Occasionally as a show approaches, concertgoers can detect indications it will be one to remember.
Last night (19 February) was certainly one of those shows as Kesha returned to Australia, bringing The T!ts Out tour down under after a seven-year absence from our shores. Brisbane and Perth are sold out, while Melbourne had to be upgraded to a much larger venue to satisfy her fans.
The first thing to state upfront. The vast majority of the crowd comprised youthful females, and there were many humorous takes on the tour name (on t-shirts, sunglasses and in various other ways). Kesha clearly appeals to this group, and anyone with a teenage daughter will have been exposed to her music (like I have!).
Clearly the music has a very positive message for this demographic, and her fans are struck by her messages and attitude. Interestingly, given the massive demand for her shows, she hasn't regularly appeared in Top 100-type lists in Australia.
Her music is perhaps categorised – if it even needs a category – as dance pop, but even within that style she's doing something very different. She has co-written songs for Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus, The Veronicas and Ariana Grande, while also establishing her own record label.
It would be far easier to write a list of who she has not worked with than who she has, such is her breadth of talent and experience. Kesha first came to major attention through her involvement with 'Right Round' with Flo Rida in 2009, but it was 2010's album 'Animal', the first of her two #1 albums, which launched her into the stratosphere.
Before Kesha hits the stage, the crowd is treated to an excellent warm-up from Melbourne dance group Blusher. I loved the set, where the music perfectly matched their highly choreographed dance routines.
It was no surprise one of the trio – Jade Ingvarson-Favretto – started out in an ABBA tribute band, as this was reflected in their stage presence. The trio told the crowd to dance like it was 3am, and they were certainly doing that right through to the finale, 'Accelerator'.
The lighting was perfect, the dance routines great, and the music an ideal lead-in to the main act. As Miranda, Jade and Lauren left the stage, the crowd immediately started chanting "Ke-sha! Ke-sha!" as they waited in anticipation.
Kesha's performance comprised four acts, the first labelled as 'One Of One'. Kesha appeared onstage, bearing a very life-like mannequin of her own head, and launched into one of her biggest and best-known hits 'Tik Tok, before moving into a mix of 'Warrior', 'Crazy Kids' and 'C'Mon', songs she told the audience she hadn't really performed in 13 years.
She was joined onstage by a stunning dance troupe for the latter part of the first act, who all supported Kesha perfectly.
Act 2, known as Heaven In Hell', saw Kesha reappear in black leather with an electric guitar, as she asked: "Brisbane, are you ready to get f...en sleazy with me," in a raunchy manner.
The riotous response was exactly as expected, and the highlight song of this second set was 'Cannibal', which she introduced by wildly yelling "gimme, gimme, gimme all the boys".
'Delusional.' followed, and she was able to demonstrate her lovely voice in an a cappella moment midway through the song, in front of a stage bathed in red. The act wound up with Kesha talking of a "dirty free for all", and she was soon encouraging the crowd to chant "take it off, take it off.'
'Joyride.' kicked off the next act, as Kesha asked the crowd to show her "how hard you can shake your ass", followed by the "dirty song", 'Yippee-Ki-Yay.' and what I thought was one of the evening's highlights, 'Red Flag.'. Kesha played guitar for the brief excerpt of the Devo song 'Whip It' and then into 'Dinosaur'.
The final act, Period., followed. The first two songs of this act were stunning, where Kesha pared back the music in the beautiful version of 'Cathedral.', which really gave the crowd a chance to hear her lovely voice, as was the case with the follow-up 'Praying'.
She wasn't able to stay restrained into the two closing numbers, a brief 'Your Love Is My Drug', then the huge version of 'We R Who We R' to wind up the show.
The crowd knew the rough set list in advance, so straight after this song as Kesha left the stage after almost 90 minutes, the crowd started to dissipate, needing to process the stunning night they had just experienced.
