Concert review: Kesha kept glittery Pittsburgh Pride party rolling
Kesha headlined the Pittsburgh Pride in the Street concert.
Kesha arrives at the Billboard Music Awards at the T-Mobile Arena on May 22 in Las Vegas.
Getting to entertain thousands of people late Saturday from a Liberty Avenue stage felt like Christmas to Kesha.
And let the record show the pop star was both naughty and nice during her hour-long, audience-pleasing set headlining Pittsburgh Pride in The Street.
Performing music is what she lives for, and it鈥檚 hard to believe some people have tried stopping her, Kesha said, in one of her brief personal addresses to the record-setting crowd for Pittsburgh鈥檚 yearly LGBTQ bash.
Kesha鈥檚 drawn-out court battles to emancipate herself from Sony and a subsidiary have limited her performance schedule, so heightened anticipation greeted her as she hit the stage an hour late, at 10:40 p.m., starting with her hit 鈥淲e R Who We R.鈥�
She congratulated the audience for the strides it has made in regards to equality, then extended her sympathies and dedicated her performance to the family of 鈥淭he Voice鈥� star and promising young singer Christina Grimmie who was murdered a day earlier.
The mood on Liberty Avenue was festive and felt safe, with everyone oblivious to the awful news that they鈥檇 wake up to about an early Sunday mass shooting in an Orlando, Florida gay nightclub that would leave 50 dead.
Backed by a small band with a guitarist and keyboardist, and a few male dancers at various times shirtless or in women鈥檚 clothing, Kesha seemed in good spirits during an upbeat if at times uneven performance.
Nobody goes to a Kesha show expecting high art or musical depth. She sang her suggestive songs, including the revved up 鈥淕old Trans Am,鈥� which was hard not to smile at, and 鈥淒irty Love,鈥� her collaboration with one of her idols, Iggy Pop. Kesha took a page from Iggy鈥檚 book by swigging from a bottle and spitting at the crowd (done in fun, of course).
鈥淭ake It Off,鈥� inspired by a visit to a drag show where the audience lost its inhibitions, presented an irresistible dance-pop beat led by its nursery rhyme hook.
Kesha kart-wheeled during 鈥淧arty at a Rich Dude鈥檚 House,鈥� and made sure a couple times that spectators got a good look at her booty, which was fine with an audience dressed in an anything truly goes motif, ranging from provocative to suitable for your company鈥檚 picnic.
There was glitter, everywhere glitter. Allegheny County Chief Executive Rich Fitzgerald, who gave a welcoming speech before Kesha, might have even got some on his khakis.
For just the third time, according to Kesha, she sang publicly her latest single 鈥淭rue Colors,鈥� a collaboration with EDM star Zedd with the verse 鈥淚 won鈥檛 apologize/For the fire in my eyes/Let me show you my true colors/It ain鈥檛 no rainbow.鈥�
Speaking of rainbows, an inflatable one slowly sprang to life above the stage while Kesha crouched to speak with fans near the front, including one who had traveled from Australia. It was difficult to hear what she was saying, and there seemed some mid-set confusion, perhaps with the setlist.
Though the 29-year-old Los Angeles native effectively kept the party rolling, reaching a pinnacle with her 2009 breakouts 鈥淏lah Blah Blah鈥� and 鈥淭ik Tok,鈥� which went over huge.
The encore brought 鈥淭imber鈥� and 鈥淒ie Young,鈥� but by then, many started streaming toward the back of the fenced-in rectangular concert site. Some were headed home; others were simply moving their party. The food and booze vendors looked in no hurry to close.
Twice in her set, Kesha referenced how getting to sing at Pittsburgh Pride felt like Christmas for her. She also stressed her support for gay rights, noting she was raised to understand that all people deserve to be treated equally.
鈥淚 will stand for equality until the day I die,鈥� she said, adding 鈥淚t literally runs rainbows in my blood.鈥�
Her popularity, advocacy and backstory with the legal battles all made Kesha a good choice for this year鈥檚 celebration. Though it would be nice to see Pride organizers, the Delta Foundation, raise the bar higher next year and bring in someone with a loftier artistic stature. Maybe a return visit from 2013 headliner Adam Lambert?