Live Review: Katy Perry

She came, she roared, but Katy Perry didn’t quite conquer her first Sydney show on her Prismatic World Tour.

Starting off with a bang with her hit, Roar, the crowd was privy to a display of erratic flashing lights and booming sound, with Perry substituting the song’s original jungle theme for a fluorescent take on possibly the Greco-Roman period, complete with flashing gladiator dancers.

It was noticeable in a few songs, including Roar, that Perry had a little difficulty reaching some of the tougher notes, and that the backing track occasionally took centre stage on the vocal front. This said, she was dancing around the stage, getting thrown from dancer to dancer and at times being flung across the arena on high-wires. However, more balance between her choreography and singing would go a long way. By The Grace Of God, a slower ballad-style tune that Perry stopped to sing to the audience was by far one of the most impressive songs of the night, exposing her raw talent as a singer.

The show as a whole was a little jarring in that it felt like it was made up of a series of different acts, each with a very distinctive style. There was a throwback to ancient Egypt for Dark Horse, a ‘90s disco party theme, a dandelion-inspired feature and even a jazzed-down version of Hot And Cold performed by cats on giant scratching poles. Entertaining as it was, it left a lot of the audience wondering if their drinks had accidently been spiked with something.

Despite the above, the show was entertaining and certainly brought all the bells and whistles. Perry chatted enthusiastically with the crowd (sometimes maybe too much – there was a lot of yelling into her mic) and made it a night to remember for a lot of her younger fans. Maybe a little too much crammed into one show, but it certainly was spectacular.