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“Man, I can’t wait to see the aerial stunts at Pink’s concert.”
That thought went through my head in the days leading up the pop star’s concert Wednesday night at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. I had heard and read about her outsized theatrics, which often includes suspending herself above the crowd while still singing.
Luckily, she delivered on that front and then some, even while much of the 110-minute concert dialed back the theatrics and placed the focus on her powerful alto and a hooky songbook filled with empowering anthems.
It was all in pursuit of one goal, as she told the audience early on: “We’re going to sweat and be happy together.”
Appearing in Cleveland as part of a tour supporting this year’s Trustfall, Pink (real name Alecia Moore) began the show connected to bungee cords, falling from the arena’s rafters as her band busted into “Get the Party Started.” As the song neared its end, she again went airborne, flipping over multiple times.
It was one of several theatrical stunts she and her crack team of dancers performed throughout the night, including a sort-of aerial ballet with a male dancer (while still singing) during “Turbulence” and dancers performing graceful tricks on trampolines in the background as Pink sang and danced to the new album’s title track. The acrobatics were a joy to witness, as were the choreographed moves the singer performed with both feet on the ground.
But so were the (sometimes slightly) more-toned down sections, which showed that Pink, whose charm shone through during seemingly spontaneous between-song interactions with members of the crowd, has a lot more to offer than stunts. After all, she now has a songbook of pop hits that spans more than two decades.
During Wednesday’s show, Pink showed off her pipes with “Just Like a Pill,” “What About Us” and numerous other tunes. She also showed that a stripped-down sound suits her with songs like “I Am Here” and “Don’t Let Me Get Me,” complete with the lyric about music industry mogul L.A. Reid on the same day a woman accused him of sexual assault in a federal lawsuit.
As the concert wound down, Pink emerged wearing a harness and was soon strapped in to soar over the audience as she sang “So What.”
As she ascended to the arena’s upper deck, cannons shot off confetti, turning the song into a four-minute party. It was a predictable but still thrilling way to end a show: exceeding the high expectations she set for herself.
Opening band Grouplove played a 45-minute set of bland 1980s-inspired synth rock and pop that screamed “cellphone commercial” (it was only after I had this thought that I discovered that the band’s song “Tongue Tied” was in an Apple ad for the iPod Touch in 2011). The band gave it its all for a semi-attentive crowd but its songs were indistinguishable from the myriad artists who use the same sounds.
Setlist
1. Get the Party Started
2. Raise Your Glass
3. Who Knew
4. Just Like a Pill
5. Try
6. What About Us
7. Turbulence
8. Circle Game (Snippet)
9. Make You Feel My Love (Bob Dylan cover)
10. Our Song
11. Just Give Me a Reason
12. Fuckin’ Perfect
13. Just Like Fire/Heartbreaker (Pat Benatar cover)
14. Please Don't Leave Me
15. Cover Me in Sunshine (with Willow Sage Hart)
16. Don’t Let Me Get Me
17. When I Get There
18. I Am Here
19. Trustfall
20. Blow Me (One Last Kiss)
21. Never Gonna Not Dance Again
22. So What
Eric Heisig is a freelance writer in Cleveland. He can be reached at [email protected].
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