By Mia Ingui
Opinions Editor
Under bright blue strobe lights, 2,600 tightly packed students coated in glitter belted the lyrics to “We R Who We R” along with Kesha.
Kesha paused mid-song: “Anything outside of these four walls that is bringing you down or bumming you out… there's no room for that shit tonight.”
A roar from the audience and Kesha continued, “We cordially invite you to put your middle fingers up, and just for tonight, say, ‘Fuck the world!’”
The crowd in the Student Recreation Center went wild.
Kesha’s Fuck the World Tour landed at the College on the night of Friday, April 7, evoking nostalgia and empowerment from the College’s students. Since Kesha first released her album “Animal” in 2010, most students at the College grew up listening to her music, so they were excited to revisit some of their favorite throwbacks like “Tik Tok” and “Your Love is my Drug.”
DJ Jenaux opened for Kesha, warming up the audience with synthy dance tunes. Kesha’s band, The Creepies, then took the stage, introducing themselves as “the best shitheels and scumbags this nation has to offer” and introduced Kesha as “Hell’s prettiest angel.”
Kesha kicked off her set with party anthem “We R Who We R,” pumping up the audience for the rest of her show.
To introduce her next song, “Your Love Is My Drug,” Kesha told the audience that “all love is equal, but I also love drugs,” and a member of The Creepies waved an LGBTQ pride flag across the stage during the song.
After “Your Love is My Drug,” Kesha started stripping off her clothes.
“I'm really fucking hot. Is it OK if I take of some of my clothes?” Kesha asked the crowd, which went crazy as she took off her pants and ducked behind her drummer for a costume change.
She then performed an old favorite, “Dinosaur,” with The Creepies donning dinosaur masks and dancing along with Kesha.
The song ended and a “Free Kesha” chant erupted from the audience. Kesha expressed her gratitude to her audience for their support and took this time to tell a bit of her story to the College.
Kesha entered a lawsuit in 2014 with her longtime producer, Dr. Luke, alleging that he drugged, abused and raped her. Completely denying these allegations, Dr. Luke counter-sued Kesha for breach of contract. Last February, Kesha was denied her right to record and release new music separate from Dr. Luke’s label until the case finally comes to a close.
“I thank you for being here,” Kesha said to the students. “I haven't put out a song in three and a half years, and that has not been up to me. I fight every fucking day. Every single fucking day.”
Kesha assured her audience that she is still creating music in hopes of releasing it soon. “I counted 75 songs,” Kesha said.
Fittingly, Kesha then performed a passionate cover of Lesley Gore’s “You Don't Own Me.”
Afterwards was Kesha’s hit “Blow” and then a song that she was said was “requested by a student,” “Boots and Boys” off of “Animal.”
Kesha then polled the audience on their ages. Coming to the consensus that most were around 20, Kesha asked, “So, we can talk about adult things, right?”
She told the story of “Take it Off,” referencing a wild night she had at a place called “The Silver Platter,” where everyone was “butt-fucking naked and not in a cute way.”
After “Take It Off,” Kesha began her next song by saying, “This is my theoretic last song, but if you guys go fucking crazy, it won't be my last song.” And so, during “Tik Tok,” the audience obeyed.
Kesha exited, but the audience hoped not for long. With the audience chanting “Kesha,” she returned to the stage to perform “Timber” and “Die Young,” which she said is about “living every night like it's the last fucking night of your life.”
Kesha’s set ended, but the party did not stop for the College. After Kesha was DJ group Grooveboston, who kept the recreation center packed and rocking.
Selling out of the 2,600 tickets, Kesha’s concert is considered a huge success by the College Union Board, which organized the event.
Levi Reed, a CUB live event coordinator and a junior communications studies major, said being a part of CUB’s 2017 Spring Concert was a surreal and amazing experience.
“Standing onstage and looking into the crowd of excited faces and knowing that Sydney (Swartz) and I, along with the other members of CUB, did this was one of the highest points of my life,” Reed said. “It was a long 21-hour day filled with dancing, excitement and eight cups of coffee, and I'd do it all again in a heartbeat.”
Sydney Swartz, a CUB live event coordinator and a senior communication studies major, was equally as pleased with the turnout.
“Watching the rec center fill, announcing the show to the crowd and then watching the crowd sing and dance along to Kesha and The Creepies, Jenaux and GrooveBoston is what made the months of planning completely worth it,” she said.
