Woo-ah! Kim Petras’ Feed the Beast World Tour arrived in New York City on a Monday night in early October 2023 and thousands of girls, gays, and theys braved the chilly Bushwick evening to be a part of the spectacle.
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And what a spectacle it was: famous faces like Tiffany Haddish, Julia Fox, and Gus Kenworthy could be spotted in the packed crowd of loyal Bunheads wearing everything from skimpy, barely-there ensembles to shirts trumpeting empowering messages like “They Power” and “Support Trans Youth.”
Brooklyn’s Avant Gardner is familiar territory for Petras, considering the German pop princess got her start in New York City’s queer clubs and celebrated the album release party for her long-awaited major-label debut, Feed the Beast, there back in June.
Petras’ star has only soared higher and higher since her days as a fixture in Bushwick’s underground nightlife scene. Five years ago to the day, in fact, she was opening for Troye Sivan’s Bloom Tour at Radio City Music Hall as an indie artist with nothing but a backing track and giant tapestry featuring her first logo as she belted out early breakthrough singles like “Heart to Break” and “I Don’t Want It at All.” Needless to say, her sold-out show at the venue’s massive outdoor stage, the Brooklyn Mirage, felt like nothing less than a triumphal homecoming coronation for one of pop music’s most promising—and polarizing—rising stars.
She Knows You Want to Feed the Beast
The euphoric, 32-song set was divided into five separate acts, each with its own unique aesthetics, imagery, costume changes, and more. To kick things off, Petras emerged from an imposing iron sarcophagus in a knight’s helmet. Dramatically removing the headpiece, the singer launched into Feed the Beast’s ravenous title track before gracing the cheering crowd with album highlights like “King of Hearts” and “Revelations.”
Of course, no Kim Petras concert would be complete at this point without some version of “Unholy,” the devilish Sam Smith collaboration that won Petras her first Grammy at the 2023 ceremony for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. But rather than save the moment for the encore, the trans singer front-loaded her setlist by letting the single cap off the show’s first act, wrapping a very flexible leg around a demonic back-up dancer’s throat as she gleefully intoned,
Mmm, daddy, daddy, if you wanna drop the addy
Give me love, give me Fendi, my Balenciaga daddy
You gon’ need to bag it up, ‘cause I’m spendin’ on Rodeo
You can watch me back it up, I’ll be gone in the a.m.
This, This Is Slut Pop
“Sex sells” remains an age-old adage both in advertising and pop music, and for Act 2, Petras was ready to get down to business by performing her 2022 EP Slut Pop in all its raunchy glory. The singer gave the sex-positive side project its well-deserved due by performing all seven tracks from front to back, including “XXX,” “Superpower Bitch,” and “They Wanna Fuck” before finishing things off with a truncated version of “Your Wish Is My Command.”
For “Slut Pop,” she lived out her financial dominatrix fantasy in a blazer, tie and black knee-high boots before stripping down for the techno-powered come-hither consent of “Treat Me Like a Slut” and engaging in a tricky dance with a bright green, phallic microphone hanging from the rafters for “Throat Goat.” As an added bonus, she slapped new release “Treat Me Like a Ho” on as the act’s grand finale, channeling shades of Britney Spears and, especially, her idol Madonna as she and her shirtless dancers went on a spending spree to the Eurobeat flair of the naughty older sister to her debut single “I Don’t Want It at All.”
Hillside Boys Still Call Her Name
Petras transported herself into a magical Eden at the show’s midpoint for “Claws,” “Something About U,” “Hit It from the Back” and “BAIT,” with collaborator BANKS appearing on the stage’s giant curved screens for her guest verse.
The high point, however, was an emotional reworking of early fan favorite “Hillside Boys,” with Petras reflecting on her Brooklyn roots. “Brooklum! Bushwick! The birthplace of Kim Petras,” the singer remarked as she introduced the song. “I have so many memories of playing in this venue, if any of you remember. Thanks for being back.
[RELATED: Kim Petras Drops Surprise Album, ‘Problematique’]
“It’s getting a little hot on stage right now, so I’m just gonna lie down,” she continued before reclining on a velvet chaise brought out by two backing dancers wearing horned masks and black bras. Hot was certainly an understatement as a muscled figure suddenly appeared on the screen behind Petras’ on-stage repose. The audience went wild as the hunk slowly turned to face the camera, revealing himself to be Hans, Petras’ male alter ego.
“Meet Hans. Bi Dom Top. Libra. 420 friendly. No pic no chat,” the pop star wrote on Instagram in late September to introduce her new, ram-horned, leather-loving persona to the world. As Hans flexed seductively behind her, Petras belted out “Hillside Boys” with more ecstasy than ever as the Bunheads sang along to every single word.
Boo! Bitch!
Mariah Carey may have laid claim to Christmas, but when it comes to spooky season, Petras is the undisputed Queen of Halloween. Need evidence? Just look to her 2019/2020 mixtape Turn Off the Light, which she put on proud display for the show’s spine-chilling fourth act.
Dressed in a black leather trench coat, Petras ran through haunted hits like “Wrong Turn,” “There Will Be Blood,” “<demons>,” and more, ultimately off-ing her dancers clad in creepy Jason masks and lace bodysuits one by one during “In the Next Life.” (At one point, she even cleverly resurrected some of the rotating turntable stagecraft from her pre-pandemic Clarity Tour.) Once the stage was littered with bodies, Petras delivered an impassioned rendition of “Everybody Dies”—a glowing example that even a Halloween-themed ballad can come with serious songwriting chops in Petras’ capable claws.
She’s So Problématique
The pop star’s show concluded with one final act, cooling things down with Feed the Beast closer (and pre-release single) “brrr” followed by “Icy,” “Minute” and “Castle in the Sky,” complete with fake snow raining down on her performance. The singer was nearly driven to tears before the finale, telling the audience, “I remember dancing on bars in Bushwick and all of a sudden, people listen to my music, and I’m so grateful for you still being here. I wish I could sing for a million more minutes. Shit! You’re making me emotional!”
Naturally, Petras had a few more surprises in store before truly calling it a night. Her encore began with her return to the stage via a giant [ahem] penis-shaped disco ball before delighting the audience with “Alone”—featuring her handily taking charge of Nicki Minaj’s guest rap as “Kim Petty.” Next, she trotted out “Problématique,” the title track of her once-scrapped second album (which received a surprise release after being initially shelved by her label), followed by “Heart to Break.” Then, for good measure, she decided to add one extra song to the encore in the form of the ferocious “uhoh,” just in case any of the 5,000 fans watching needed one last reminder that everything she drops is, indeed, a banger.
Photo by Santiago Felipe/Getty Images for Kim Petras
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