SHE WAS AWESOME, MAN! KATY PERRY WAS AWESOME!
by ToastyB on 2011-11-24Rogers Arena (formerly General Motors Place) - VancouverRating: 4 out of 5This was my first experience at a contemporary pop concert in a long time and I wasn’t expecting very much. I believed that most of the pop stars of today were manufactured to feed the masses, particularly the young female demographic who latch on more to style than substance. No doubt that group was well represented at Rogers Arena, wearing styles ranging from punk to glamourous to nerdy (e.g.: Kathy Beth Terry).
Katy Perry changed my view of that perception. True, her stage production was very elaborate, more like what you expect from Madonna or Cher with all the dancers, props and costume changes. But underneath all that pomp and circumstance is a highly talented musician/songwriter who has a commanding stage presence and knack for comedy. She knows how to connect with her audience, occasionally bringing up audience members to include in some of her skits (the one with a bare-chested young man from West Vancouver was particularly amusing).
Throughout her performance, one can tell that Katy works hard for her success. She was involved in every aspect of the show, right down to the opening video sequence and the cotton candy smell permeating throughout the arena. Much of the concert was set up to surprise the audience, as we are kept at the edge of our seats as to what she would do next. Probably the most intimate part of the concert was when she performed Thinking of You on a cloud-like platform suspended over the audience floor. It was a very unique way of bringing the stage right to the audience, who of course roared their appreciation.
As for the songs, the audience naturally saved their biggest applause for her hits: Teenage Dream, Hot n’ Cold, I Kissed a Girl, E.T., and Last Friday Night, with Firework and California Gurls eliciting the loudest reaction. Katy’s rendition of Firework was enough to, as the song goes, “leave them all in awe”. Clearly, it is her most inspiring work to date. However, no Katy Perry performance can be complete without mention of her songs which tend to have more emotional depth or introspection. Pearl, Thinking of You, Not Like the Movies, and Circle The Drain fall into this category, and she performs these songs with raw energy and emotion, as if they meant something to her personally. These songs tend to separate Katy the musician from Katy the performer.
My only regret about this concert is that I would have liked to hear Katy perform more of her older, introspective work instead of some of her filler sessions such as “Katy’s Karaoke”. During that session, I thought she was going to launch into her first ever record, Simple, just by listening to her playing the first few bars on her guitar. Instead, and much to my dismay, she launched into a cover of Rebecca Black’s Friday. Katy doesn’t really need to sing covers from other contemporary artists when she has a rich catalog of her own songs to draw from.
I would also like to see Katy rely more on her music to carry her show. Dancers and props are great for rounded entertainers such as Madonna, Lady Gaga or Beyonce, but Katy is not one which needs to have these things in her show, as she appears more comfortable playing her guitar than dancing. Nevertheless, Katy has shown that she is more than a performer with a hot body and a young following, and if she plays her cards right, she will be in this business for a very long time. I would definitely see her perform again.