I admit that after hearing about Katy Perry’s past live shows, I didn’t expect a groundbreaking performance.
When the set changed to inflatable strawberries, plastic flamingos and
pink hearts, the mood changed entirely. Perry came out with good
energy, clad in a silver sparkly bustier and pink tutu reminiscent of
the flamingos she was gallivanting around with. The microphone was not
on in the beginning, but it was not nearly the
Ashlee-Simpson-on-“Saturday Night Live” moment it could have been.
The unanimous scream of the 12-year-olds in the audience was almost
eardrum-shattering as Perry sang “Hot and Cold” notably on key. Perry’s
diction was not such that many words could be identified, but this was
not a problem since everyone seemed to know the lyrics anyway. The
crowd was loving every moment.
But soon, things went awry. During
“Mannequin,” Perry performed with an acoustic guitar, and the high
notes were ““ for lack of a better word ““ painful. A fan handed her a
cardboard banana, which was almost as inappropriate for her teenage
audience as Perry dancing on the guitarist while bent all the way over.
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As
evidenced by her vocals, Perry grew more and more tired as the show
progressed, and she made little use of the stage. By the time Perry got
around to “Waking Up in Vegas,” and “I Kissed a Girl,” the show had
simply dragged on for too long.
When she started talking about her cat Kitty Purry’s haircut, it all grew to be too much for me.
I really wanted to enjoy Perry’s quirky vibe. I wanted to identify with “Lost,” a song about moving to Los Angeles, but couldn’t make out a word she was singing. I wanted to be like the loyal adolescent fans, most of whom never stopped jumping.
In the end, however, I think I shared the same opinion as the clearly sober girl who was taking a break to nap and text on the floor. The performance had good gimmicks and a pretty good stage presence, but generally lacked entertainment value.
E-mail Krivoruchko at mkryvaruchka@media.ucla.edu.