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The Adventures of Kesha and Macklemore in Phoenix, Arizona


On June 6, 2018, many patient fans awaited outside of the gates at Ak-Chin Pavilion in Phoenix, Arizona, awaiting to see what will be one of the most fun and unique shows they will encounter. With a soft sung intro of Kesha’s 2010 hit ‘Tik Tok’ slowly leading into her 2017 release of ‘Woman’, the night commenced.

As the queen herself emerged from her neon spaceship placed carefully on stage, dressed head-to-toe in sparkles, the crowd expected nothing less. Kesha began her set with newer releases off of her 2017 album, Rainbow. Starting off with ‘Woman’ and ‘Boogie Feet’, she threw it back to her 2010 album, Animal, with the song ‘Dinosaur’. Many were not expecting this jump. Despite having recent knee surgery, Kesha danced her heart out through every single track.

However, one thing that came as a shock to many was that Kesha decided to bring her mom onto stage with her to sing ‘Godzilla’ off of her 2017 Rainbow album. Emotions ran high. There was not a dry eye in the entire pavilion.

With brilliant covers by Dolly Parton and Pitbull alike, Kesha proved her diversity and she gracefully danced from country ballads to hip-hop to all of her older releases. After pumping the crowd up with ‘Your Love Is My Drug’ and ‘Blow’, Kesha slowed it down with an emotional performance of ‘Praying’.

Kesha ended her set with an energetic performance of the full version of ‘Tik Tok’, leaving the crowd hopeful and longing for more.

The Adventures of Kesha & Macklemore Tour | Ep.4: BTS | T-Mobile

A brief brake was taken before Macklemore went on, allowing fans to hydrate and fill up on Jell-o shots to really ready themselves to party.

This was until the lights went out. People rushing back to their seats, waiting in anticipation with what Macklemore was gonna open with. With a vibrant vocal intro of ‘Ain’t Gonna Die Tonight’ from Eric Nally, the spotlight was on nothing but him. That was until Macklemore came out. This song, followed by 'Firebreather', was the best way to pump up a crowd.

Well so many thought. That was the case until Macklemore pulled out the two classics that everyone came to see, ‘Thrift Shop’ and ‘White Walls’. The crowd went insane, every person was on their feet and close to losing their voice trying to keep up with Macklemore.

The pace changed when Macklemore brought it down a notch with ‘Same Love’. A song that meant everything to so many people at the time of it's release back in 2013. With it being the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision for equal marriage rights, both artists spoke themes of love and equality.

Such as Kesha, Macklemore proved how diverse he was musically with his covers of ‘Otherside’ by the Red Hot Chili Peppers and ‘These Days’ by Rudimental.

Dancing plays a major theme in Macklemore’s older releases. It was no shock that Macklmore did an elaborate costume change for ‘And We Danced’. Like in the music video, released in 2011, he wore an eighties style blonde wig in order to get the full effect.

Macklemore’s crowd interaction is what really made the entire show. He invited two fans up for a dance off, he threw hot dogs into the crowd, and even brought two fans up who had ‘golden tickets’ to watch the show from an inflatable air mattress on stage. The crowd went crazy and ate that up.

You thought Kesha’s time on stage was over for the night? You thought wrong. With a gracefully sung intro of ‘Good Old Days’, Kesha and Macklemore performed the critically acclaimed duet that many came to see. With cell phone lights high in the sky, the crowd sung until their lungs gave out.

Macklemore Feat Kesha - Good Old Days (Official Music Video)

Macklemore then proceeded with ‘Downtown’ and ended his set by dedicating his final song to grandma, ‘Glorious’, off his newest album, Gemini, released in late 2017.

The Adventures of Kesha and Macklemore was a tour like no other. An incomprehensible experience that many still cannot explain. However, the best way that many would put it, is simply this, ‘It was the best night of my life.’

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