By Erica Brown
“I’m sorry if I goof around and say crazy things, that’s just who I am.” – Katy Perry
The minute the candy pink curtains opened an energetic Katy dove right in with chart-topper “Teenage Dream”performed on a stage laced with gumdrop banisters, lollipop trees, cotton candy cloud screens, and a pepper-mint drum kit.
Wearing a mint green and white dress, Perry was not to be missed amongst all the staging, jumping up and down, dancing, and addressing both sides of the stage to get her fans pumped.
The fans enthusiastically sang the lyrics back to her and a bond between audience and performer was instantly established.
The theme and back story to this concert came formed a magical tale told though her songs throughout the concert.
The story tells of a girl named Katy employed by a very mean butcher who makes her chop meat every single day relentlessly. Trapped in this drudgery, one day when Katy goes to buy a cupcake from the local bakery, she runs into the baker’s boy with whom she quickly falls head over heels for.
Katy later confesses to her cat, Kitty Purry (of course), that she wishes she could escape her life and end up somewhere magical like candy land. Her wish comes true, her quest to find Kitty Purry and the baker’s boy begins in a candy coated Alice in Wonderland theme.
Personally, I liked how she would connect her songs to the story, allowing candy land to come to life within the context of the set list.
Especially noteworthy, Katy's first encounter with two cheeky mimes that appear on the large cotton candy screens above the stage before joining her on stage.
Dressed in an extravagant purple gown, Katy makes use of the entire stage singing her hit “Ur So Gay” as the mimes follow and mock her. Katy runs from the mimes, but they then bring her a giant brownie which she eats, declaring it to have an “interesting” taste. A very Alice-like moment indeed.
The mimes also return in her song “Peacock”.
Now dressed in a sparkly blue corset with a giant peacock tail, the singer dances her way through strobe lights along-side back up dancers surrounding her in giant peacock feathers. She belts this song out with great energy and even “gets low” at one point in the number showing some good dance moves.
The mimes end up floating over top of the star in harnesses while doing acrobatics above. These constant Cirque-like moments blew me away, and continued in numbers such as “Waking Up in Vegas”, and “Pearl”.
However, after a point I felt that the star of the show, as much as she out-did herself on the theatrical side, could have focussed more on her singing.
Katy has a good strong voice with plenty of range, and, while the theme was amazing, I found myself wishing for less distraction, more Katy. As such it was a relief when Katy took a break from the theatrics to move into her older hits such as “Thinking of You”, and “I Kissed a Girl”.
Perry has an absolutely beautiful, and I mean beautiful, voice and really knows how to use it to good effect.
In her song “I Kissed a Girl”, she enters to sultry music in a long flowing mint green gown and the emphasis shifts to showcasing her singing dexterity and the song structure. Katy’s vocal fireworks showed well in this number as she hits one of the highest soprano notes I’ve ever heard, before speeding up the tempo to allowing a fantastically sensual modern dance piece by two female dancers dressed in metallic gold to complete the theme of the song.
The number “Who Am I Living For?” was also very raw, emotional and ballad like.
Calming the crowd down on the heels of chart-topper “E.T”, the star stalked the stage alone and vulnerable, opening up to the audience, as four back up dancers pulled her in opposite directions with translucent ribbons as if to represent the deeper meaning behind the song.
This song was a personal favourite on the night because not only was she letting her fans in, but it’s also it was the perfect match for her voice type.
Another highlight of the evening was how she included her back-up dancers, singers, band, and crew in almost everything.
Her report with them seemed really honest and down to earth. She even introduced the single members amongst her back-up dancers in hopes of them finding them 'a Toronto hottie', and allowed them their own numbers in which both the singers and dancers alike, dressed in glitter and bright wigs, sang covers of the songs “I Want Candy” and Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody”.
These performances, the way she included everyone from her crew - even the earth-bound extra terrestrial, and a very purry, energetic “Kitty Purry” - made me believe that this star is definitely humble, and down to earth.
Ending the night with a bang, Katy closed the show with mega-hits “Firework” and “California Gurls” where she did a transition from white candy body suit to metallic silver bikini.
In the song “Firework” under heavy blue lighting, she declares everyone to have a spark inside them and this was echoed in the empowering thrall of thousands of audience voices singing in unison with her. You could instantly feel the energy in the air, the crowd bonding with Katy as people came together as the song climaxed with a live fireworks show.
Just when it looks as if she’s ended a fantastic show with a bang, Katy returns to top this emotional high one last time with the song “California Gurls”.
It’s here that she really gets to show her playful side as she joins a chorus of dancing gingerbread men and glittery candy dancers, while throwing beach balls over the audience with a massive grin on her face in a shower of confetti sprinkling down.
And here Katy finally gets to use her surprise weapon; a candy cane stripped whipped cream gun. She proceeds to shoot it over the audience while saying her thank-yous on either side of the stage to a crowd locked in an ultimate candy land beach party.
So, after many vibrant and glittery costume changes; including more than five on stage in the song “Hot N Cold” alone, circus performers, mimes, magicians, and acrobats running wild, crowd sing-alongs, flowery swings, fan pictures on the monitors, good opening performances, skilled dancers, a tight band backstopping the concert all night long, amazing pitch perfect backup singers, candy thrown everywhere, over-the-top firework shows, cotton candy clouds, and an adventurous fun plot that makes everyone want to know what happens next ..... Katy’s candy land adventure in Toronto came to an end.
Most certainly a show to keep on your must see list.
Set List:
- Teenage Dream
- Hummingbird Heartbeat
- Ur So Gay
- Peacock
- I Kissed A Girl
- Circle The Drain
- E.T
- Who Am I Living For?
- Pearl
- Not Like The Movies
- Sing Along Game (Not an actual song.)
- Thinking Of You
- I Want Candy/Milkshake (Cover)
- Hot N Cold
- Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F)
- I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Cover)
- Firework
- California Gurls
Photo: Scott Chalmers
Copyright Torontowide.com. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright Torontowide.com. All Rights Reserved.
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