As if — thanks to the blare of tornado sirens and temperatures in the upper 60s — there weren’t enough ingredients in place for a surreal Christmas Eve Eve already, we got the call on Wednesday that Kesha and her new band, The Yeast Infection, would be playing a last-minute show in a small Nashville club. The club, as it turned out, was Springwater, where Kesha had hosted a show featuring locals Party Cannon and Ghostfinger back in 2011.
But since that appearance at Springwater, a lot has changed for Kesha. For one, she went to rehab for an eating disorder and dropped the dollar sign in her name that long vexed copy editors. What’s more, she’s become embroiled in a legal battle with her longtime producer, famed star-maker Dr. Luke — against whom she’s leveled allegations of abuse and sexual assault — as well as Sony Music. With Kesha stuck in her contract with Dr. Luke and Sony, we haven’t heard from the Nashville-rooted singer-songwriter in some time.
And that’s where The Yeast Infection comes in.
Springwater was just about as full as The Spin has ever seen it when we showed up during local punks Heinous Orca’s set around 10:15. The crowd — which seemed to be made up of mildly curious familiar locals and young Kesha super-fans alike — mulled around anxiously as the Orca folks wrapped their set and loaded out. Not long after, the local-rock dudes in Kesha’s backing band began to get their gear in place. In addition to Kesha, The Yeast Infection, it turns out, is made up of guitar-slinger Richie Kirkpatrick (RICHIE, Ghostfinger), producer/sideman Skylar Wilson (who’s worked with everyone from Justin Townes Earl to Caitlin Rose, Jessie Baylin and the cast of Nashville) and Robbie Crowell (Deer Tick, Diamond Rugs, Turbo Fruits), plus Kesha’s touring drummer Elias Mallin.
“It’s sinking in, guys,” we overheard one dude enthuse to his friends. “We’re gonna see Kesha.”
Sure enough, the crowd soon parted and the Glittery One herself was ushered to the stage by security. “One day we're all gonna die,” said the singer, acknowledging the evening’s strange and extreme weather, “but not tonight. Tonight we are gonna live!”
What followed was a set of Kesha’s most popular songs, presented as much less polished and much more Springwater-friendly punk tunes. She began with “We R Who We R” and “Dirty Love” (the official video for which was actually shot at Springwater, go figure) and exclaimed, “I am a strong motherfucking independent woman, and I am living in a world full of sharks. ... Do not let them take your power.” She spat a mouthful of whipped cream into the audience before spraying helpings into her band members’ mouths, and dedicated “Your Love Is My Drug” to her mother Pebe Sebert, with whom she wrote the tune. After “Blow,” The Yeast Infection covered Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” — a rad little rendition, to be perfectly honest, complete with primal howling and Kesha stuffing one fan’s iPhone down her pants.
Truthfully, had The Spin stumbled into Springwater with no prior knowledge of Kesha or her music — or of her band members’ local-rock bona-fides, for that matter — our appraisal probably would have been something to this effect: a tight little garage-punk outfit with strangely catchy hooks and a captivating party monster of a frontwoman. Her vocals were somewhat hit-and-miss — to be expected in the Springwater, where there's not a lot going on in terms of a monitor mix for performers — but when they were on, they were on. In her own words, this was Kesha putting out her old music “the way I like it,” and it made for a compelling enough show.
After Kesha grunted and snarled her way through “Carnivore,” fake blood spilling from her mouth, a couple of girls in plush penis costumes (naturally) made their way to the stage to fire off confetti blasts during the Yeasties’ performance of “TiK ToK.” “My fans mean everything in the world to me,” said Kesha before a set-closing, countrified rendition of her Pitbull collaboration “Timber” that, truth be told, appealed to us a hell of a lot more as a bopping country tune than it ever did as an obnoxious club banger.
And with that, the set was through. Kesha made her way through the crowd, allowing fans to snap smartphone shots with her along the way, until she was out the Springwater’s back door and being whisked away in a minivan. To add to the dreamlike nature of it all, we found a fire-breather doing tricks in the gravel parking lot as we made our way to the Spinmobile.
Weirdest Christmas Eve Eve we’ve had in a minute, but truly, far from the worst.Â
