REVIEW: PINK @ Sydney Entertainment Centre
After the death-defying acrobatics of the last Pink concert, this reviewer wondered where on earth the gymnastic princess of pop-rock could go next. Surely after exhausting seemingly every aerial possibility, it was time for Pink to come back down to earth?
Not so. At many points in last night’s Sydney Entertainment Centre performance, Pink had more in common with the members of Cirque du Soleil than with pop peers like Britney, Katy and Rihanna.
Exploding from underneath the stage on a bungee harness that shot her high up towards the arena’s roof (and into the capable hands of her implausibly burly back-up dancers), Pink performed the whole of opening song Raise Your Glass while bouncing up and down like a yoyo, to dizzying effect.
The aerial feat was repeated several times during the show, but what really dazzled was the level of inventiveness on display: Pink performed Sober from inside a metal globe hoisted high above the stage, its myriad moving parts spinning in both directions as dancers hung on for dear life. And on undeniably fantastic closer So What, she achieved the seemingly impossible – four wires coming from different corners of the arena were attached to a metal ring around her stomach, meaning that she could be maneuvered through the air to just about any corner of the giant space. Loyal fans in the nosebleed section suddenly found their idol flying just a few metres above their heads.
Sure, Pink’s strong, gravelly voice occasionally got lost amidst all the bluster and high-wire acrobatics – she often left her capable backing singers to tackle lines while she caught her breath. It was during the ballads, then, and the mid-song acoustic section, that she really got the chance to connect with the crowd.
Pink took to the piano to perform one highlight from The Truth About Love, stirring anti-suicide ballad The Great Escape. It’s a heartbreaking song, but she punctuated the mood with self-deprecating cracks about her mediocre piano playing. An acoustic cover of Cyndi Lauper’s Time After Time might have seemed old hat, but as Pink herself said, it’s one of the best songs ever written and she’s quite rightly ‘obsessed with it’.
Six albums deep and with seemingly endless Australian tours every other year (46 shows at last count during this visit), Pink’s managed to create another spectacular show that more than justifies this country’s love affair with her.
INFO: Pink’s The Truth About Love tour plays across Australia until September 8. Tickets through www.livenation.com.au
