In a pop music climate that has ditched talent as a prerequisite for super-stardom in exchange for the erotic, the bombastic, and the indulgently spectacular, P!nk’s “Funhouse” tour manages to seamlessly blend fantastical theatrical elements with vocal superiority.
P!nk turned the Patriot Center at GMU into a Funhouse Monday, impressing an enthusiastic audience with exceptional stagecraft, erratic costumes (at one point dressed merely in ribbon and glitter), and killer choreography flanked by several dancers.
English rock duo The Ting Tings were on first to get the party started (pun very much intended) with a host of crowd-pleasers, including such catchy numbers as “Shut Up And Let Me Go,” “Great DJ,” and of course their breakout hit single, notorious for how easily it gets stuck in one’s head, “That’s Not My Name.” Banging on a bass drum and a cowbell while jumping around the stage, lead vocalist Katie White left the audience riled up and ready for the main attraction.
And P!nk knows how to make an entrance. After a video introduction featuring an intense cover of “Highway to Hell,” the pop icon burst out from under the stage, flying high into the air with a feather dress billowing down below her as she started belting out “Bad Influence,” one of the more upbeat songs from her new album, “Funhouse,” for which the tour was named. And the fun continued from there, with most of her old and new chart-toppers making apperances, including old hits “Just Like a Pill” and “Don’t Let Me Get Me,” and some of her newer singles, such as “Who Knew” and “Please Don’t Leave Me.” “Leave Me Alone (I’m Lonely)” saw P!nk frolicking across
[caption id="attachment_2779" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Even without the flare, P!nk commanded the stage with powerful vocal performances."][/caption]
the stage and bouncing around on a heart-shaped pillow, and during “So What,” a pillow fight erupted onstage between the scantily-clad dancers. Those who saw her performance of “Sober” at the MTV Video Music Awards were delighted to see a repeat performance, this time with one of the dancers flying through the air as she belted out the chorus below. And large, terrifying blow-up clowns towered ominously over the singer as she led the crowd in a hysterical cover of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
But the high points of the concert weren’t the stunts, the dancing, or the stagecraft. No, the best parts of the show were the ballads, the low-key numbers that were stripped of all the enthusiasm and all the spectacle. Performances like “I Don’t Believe You,” “Family Portrait,” and an acoustic version of “Trouble” had the audience enraptured; without the flare and the fluff, we were given a real treat: seeing P!nk in her element, commandeering the stage not with high dives and twirls, but with vibrato and emotion. When she wasn’t soaring, her vocals were, and those in attendance were ecstatic to find that a singer who sounds so good in the studio, sounds even better in the concert hall.
[caption id="attachment_2781" align="alignleft" width="225" caption="P!nk floats along during a dazzling performance of "Glitter in the Air""][/caption]
The encore, a stunning rendition of “Glitter in the Air,” perfectly demonstrated this marriage of voice with visual enhancements, as P!nk drifted gracefully through the air under a human cradle as she belted out one of her most beautiful new songs. At one point, she was dipped into a pool below the stage and came back up bathed in water and glitter to cheers of wonderment and awe from the amazed crowd. As the song finished, the cradle gently glided towards the back of the stage as the words “The End” faded in on the backdrop, written in glitter. A concert that opened with a bang closed with a sparkle.
P!nk knows how to put on a good show. The theatrics are there, but only to enhance the music; and, even better, sometimes she allows the music to speak for itself, which is when her true talent is put on display. P!nk represents something that these days is missing from the pop music scene: a potent combination of vocal ability and showmanship. Britney entertains and Lady Gaga shocks, but an evening with P!nk is an evening you won’t soon forget.
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