biggest records interspersed with album tracks that didn’t receive the single treatment, but were still fan favorites.
Kesha had the Pavilion crowd in her hands to the point that she could have read scripture on stage and still received screams. Her performance, however, was anything but holy. Choreographed dances and innuendo merged in a way that was far beyond mere suggestion. Kesha and her dancers fired confetti cannons at will from their anatomy, thrusted on one another with grace, and all set to a bubblegum beat. It was the concert equivalent of a care-free one-night stand, with a dominant tour de force pop star initiating the moment.
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Photo Credit: Allen Halas
It wasn’t all sex and sleaze, however. Early in the night, single “Woman” was an empowering moment, with the largely female crowd singing back every word with pride. A quick commentary on taking control of her life was met with enthusiastic support, and almost acted like a precursor to more partying. There was a lot to celebrate on Saturday, and Kesha emphasized being together with one another free of judgement.
The biggest takeaway from Saturday night’s noisy, brash show was that there wasn’t a moment that the concert slowed in tempo. In fact, the urgency caused by the delay only kept the party pumped up. A sped-up version of “Your Love Is My Drug” bordered on hyper levels of pace, and “Take It Off” had the crowd soaring, as well as stripping. Articles of clothing rained down on the stage on command, as did a stray water bottle. Ever in stride, Kesha quipped that she didn’t need water, but rather preferred dirty panties and sweaty bras, inciting another big pop from the Pavilion.
Towards the back half of the set, the party hadn’t stopped, but it did reach a light slowdown. After the barrage of clothing was dispersed, fans near the front of the stage lobbed their phones onto the stage, to which Kesha obliged by taking a selfie and short video of her body before sending it back to the crowd. One phone was followed by another, to the point where she had to stop indulging in the self-shot pandemonium. It didn’t really damper the occasion, but it had reached a tipping point.
The night also had a bit of awkwardness at it’s conclusion. After getting the entire seating bowl and likely thousands of fans screaming along to her first smash, “Tik Tok,” it was safe to assume that there would be no encore, as it was past curfew for the festival. Crowds began to push their way out of the Pavilion, but the house lights weren’t on just yet. Kesha returned to the stage for an encore, sending fans running down the aisle for one last glimpse at their queen for the night. An emotional performance of “Praying,” a song about the now-publicized sexual abuse within her camp during the early days of her success had fans in tears. She then explained that she couldn’t end the night on a sad note, and after her last of four costume changes, the show closed on the hyped up hit “Blow.”
No matter if you were a casual fan or a die-hard fanatic, Kesha delivered an unforgettable night at Summerfest on Saturday. Closing the festival well after midnight, she sent her crowd home undeniably happy, and probably looking for an Uber to an afterparty.
