Lords of Acid / Princess Superstar / Tony & the Kiki – Rochester, NY

Industrial beats, hard riffs, raunchy lyrics, and a few inflatable surprises made Lords of Acid’s sold out stop at Photo City Music Hall in Rochester one wild Saturday night. With Princess Superstar and Tony & the Kiki setting the tone earlier in the evening, the Cheeky Freaky tour brought its mix of club music, rock, and outrageous theatrics to town.

After traveling to catch the first leg of the Cheeky Freaky tour earlier this spring, I was excited to have the same lineup playing closer to home. Saturday night brought Lords of Acid, Princess Superstar, and Tony & the Kiki to Photo City Music Hall in Rochester, where a sold out crowd gathered for a night of industrial beats, provocative performances, and unapologetic party energy.

The atmosphere landed somewhere between a rave, a goth industrial club, and a rock concert. Photo City was packed tight, and the temperature climbed as the night went on, making for a hot, sweaty Saturday in mid October. With three acts bringing their own brand of dance music and theatrical flair, there was little chance of this turning into a stand around and watch kind of evening.

New York City pop, disco, and glam outfit Tony & the Kiki opened the show. Tony was performing solo on this leg of the tour, but there was no shortage of personality. Introducing the act with, “I am Tony, and you are all the Kiki,” Tony made the audience part of the name and the joke. Drag theatrics and disco glam gave the set a campy, colorful feel, setting the stage for a night where outrageous was very much part of the plan.

Princess Superstar followed with her mix of hip hop, electro, and dance music. The artist, whose real name is Concetta Kirschner, has found a whole new audience thanks to the TikTok revival of “Perfect (Exceeder),” her 2005 track that has taken on a second life nearly two decades after its release. It is a comeback few could have predicted, but the renewed attention has introduced her music to a generation that may have missed it the first time around. Her place on this bill made sense, connecting the club sounds of her earlier work with the electronic and dance heavy spirit of the tour.

Lords of Acid launched into their set with the raunchy “Scrood Bi U,” and Photo City quickly became their own adult dance party. Carla Harvey stepped out smiling, fully at ease as the Acid Queen, pairing powerful vocals with sensual dance moves and a stage presence that suited the band’s unapologetic material. She seemed to be having as much fun with the performance as the songs themselves, giving the band’s sexually charged lyrics just the right mix of attitude and humor.

The music hit with the familiar Lords of Acid combination of hard guitar riffs, pounding techno beats, and industrial grooves. Then there were the blow up dolls being tossed around like beach balls, because apparently an ordinary night of dancing would not have been enough. The absurdity was part of the appeal. Between the suggestive lyrics, Harvey’s dancing, and the sheer silliness flying around the room, the band made no attempt to separate the music from its outrageous sense of humor.

Behind the synthesizers, Praga Khan, the band’s only remaining original member, continued to shape the electronic sound that has defined Lords of Acid since its early days. Dietrich Thrall held down the bass, adding weight beneath the layers of beats and synthesizers. Also new to this leg of the tour were drummer Chase Brickenden and guitarist Brandon Davis. Brickenden admitted he had only learned the songs a few days before the show, not that anyone would have guessed. Davis, meanwhile, spent plenty of time jumping around the stage and looked like he was having a blast. Both settled into the performance without missing a beat, adding fresh energy to the current lineup.

The Rochester date also arrived just as the band’s new album became available to stream, with physical copies waiting at the merchandise table for fans who wanted to take one home. The new material fits the Carla Harvey era, pairing catchy, hypnotic hooks with the heavy riffs and techno beats that are central to the Lords of Acid sound. There is a familiar foundation here, but Harvey gives the songs a different personality, making this chapter of the band more than an exercise in revisiting its past.

Having seen the lineup a few months back, it was fun to catch the tour again and see it closer to home. Tony’s solo performance brought drag and disco glam, Princess Superstar had the benefit of a viral hit finding a second audience, and Lords of Acid provided the night’s most uninhibited mix of industrial dance music and adult humor. The three acts offered different flavors of the same party without feeling interchangeable.

The second leg of the Cheeky Freaky tour is keeping the fun going, and the Rochester stop gave Western New York its first chance to join in. For me, it was especially satisfying to see a lineup worth traveling for earlier in the year finally play nearby. Photo City was hot, crowded, and full of flying inflatable dolls, while Lords of Acid reminded everyone that sometimes a concert is best enjoyed when nobody is taking it too seriously.