Spank Rock

Ke$ha: Get $leazy Tour
Opening Acts: Spank Rock and LMFAO
September 17, 2011
Gibson Amphitheatre
Universal City, CA

By: Nevra Azerkan
Rating:

When I heard Spank Rock, who is affiliated with LMFAO, would be opening I was anticipating hearing something great. Unfortunately, I was severely disappointed. I don’t know who to compare Spank Rock to and that’s not a compliment. Rapper, Naeem Juwan’s appearance had a Prince thing going on minus the purple velvet suit. But the similarities ended there. For an act that works with Boys Noize, Pharrell and toured with Beck, I kind of wondered what went wrong. I have yet to look up the music online, so this assessment is strictly based on the show I attended. It came to a point where I was counting down the minutes for them to get off the stage and judging by how the crowd was reacting, I was not the only one. There sound is described as rap mixed with electro and rock—one of my favorite combinations, but what I heard did not impress me.

Once Spank Rock left the stage, everyone was up and getting ready to dance with party rockers, LMFAO. They came running out on stage jumping into their songs with members of Quest Crew (Winners of the third season of America’s Best Dance Crew) as theirback-up dancers. One of the aspects of their show that I was surprised to see was the use of multiple props. They had blow-up animals, balls, palm trees and foam hands that they would throw into the audience—letting fans keep the smaller items (mini zebras). I thought this was a really cool touch that would have many fans taking home a sweet memento. They also had multiple costume changes, which are more commonly associated with female artists, but you have to realize these guys have a lot of style that they also impose on their dancers. LMFAO performed their hits including, “Party Rock Anthem”, “Sexy and I Know It”, “Shots”, “I’m in Miami Bitch” and “Champagne Showers”. They have all the right components of a headliner and I, along with the crowd, was sad when their set ended. On the bright side, they had everyone pumped up for Ke$ha.

Although I admit I was mostly there to see LMFAO, I am a fan of Ke$ha. She came out strong with her crazy attitude and trademark makeup and clothes. She had a backing band as well as dancers who were uniquely styled in a way where Ke$ha would only have it. She performed fan favorites from both her albums, Animal and Cannibal including “Blow” (which had her shooting glittered confetti out of a cannon), “Tik Tok”, “We R Who We R”, “Blah Blah Blah”, “Take It Off” and Your Love Is My Drug”. The stage had a space-age theme to it with rave lights and lasers. She drank more bottles of beer than she had costume changes. But she made one guy very happy when she brought him up on stage, tying him to a chair and then serenading him. The show ended with a drop of multi-colored balloons on the audience.

With the exception of Spank Rock, LMFAO and Ke$ha put on an excessively satisfying dance party. We had Hollywood Jesus (who has been featured in two of LMFAO’s music videos) and Efren Ramirez (Pedro in Napoleon Dynamite) in attendance and both seemed to be getting down. There were people of all ages: from little kids to the middle aged. It just goes to show you how certain artists have the power to bring together varying demographics for the sole purpose of getting $leazy.