UK Edition
Feeds
Photorazzi / Glenn Harris
Exuding a powerful presence that attracts your eyes, Pink was eerily reminiscent of a mid 80s Annie Lennox during her Eurythmics heyday, sporting a shock of cropped blonde hair and cutting many iconic, angular poses on stage. They both epitomise female empowerment at its finest, with no need to burn bras or hurl oneself in front of racehorses.
On tracks like current single 'Nobody Knows' and 'Family Portrait' her soulful, fragile vocals draw you into an emotional plain of vulnerability and hurt. Like a chameleon, without the karma, Pink then has the skill to seamlessly flip to a snarling, rock chick persona with a steely gaze in her eyes that tells you she can crush your balls in the blink of an eye. This is epitomised by a suitably venomous performance of 'U + Ur Hand', along with mega hit 'Just Like A Pill'.
In many contemporary performers the decision to change style or genre tends to be determined by the marketing men, but with Pink you sense a real authenticity. This girl is not one to toe the party line and play the fame game by any means.
Pink serves as a perfect antidote to the airbrushed pop princesses who are foisted upon us by the money hungry record companies. This distinction is hammered home in a hilarious performance of recent hit 'Stupid Girls'. With her backing dancers dressed as thinly veiled caricatures of pop tarts Aguilera, Hilton and Spears, Pink struts onto the catwalk with a Lindsay Lohan-esque disguise, including oversized shades and a wig. Belting out lyrics like "They travel in packs of two or three/ With their itsy bitsy doggies and their teeny-weeny tees/ Where, oh where, have the smart people gone?" - the attack is a welcome blast at the festering celebrity culture that threatens to consume the world. Mid way through the song, Pink dramatically rips off the wig in true Lennox style.
Populating a setlist with a massive sway towards the latest material can often alienate a crowd who wants the safety of universally known hits to sing along to. But the impressive quality of Pink's I'm Not Dead album meant that the bias is welcome.
Even tracks lacking in immediate impact - like 'Dear Mr President' and 'The One That Got Away' come to life in an acoustic mini-set halfway through the gig. The former song in particular roused a strong sentiment, with the anti-Dubya lyrics complemented by some hardly subtle images on the video screen, showing the human costs of the Iraq war and the New Orleans debacle. Whether agreeing with her views or not, this method of political indoctrination is infinitely better than the foul-mouthed rants that seem commonplace during gigs these days. An air of intimacy – rare for large arena gigs – is also generated by having the American singer – along with her guitarist and two backing singers – sat on stools at the edge of the long catwalk
Bar a brief latina-tinged rendition of 'There You Go' and a solitary verse of 'Most Girls', Pink's early days as an r'n'b diva are glossed over, along with nearly all of her 'Try This' album. Annoyingly, we are only treated to a very abridged version of 'God is a DJ' and the sublime single 'Last To Know' is ignored. That very minor disappointment is quickly forgotten though, given the infectious nature of her latest material.
The visual element of the show is boosted by several ear-popping trips into the air throughout the night. This comes courtesy of several drapes that intermittently appear from the ceiling, which prompt Pink to climb high up them, wrap them round her legs and generally swing around upside down whilst still singing. You can bet her insurance premiums are fairly high.
When spicy new track 'Fingers' is performed, Pink is hoisted up in a big net high over the stage. Wearing very little clothing at all, she sings about solo nocturnal fumblings, showing that sisters can really do it for themselves. Combined with the general sentiment of ‘U+Ur Hand’, it feels as if Wembley is in the grip of a rather masturbatory subtext at times.
Frequent costume changes can often drag down a gig, instilling a large collective frown amongst the crowd as they frustratingly wait to see the performer return to the stage. We're paying to see a singer not a clothes horse! Fortunately, Pink times her absences just about right and builds an air of eager anticipation rather than frustration. A two song interlude performed by the backing singers went down surprisingly well, although everyone's beady little eyes were no doubt peering towards the sides of the stage hoping for Pink to make a swift reappearance.
Pink polishes off the night with the anthemic, if overrated, hit 'Get This Party Started'. She breathes new life into the track by segueing it with Eurythmics' 'Sweet Dreams' - further playing up on the Lennox homage. If that doesn't raise your heart rate then the accompanying aerodynamic display will. Pink ties the pink sheets that have come down from the ceiling around herself and takes a leap off the edge of the catwalk, flying high above the gasping crowd in the centre of the arena. Notably, no safety harness was attached at all which gives a feeling of daring spontaneity to actions that were obviously well rehearsed and cleverly choreographed.
In this uber-cynical age, Pink proves that she’s the genuine article as both a singer and performer, complete with a formidable stage presence. Such is her command of the crowd, you feel she can move them all to tears or send them shuddering in collective fear at any stage of the night - a rare skill indeed.
