Pink’s Melbourne spectacle proved her spunk and talent will never be matched
Subscribe
X

Get the latest from Beat

Pink’s Melbourne spectacle proved her spunk and talent will never be matched

pnkrodlaverlivenationjaywennington16-07-18web2of26.jpg

Everything about Pink’s performance ­– the first of 11 in Melbourne alone – was pure world-class. Renowned for her use of aerial stunts, wild costumes and stage fit outs, pyrotechnics and touches of theatre, this performance was all of that and more. Nothing short of electrifying, it was an expertly crafted slice of wonder.

After a sizable warm up from The Rubens and DJ Kid Cut Up, ‘Get The Party Started’ burst out of the gate to kick Pink’s residency off. The lead track from her most recent album Beautiful Trauma followed to a rapturous response – highlighting the impact that the pop-rock superstar’s material continues to have.

As the sets and costumes impressively changed with every other song, Pink took the crowd through themes of circus, Alice In Wonderland and cartoon (a giant inflatable cartoon Eminem for her duet track ‘Revenge’ anyone?) to romantic aerial vibes and those of sass-fuelled rock‘n’roll. Though Pink’s musical prowess was, of course, the real star of the show, it was made all the more brilliant and fascinating by the fact that it was weaved between such remarkable staging, lighting, costume and choreography. Familiar with Pink’s music or not, anyone would be able to appreciate the mammoth creative effort that evidently goes into a Pink production.

The nearly two-hour set saw a slew of choice hits from across the singer’s catalogue, such as classic party-starters ‘Raise Your Glass’, ‘Funhouse’, ‘Just Like Fire’ and ‘Blow Me (One Last Kiss)’. But although the overtone of the show was just that – a party – Pink peppered in various slower moments that brought a whole new level of emotion to the performance, while not letting the attention or energy of the arena waver.  

Stepping to the tip of the stage, Pink played intimate, acoustic renditions of ‘Barbies’ and ‘I Am Here’ and the singer-songwriter’s thoughtful and genuine lyricism was on full display. While she was as close to the audience as she could be during these tracks, she took the opportunity to share a moment of conversation with everyone. You’d think it would be hard to do so in such a packed house, though Pink was masterful in the way she made the room feel like a tiny pub crowd.

Perhaps the most emotive moment of the whole show came in Pink’s impassioned delivery of ‘What About Us’. It followed a compilation video –enough to set tears rolling in the first place –which showed cuts from interviews from across her career, alongside backstage tour videos and personal footage from time with her family and during her philanthropic work.

Her performance of ‘Perfect’ continued the emotion, as it featured a replay of Pink’s glorious 2017 VMA’s speech where she spoke candidly about how her daughter had felt ugly for looking different. Pink has always been a bellowing advocate for those who feel different, misunderstood or like their voices aren’t heard, and this song perfectly sums up her mission to celebrate diversity. The energy as she performed it was absolutely palpable, making it a true crowd favourite.

The show rounded out with a perfect encore – a marvellously explosive and emotional package that offered the perfect culmination to the night. Pink performed her cult classic anthem ‘So What’ as she literally flew and flipped across the crowd (as only Pink could) before the deeply personal ‘Glitter In The Air’ offered one last punch to everyone’s hearts. If they weren’t already, everyone was now fully aware that Pink is a fierce and unbridled dose of spunk and talent that will never be matched. 

Highlight: Her flying literally metres over my face during ‘So What’. I screamed.

Lowlight: The line to get in.

Crowd Favourite: ‘Perfect’.