Pink“I'm excited,” announces 12-year-old niece en route to her first concert. She's pre-purchased Pink merch and pulls her studded denim jacket open to reveal a t-shirt emblazoned with the BLOW ME (one last kiss) logo. The LED lighting system covering AAMI Park's roof is lit up only in pink tonight and Rod Laver Arena also boasts a tickled-pink façade.
Handpicked by Pink, support band The Kin wander out via a curved catwalk that stretches from stage right of the main stage around to a heart-shaped mini-stage set up amongst the crowd. Adelaide brothers Isaac and Thorald Koren are perfectly styled and alternate vocal duties, all of which are delivered with much affectation. The drummer uses no sticks, but his fingers are all taped up suggesting maybe he oughta. There are also three rows of egg shakers strung around one ankle. He's later introduced as Shakerleg, much to our delight. And the innovation doesn't stop there, with the former New York subway busker timekeeping by bashing on a guitar case and also scraping a set of keys along it. A didge intro wins the crowd over. The title track from the trio's Get On It EP has shades of Maroon 5 and we're all invited to meet the band at Door 17 at the conclusion of Pink's set. Even if only a small percentage of the audience purchases The Kin's EP at each one of Pink's Australian shows they're revving up (LA's Youngblood Hawke have also snagged some support slots), they'll do alright.
Classy nanna-at-the-disco music, including Chic's Good Times, blares out of the venue sound system during changeover and tonight's demographic is surprisingly more mother (or auntie) than daughter. A spotlighted, crazy-clown character targets audience members throughout the arena to help kill time. As soon as his image appears on the giant screens it's clearly showtime. Roving cameras zoom in on crowd members and the aforementioned clown declares a volunteer is needed. Quelle surprise! Tonight's main attraction pops up on the screens, pictured seated among the crowd, and plays reluctant volunteer as we all swan-neck to determine her exact location. Then, just moments later, Pink explodes through a trapdoor in the stage attached to bungy ropes before she's caught by three ripped male dancers way up near the fly system grid. Raise Your Glass makes a jubilant opener and you could see the muscle definition in Pink's bare midriff from the cheap seats. As soon as her feet reach the ground, Pink is very generous with the amount of flesh she presses as she rolls across the stage, eye level with her fans and grabbing outstretched hands. She even makes “bad dancing” look good!
When clown dude returns to intro the fetish segment, heart palpitations commence upon the realisation that 12-year-old niece has her camera phone poised, recording: “Love is all about nipple clamps…”/”The smell of crotch…” – a phone call from my sis tomorrow is a given, then. The choreography during Try draws gasps. At one point Pink counterbalances, supporting a very muscly male dancer's full body weight in a pose previously seen during Cirque du Soleil shows. She doesn't have beautifully pointed feet, but that's nitpicking.
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On the first time she played How Come You're Not Here for her husband Carey Hart, Pink admits with a grin, “I've never seen a man more uncomfortable,” before admitting it's a personal favourite. She challenges herself to do something scary every tour, and for these shows Pink has learned how to play The Great Escape on piano (although she points out Jason Chapman is seated on his piano stool, ready to take over in the event of a major stuff-up). She hits a clanger, reacts immediately, “Ah, shit!” and then pauses. After managing to pick up where she left off and completing the song, Pink's display of humanity further endears her to us.
Claiming she used to get gifts from fans such as bras and “a warm block of cheese”, Pink gets loads of stuff for Willow these days. After gratefully receiving a customised pair of Paul Frank PJs with her daughter's name embroidered on the top, Pink jokes, “I think judging by the size of this I can wait 'til Christmas and totally take credit for these.” She better start preparing a speech to get out of that hefty excess baggage charge on her way out of our country, if the offerings she collects tonight are anything to go by. Pink proves she can 'just sing' during an acoustic set, accompanied by guitarist Justin Derrico, on the heart-shaped mini-stage. Her version of Cyndi Lauper's Time After Time accentuates the song's moving lyrical content and gives us a second to reflect: “Hey, Miley Cyrus totally stole Pink's 'do!” Pink's fans truly are fanatical and there are many requests to sign arms. A front row punter has apparently been here since 10am yesterday!
A visual montage from the '90s precedes Pink's first single There You Go, which still exudes edgy sassiness and morphs into You Make Me Sick (what's with that “Got me lit like a candlestick” line?). “Who in here's a dirty, filthy slut?” Tense aunty moment number two. Happy to report 12-year-old niece didn't raise her hand. Does Slut Like You credit the riffage from Blur's Song 2 and/or Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit in the liner notes?
By far the evening's biggest wow moments see Pink flying in a harness while somersaulting, spinning above our heads and utilising the arena's full circumference. She pauses on towering podiums at the rear of the stadium to sing So What's verses and Pink's aerial circus skills perfectly drum home her fearless persona. As we file out of the venue listening to All You Need Is Love by The Beatles, there's a sense of empowerment. And during the drive home 12-year-old niece reveals her plans to become a Formula One driver.
