Following the conclusion of new star Chappell Roan’s set at a nearby stage, pop veteran Kesha attracted fans to the IHG Hotels & Resorts Stage on Friday.
The “Tik Tok” singer made a simple entrance to the stage following her four male backup dancers. She donned a cropped t-shirt that read “LOL,” a skirt made to look like a bedazzled Hermes Birkin bag, held a black purse painted with “B—-” and drinking a Pabst Blue Ribbon.
She began with “Freedom” before transitioning to her earlier hits, beginning with “Tik Tok.” A backup dancer then handed her what looked like a human heart, which she quickly threw into the crowd before smearing fake blood on her shirt, and began singing “Cannibal.”
Kesha then grabbed a large and presumably fake chef’s knife which she used as a prop throughout the entirety of her next track, “Backstabber.” Meanwhile, her dancers reappeared in shiny silver skirts and wigs.
By this point, the crowd was already large, loud and full of energy. Kesha proceeded with more hits, like “Raising Hell” and a sped-up rendition of “Take It Off.” During the latter, she repeatedly shouted “Give me your clothes,” with an extreme yet appropriate amount of autotune. Some fans did just that and tossed various articles into the pit.
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Strangely enough, during some songs, the pop icon danced around the stage with phallic drawings displayed on the screen behind her.
She then moved on to “Die Young,” “Timber” and “Your Love Is My Drug,” and the crowd continued to sing along loud and proud.
Before singing “Hate Me Harder,” Kesha took a moment to reminisce on the last time she played at Lollapalooza in 2009 on a much smaller stage. She explained how everything that she’d ever done for the last 15 years had been met by judgment, but she no longer feels that that is the case.
Kesha kept the energy going into “Woman” featuring a strange commentary in the middle of the track.
“Did you hear this country is being run by childless cat ladies?” she said. “Somebody tell that mother f—– J.D. Vance that he is correct, and that it feels so f—— good. I’m so happy right now, and really the only thing that I miss is my kitties at home. Can someone bring out some p——?”
Her dancers then put on masks that looked like cat heads to finish the song.
Not 30 seconds later, an audio clip of Vice President Kamala Harris saying “You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?” played, resulting in an uproar of laughs and cheers from the enormous crowd.
The singer then began with “Blow,” and she marched up and down the stage with her dancers. At the end of the song, drummers emerged for a short interlude.
Afterward, Kesha returned in a familiar all-red outfit to perform “Praying.” She then transitioned to her newest song “JOYRIDE” with her dancers scantily dressed in nearly nothing.
To finish her set, she returned to another classic and played “We R Who We R,” a song that the crowd clearly enjoyed singing along to.
Kesha left the stage, leaving with the crowd energized from the recession-era pop show which seemed to turn back the clock.
