From pinkifying the street car to painting the mural near Hamburger Mary’s, we showed up.
“The city of Kansas City has shown up for me in a way that no one else ever has,” Midwest princess Chappell Roan said at her Oct. 4 Concert at the Liberty Memorial. “It’s so cool to look out and see the pink around the city in the coffee shops and people dressed up everywhere.”
Chappell Roan’s “Visions of Damsels and Other Dangerous Things Tour” visited Kansas City on Oct. 3 and Oct. 4 at the Liberty Memorial. The crowd began lining up at noon, even though the venue announced that lines could not begin until 2 p.m. The gates to the venue opened at 4 p.m., and concertgoers ran through the field to get to the barricade. The crowd pushed and shoved to get as close to the stage as they could before 6:30 p.m. — the opening show performance. Three drag queens danced and strutted down the catwalk to the screams of excitement from the crowd.
After an intermission, a DJ by the name of Kill Sing came on at 7:45 p.m. and hyped the crowd up for the last opener. Baby Tate, a rapper wearing hot pink lit up the venue at 8 p.m. and sang many of her songs. From 8:45 to 9:15, the crowd waited in anticipation for Chappell. When she finally came out at 9:15 singing her hit song, “Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl,”the crowd erupted into screams so loud that Chappell could not be heard.
This was my first-concert, and it was even more wonderful and magical than I could’ve ever imagined. When she came out to sing her first song, my eyes were glued to the stage, and I was screaming louder than I ever have before. Chappell’s outfit was gorgeous. She started out wearing a medieval princess inspired dress with a matching pointy hat with fabric billowing from her shoulders and hips. She played “Femininomenon,” “After Midnight” and “Naked in Manhattan,” changing up her outfit in between each song.
The crowd knew every word to every song, singing and dancing with as much space as the packed venue allowed. When she sang “Casual,” everyone around me sang and cried in remembrance of what the song reminded them of. The song I was most excited to hear live was “Subway.” As soon as I heard the opening chords of the song, the tears started. As Chappell sang the choruses, verses and bridge, me, along with everyone around me, sobbed.
The vibes started to turn up once again as Chappell sang “Hot To Go,” a cover of “Barracuda” and “Picture You.” Then, before singing Kaleidoscope, Chappell Roan came down the catwalk and gave a heartfelt speech about the struggle of being queer in Missouri.
“It’s so special and so affirming that this is exactly what I’m supposed to do, in that despite everything in the world right now that the only thing that matters to me is literally make queer people feel safe and heard and seen,” Roan said.
Her speech made many audience members cry and feel seen. A couple standing next to me that listened to the speech while embracing each other and crying. It was such a beautiful moment to experience. After her speech and singing Kaleidoscope with the crowd lighting up the night with their phone flashlights, Chappell sang “The Giver,” “Red Wine Supernova,” “Good Luck Babe,” “My Kink is Karma” and “California.”
To end the night, Chappell sang Pink Pony Club. The closing chords played multiple times as Chappell closed the night by thanking her band, security, crew and the crowd once more. Overall, Chappell Roan’s concert was a magnificent experience that left Kansas City and all of the concertgoers glowing pink long after the music stopped.
