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Kesha performed "Timber" as part of her encore at Chevy Court on the 2016 NYS Fair's opening night.

(Courtesy of Instagram user mrpeepsmom)

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- This review of Kesha's free show at the New York State Fair could start in two wildly different ways.

Here's one: Kesha's short concert on the fair's opening night featured primal performance art, candid conversations about her "lawsuit from hell" and surprisingly soulful tributes to titans of rock, pop and country music.

Here's another: A sweaty Kesha swaggered onstage 12 minutes late and dropped so many F bombs that a father dragged his two young daughters out of Chevy Court before they could see the raging pop star cuss and thrash like an animal for most of her hour-long set.

Want a girl who can do both? Kesha's it.

Her Thursday concert ricocheted back and forth between two incarnations of the pop star. One minute, she's fighting a "Dinosaur" onstage or biting the strings off her guitar. Next, she's remaking the earworm "Timber" into a slow, almost mournful country cover.

Maybe Kesha's growing up and out of party pop. Or maybe she's building up to a new, defiant self after years embroiled in a contentious lawsuit with her former producer, Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald (she sued for sexual assault, battery and sexual harassment).

"Somebody f---ed with the wrong woman!" she screeched halfway through her show, to cheers from the crowd. Fans held up homemade posters saying, "Kesha, we support you!" and "Kesha, we believe you!"

Great musical and artistic expression can grow out of frustration or strife, and Kesha is clearly angry. However, she's still performing most of the fizzy pop hits that made her a household name, with only glimpses of darker content. The result? A Jekyll and Hyde performance with rage and sadness bubbling over into Kesha's default reputation as a hungover, human glitter bomb.

This makes Kesha's onstage persona seem a bit unfocused and fragmented, but why should she settle for one version of herself, in a world where we accept "Sound of Music" Lady Gaga along with meat-dress Gaga? Pop stars often enjoy freedom to play with diametric identities, as long as they have charisma and vocal chops to back it up.

On Thursday night, Kesha mostly did. Though it's easy to write her off as just another party anthem pusher, she also boasts absurdist stage antics, unapologetic sexuality and a piercing, sometimes powerful voice. When she's onstage, it's hard to look away, whether she's crooning country-flavored ballads in a breezy, baby-doll dress or gyrating violently to "Your Love Is My Drug" in a black jacket with red fringe.

Closest I could get to Kesha singing Jolene. :-/ pic.twitter.com/1XywwLdjLV — Katrina Tulloch (@katrinatulloch) August 26, 2016

Unfortunately, so many of her hit songs are autotuned that it's still jarring to hear her sing naturally. Some may still hold her to an impossible robotic standard. Kesha belted out her covers with full emotion, but sounded dehydrated and out of breath for "Your Love Is My Drug" and "Tik Tok."

Granted, Kesha performed in oppressive humidity on Thursday, wearing boots and long sleeves before her costume change. She complained about the heat often, even after ripping off her pants and dousing herself with a water bottle. Sweat dripped through her dark makeup, making her look particularly twisted during "Cannibal," in which she pounced on a bandmate and "ate" out his heart.

While some vocally expressed worry about Kesha's overheated appearance, most people just danced. One security guard estimated between 8,000 and 10,000 in the crowd. Many were young and caked in glitter. When one college-aged man sneezed, a puff of sparkles literally shot out of his nose.

In a 2014 review of Kesha at the Carrier Dome, reporter Chris Baker wrote: "The carefully crafted theatrics worked double-time to present an image of a careless rock star...Nothing is worse than trying too hard to seem like you're not trying."

Glitter-caked Kesha fans pose for photos after her NYS Fair concert on Thursday, Aug. 25 at Chevy Court.

This time around, Kesha didn't act or pretend to act careless at Chevy Court. She babbled breathlessly about her music influences, her politics (not a Donald Trump fan) and most of all, her fans.

Years of legal proceedings may have grounded her, or at least given her more serious issues to care about. She earnestly thanked the concertgoers for their loyalty over the years, even when she couldn't perform new music due to the lawsuit.

"I would just like to say thank you so f---ing much, from the bottom of my heart, for standing by me through this," she told the NYS Fair crowd. "I'm fighting for the f---ing truth and I'm fighting for women and I'm fighting for f---ing human beings everywhere."

Maybe she can reward their loyalty by someday playing longer than one hour.

Kesha set list

Chevy Court | Aug. 25, 2016

We R Who We R

Your Love Is My Drug

Dinosaur

Nightclubbing (Iggy Pop cover)

Till the World Ends (Britney Spears cover)

Speaking in Tongues

Boots & Boys

Cannibal

TiK ToK

Encore:

Timber (Pitbull feat. Ke$ha cover)

Jolene (Dolly Parton cover)

I Shall Be Released (Bob Dylan cover)

Katrina Tulloch writes music and culture stories for Syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Contact her: Email | Twitter | Facebook