She's Got Her Rock Moves
P!nk has been on my list of must-see artists for years and
before I could fully process it, I found myself at Madison Square Garden
awaiting P!nk’s arrival on her heart-shaped stage. As the lights around the arena dimmed and the
cheering rose to a thunderous roar, my heart was pounding in my chest. There was an electricity in the air, the
promise of a mind-blowing performance by one of the music industry’s most
talented artists. That promise was
delivered on…and then some. In the words of SNL’s city correspondent, Stefon,
this show had EVERYthing: impressive pyrotechnics,
jaw-dropping acrobatics, kick-ass choreography, a giant inflatable Eminem
puppet, a flying four-post bed, thought-provoking political video interludes
and most importantly, incredible vocals from P!nk (even when hanging upside
down from the ceiling).
The show opened (appropriately) with Get the Party Started
and P!nk hanging from an abstract-looking chandelier, offering the crowd just a
taste of her acrobatic talents to come.
This was followed by one of my favourite tracks from the new album, the
title track Beautiful Trauma. Following
on the theme of addiction, Just Like a Pill saw her strutting her stuff on a
moving walkway that extended to the front of the stage. After Who Knew, there was a brief animated
video interlude that introduced the rather macabre theme park “Revengeland”,
where you can send an annoying partner for some extreme forms of revenge. After the video P!nk emerged, along with a
huge Eminem (who features on the song) to perform Revenge. More
acrobatics from P!nk as she “fought” and defeated the inflatable puppet. The twisted theme park motif continued with
Funhouse which she expertly mashed up with the No Doubt classic Just a
Girl. Another awesome cover followed in
the form of Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit.
The pace of the show slowed down, just a little, for
Secrets, Try (another one of my favourites that has become an anthem for me: “Just
because it burns doesn’t mean you’re gonna die / You gotta get up and try try
try”) and Just Give Me a Reason. But then
P!nk rocked the arena again with I’m Not Dead from the album with the same
title, released exactly 12 years earlier.
Just Like Fire brought the spectacular pyrotechnics and really got the
audience onto their feet (those who weren’t already on their feet by this point). What
About Us was next, the lead single from the Beautiful Trauma album and a song
which led Patrick Crowley from Billboard to describe, quite accurately, P!nk,
as a “juggernaut”. Two other songs from
the new album followed, namely For Now and Barbies, both of which address the
desire to “Freeze frame, pause, rewind, stop / And get back to the older
familiar thoughts” in different ways.
After the more subdued and introspective atmosphere of the preceding
songs, P!nk turned up the energy once again for I Am Here, a “take me to church”
gospel-esque track that you can’t help but clap along to. F**kin’ Perfect was next, a song promoting
self-acceptance for anyone who has been “mistreated, misplaced, misunderstood”,
a message which is carried through to the roof-raising Raise Your Glass. Cheers to the underdog! The show ended with Blow Me (One Last Kiss)
amidst a shower of confetti and screaming fans.
The first encore track was the deliciously defiant So What. And when I saw her getting hooked up to a
harness I knew what was coming. She launched
into the air above the crowd, who were in a frenzy at this point, and proceeded
to fly around the arena. I think my mouth
was hanging open throughout the performance.
I have never seen anything like it from an artist. Finally, after a quick change into a pair of
jeans and a white shirt, P!nk emerged for the second encore song, the oh-so-beautiful Glitter in
the Air – sung perfectly, despite the rigorous show and physical feats she had
just completed. The buzz continued long
after the lights went up and the arena began to empty. Not even dealing with the MTA could kill it
for me.
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