Rob the Concert Guy

On 10/28/23, I had to live up to my motto of “Extra ticket? I’ll go.” And this time that extra ticket was for Kesha. So…here we go.

A dude named Jake Wesley Rogers opened the show. His show was interesting. During the first song or two, he was a bit over the top. Kind of had a Liberace meets Elton John, meets a kid with ADHD vibe. While not my cup of tea musically, he interacted with the crowd really well, told stories about how he came up with certain songs, talked about where he grew up, and seemed genuinely happy to be part of this tour. As he stated, “I’ve loved Kesha since I was a baby gay in Missouri.”

He settled down a bit afterwards, focusing on his musical performance versus the bouncing off the walls energy. He played piano, guitar, sings, and had a female vocalist with him who did the harmonies and also played piano when he wasn’t, and he had a solid drummer with him. Why are the drummers usually the coolest dudes in the band? His voice was good, just not my style. I didn’t capture his setlist, but some songs included Love in the Middle (I think), Hot Gospel, Window, and Kitchen Table.I wouldn’t necessarily care to see him again, but I could see him having a following one day. Check out this audio track and see what you think:

Kesha was next. Oh boy. She didn’t hit that Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, or Britney level of fame and success, but she’s a solid performer. I’m thinking her decade long lawsuits between her and her former producer that was part of the #MeToo movement stunted her rise a bit. But maybe not. What do I know?

Not sure what the opener was, but based on the lyrics and good ole google, I believe it was Only Love Can Save Us Now. Then she did a little ditty called TikTok which I would’ve thought was called Don’t Stop…but I would’ve thought wrong. Cannibal was next and is a fairly graphic song about being a man eater…literally. It was comical, but no idea if it’s was supposed to be.

If you know DMX, he would always yell things like “Where my dogs at!?” Lady Gaga likes to call her fans “My little monsters,” Taylor’s fans are “Swifties” but Kesha likes to say, “Where my animals at?” Kinda stupid if you ask me. But whatever, I was just there because of the extra ticket. She did talk to the crowd quite a bit which I always appreciate. Total potty mouth too. Swears like a sailor when talking and in many of her songs which I didn’t know because I was only familiar with a few of her big radio hits. I’m not mad about it since I do love to swear myself. What I did find annoying though, is her total valley girl, upspeak way of talking. For instance, “I’ve written some good songs?” or “I’ve had a lot of hate in my life?” She’s telling us, but it sounds like a question.

There were also a lot of prerecorded vocals throughout the night. Instead of backup singers, it was back up tracks. You would hear Kesha while she wasn’t singing. I’m not a fan of that, but the crowd didn’t seem to mind. She dances ok, had a good stage show, had a pretty damn good guitar player, a drummer, and her guitar player doubled as keyboard player. He did a few pretty awesome guitar solos, but I missed them on video. Dammit! Kesha herself also played piano on a few songs and guitar at least once. It’s nice to see that the talent exists and it’s not just overproduced studio stuff.

She played a lot of songs, which the crowd definitely knew. Backstabber was one song she did while dancing with a knife. But it was more choreographed and not psycho like Britney Spears on Instagram. Eat the Acid, and Timber were played. I was shocked to learn that Timber was her song. No one else was shocked. But I was since I thought it was Shakira this whole time. Ah well. I love metal, not whatever this is. She closed the main set with Blow and then came back for a two-song encore. The first song was slow and lame but the last song was We R Who We R which is all about inclusivity and being comfy with yourself. So naturally, bring out the drag queens to dance on the stage and finish the show.

Definitely not my style of music or performance, but it’s interesting to see other genres. I like to observe the crowds and there were some interesting sights to say the least. But they all seemed really into it except for the few husbands and fathers that were dragged along. The energy was high throughout the night and the Foxwoods Premier Theater is always a good place for a show because the sound is great. The one thing I did notice was that at no point were we ever to see Kesha’s face clearly. Granted, we weren’t super close, but the lighting was always just a little too dim and the cameras never showed her up close on the big screen. Not sure what that’s all about. Anyway, that’s my take. Would I see her again? Only if I have to because there’s an extra ticket. I hate to waste a ticket.