As the final Friday night of Stampede brought Sugarland to Calgary, the next
night, July 17th, brought Candyland. Katy Perry's candy-infused music
spectacular arrived to a sold out crowd that snatched up tickets within hours
of them going on sale.
The evening kicked off with Janelle Monae under a spotlight, covering Smile.
Her brief R&B soul set was a nice contrast to Perry. A dynamo on stage
backed up with an energetic band, Monae stunned with a Jackson 5 cover I Want
You Back along with songs from her 2010 debut The ArchAndroid (Suites II
and III). I would have much rather seen a longer set from Monae than the
questionable decision to have DJ Skeet Skeet spin for 45 minutes. It was
brutal, and dull, and made for a long wait as the audience anxiously
awaied Perry.
When she finally did come out at 9:00, it was on video. The theme for the concert depicted that Perry lived in a drab black and white world working for a mean butcher
(Will Sasso). She follows her cat Kitty Purry through a door into a colourful
world of candy. After the video entry, Perry appeared at the top of the stage
and went right into Teenage Dream and Hummingbird Heartbeat off
of her current album Teenage Dream. After Waking up in Vegas and Ur
So Gay it was back to more current tracks.
What made Perry stand out is the lack of blatant sexuality. Sure there are
adult themes, including an f-bomb in Circle The Drain, a song about
dealing with addiction, and songs about drinking gin and partying, and at one
point she took a bite out of a "special brownie." But her talented
background dancers remained clothed, there was no grinding or sexual
themes. Even the song Peacock which is quite obviously about the latter
part of the word, she actually made about peacocks and wore a giant set of
tailfeathers. Nevertheless, it made for a fun show.
Another accolade to heap upon Perry...every single vocal was live. I'm not sure
what it says about the state of concerts these days that an artist has to be
praised for singing, but Perry sang every single note.
Continuing with the "covers" theme of the week, Perry did a karaoke
session featuring Rihanna's Only Girl In The World, Jay-z's Big
Pimpin, Rebecca Black's Friday and Willow Smith's Whip My Hair.
Towards the end of the night she also covered Whitney Houston's I Wanna
Dance With Somebody bringing audience members on stage for a dance party,
including three who matched her blue wig and polka-dot outfit.
Perry made a point of being very friendly to the audience. At one point she
lamented "it's been a long tour, and I need some cowboy love." She
picked a young man from the audience named Taylor, but informed him if he came
on stage, his shirt remained in the audience. He complied, getting a kiss on
the cheek from Perry (and probably a few phone numbers that night from the
crowd) before she panicked. "They just told me my husband is here, he flew
in to surprise me. Run! Run now!"
Costume changes were many, from a skin-tight catwoman costume to elegant gowns.
During Hot n' Cold she literally changed outfits half a dozen times in
seconds behind curtains. After the empowering song Firework, Perry
returned to the stage for California Gurls, spraying the audience with
foam and water from giant cannons. As for the storyline, Katy did find Kitty,
and also the Baker's son who she had a crush on, so it all ended happily ever
after.
Perry has come a long way from playing the Warped Tour a few years ago,
something she commented on. "I never thought I would be able to sell out
an arena like this when I played there. You proved me wrong." The concert
was a spectacle in every sense of the word, and in a great way. No doubt fans
got their money's worth, and a lot of great memories from Last Saturday Night.
Setlist:
Teenage Dream
Hummingbird Heartbeat
Waking Up In Vegas
UR So Gay
Peacock
I Kissed A Girl
Circle The Drain
E.T.
Who Am I Living For
Pearl
Not Like The Movies
Only Girl In The World/Big Pimping/Friday/Whip My Hair
Thinking Of You
Hot n' Cold
Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)
I Wanna Dance WIth Somebody
Firework
Encore:
California Gurls