INSIDE PINK’S CARNIVAL
Despite the theatrics, there’s only one true star of this circus
“Close your eyes and leave it all behind. Scream, cry – let’s get this party started.”
And with that Pink’s muchanticipated, all-but sold out Gold Coast show at Carrara’s Heritage Bank Stadium kicked into gear.
Pink’s first stadium-sized tour of Australia is appropriately called the Summer Carnival – it’s part concert, part feelgood musical, and part dizzying circus complete with Pink swinging about impressively through the air high above the audience like a trapeze act. Her set is bathed in fluorescent colours and comes with a high-energy team of on stage singers, dancers and musicians.
It looked like Movie World crossed with the Wiggles and a magic mushroom trip.
A giant mouth gave off Rolling Stone vibes, there were pink flamingoes, disco balls, bouncy balls. And “candy”. Cherry Ripes were tossed out into the crowd. Dairy Milk and something she referred to as “whatever that is” after being gifted them, including a repeat of the Tim Tam gifting she received at other Aussie shows earlier in the tour.
But despite all the theatrics and talent from her world-class band, Pink – real name Alecia Beth Moore, a 44-year-old mother of two – dominates.
“How the hell is everybody?” she yells. “I’m not even going to dumb it down by saying I’m stoked.
“I’m as happy as I have ever been. Thank you … Thank you for having me in paradise,” she said, no doubt referencing her beachfront stay at the Langham on the Gold Coast throughout the Queensland stretch of her tour.
She bounded her way through the opening four songs before advising: “Everyone hydrate. I will mom the s--t out of you for a moment: have beer and water. That’s my PSA,” before launching into Try. It had already followed Get the Party Started, Raise Your Glass, Who Knew and Just Like a Pill.
Each song is a banger. You’ve heard them all plenty of times. The first half a dozen numbers was like a wander back through the top 40 on rotation on your favourite commercial radio station.
What’s so impressive about Pink isn’t just the theatrics and non-stop high energy. Her voice is as strong as ever.
The first six songs went back to back with virtually no breaks.
She did love a chat and banter in-between numbers, at one point playfully noting: “This is the moment where even I would tell myself to shut up and sing.”
She played a stirring version of Bob Dylan’s Make You Feel My Love which she confessed to falling in love with after hearing Adele cover it.
An epic cover of Pat Benatar’s Heartbreaker was among the highlights of the show.
She went off stage briefly before returning in bright green and pink. Pink shared a tender moment with daughter Willow, singing Cover Me in Sunshine together.
You could see how much she was genuinely loving her daughter’s performance before remarking: “She’s such a bad arse, I love her so much. She also gets the loudest cheers of the night – I’m OK with that.”
Four Non Blondes’ What’s Going On? followed before another costume change into a style that was like punk-infused Sonia Straddiotto.
She finished with So What tumbling at speed high above the crowd in flight via high wires in an impressive aerial stunt that is among her signatures.
It might have taken people a bit longer to get out there thanks to the tram strike. But going by the roars of approval from the 40,000-plus packed into Heritage Bank Stadium, it was worth the extra effort.