Ke$ha performed at the Lifestyle Communities Pavilion Aug. 27. Credit: Shelby Lum / Photo editor

Ke$ha performed at the Lifestyle Communities Pavilion Aug. 27. Credit: Shelby Lum / Photo editor

Ke$ha colored her message of equality with rainbows and collaborated with glitter for a shining performance in Columbus Tuesday night.

“This is my gay rights mobile,” Ke$ha, whose real name is KeshaRose Sebert, said about her rainbow toy Mustang right before her performance of “Your Love Is My Drug.” “I’m not getting married until any two people can get married.”

There was no want for more theatrics or energy during the rest ofKe$ha’s entire set at the Lifestyle Communities Pavilion. Whether she was dancing in a routine with her backup dancers or pounding on a drum at the back of the stage, Ke$ha was a firecracker who could not be stopped, and everyone watching was able to feed off of her high-octane vibe.

Ke$ha went through four major wardrobe changes and still managed to power through 16 action-packed songs. Hits from all three of her albums were included, so no Ke$ha fan was left out. She even found a way to perform songs on her own that had been recorded as collaborations with other artists, like “Dirty Love” with Iggy Pop and “Blah Blah Blah” with 3OH!3.

It has been said that Ke$ha’s live performances are not up to par with her recorded songs, but this concert disproved that. Rather than having a computer full of electronic beats sit on stage with her, Ke$ha chose to have real people playing real instruments as her backup. Most notably, her rendition of “Take It Off” had a heavy rock ‘n’ roll vibe complete with squealing electric guitars.

Ke$ha also chose to use her natural voice to perform rather than the voice touched heavily by Auto-Tune on her albums. The result was a girl who could belt it onstage and rock out without worrying about sounding exactly like the recordings. She knows she can sing, and she went for it flawlessly in every single song.

One of the show’s opening acts, Mike Posner, was not so fortunate. For most of his set, Posner lacked the stage presence and energy necessary to keep the crowd satisfied. His rendition of Justin Bieber’s “Boyfriend” was his most enthusiastic song, but his own original songs hardly had the same feel.

Though Ke$ha’s other opening act, Semi Precious Weapons, was likely the least-known act at the concert, this band easily had twice the stage presence as Posner. I had never heard of this garage glam band until the second the members began playing their instruments, and I now consider myself a major fan.

Semi Precious Weapons also excelled by just being themselves. Justin Tranter, the band’s lead vocalist, gave a performance reminiscent of David Bowie – full of emotion and life. Whether Tranter was yelling profanities at the audience or twerking at the speed of light, it was evident that he put his all into the performance and just wanted it to be fun for the listeners.

No Ke$ha concert would be complete without glitter, and lots of it. Most members of the audience came prepared with homemade glitter bombs, pelting each other until they were drenched in the reflective particles. If you forgot your glitter, though, no worries – Ke$ha shot off several cannons full of the stuff right into the audience.

“I hope you find just one piece of glitter tomorrow,” Ke$ha said at the end of the show. “I hope you find it somewhere naughty, and I hope you think of me.”