Pink

The Funhouse definitely came to town last night – Pink and her cavalcade of dancers and acrobats, plus an amazing set, transformed the stage of the sold out Birmingham NIA into a huge, incredibly colourful and energetic circus come fair (complete with waltzer where the drummer sat, a slide, a massive walkway leading into the centre of the standing crowd and countless vibrant costumes).



I only just made it in time to see Pink blasting up through the stage clinging onto a trapeze with an amazing train of orange feathers that swirled as she started off the night with 'Bad Influence' from her latest album, imaginatively entitled 'Funhouse'.

The audience were enraptured from the start, and the 90% female crowd (with a huge smattering of lesbians swooning and throwing teddies and ooiinking pigs that Pink saved for her dog as she laid down to get up close and personal on the walkway) clapped, danced, and wolf-whistled the night away.

She ripped off costume number one to reveal a sassy red number for world famous 'Just Like A Pill' from her biggest selling album to date 'Missundazstood', and 'Who Knew', before running off to change into a revealing black lacy bra top and ¾ length trousers for rocky, full of attitude 'Ava Maria'.

A confusing part of the set, that involved Pink lying on a red sofa with hands suddenly appearing through the sofa and touching her body whilst she sang an unrecognised song soon followed. Luckily it didn't last long as it was somewhat trampy and off putting! I much preferred 'Please Don't Leave Me' and her latest ballsy hit 'So What' that totally rocked the venue as she punched her arms in the air and belted out the words in a black leather jacket. They also highlighted just how much the lyrics for songs from 'Funhouse' were influenced by her on / off relationship with her husband.



She only took time to draw breath when she donned a simple pair of ripped jeans and white vest top to kick back and sing 'Family Portrait' with just a pianist for accompaniment – one of the highlights of the night for me. She then seated herself on the walkway with backing singers and a guitarist for fantastic acoustic versions of 'I Don't Believe You', 'Crystal Ball' and evident audience favourite 'Trouble'. The power and mesmeric quality of her voice shone through during this part of the show.

It was almost as though the stripped down acoustic section of the set allowed her time to draw breath ready for stepping up the pace again. A somewhat rushed Led Zeppelin cover, with an astounding solo session from the lead guitarist, allowed her time to change into an odd, rather camp circus freak / sailor outfit for Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody', where huge inflatable clowns sprung into life at the back of the stage. Then it was a quick donning of a massive furry skirt (fake of course for Pink is a huge supporter of the charity PETA) for full of fun 'Funhouse' which is bound to be a big hit shortly. She cracked straight on with yet another cover – Gnarls Barkley's 'Crazy' that everyone at the NIA loved.

Whilst I stood waiting for the obvious encore (there was a video counting down the seconds before she sprung back on stage) I started to wonder why there were so many covers in this tour, rather than drawing on material from the five albums she has released in the last decade. The only conclusion that I had time to make was that she's a huge star wanting to party, and party she would, no matter whether she sang her own songs or not!

Then she blasted back on stage in a black and gold sequinned Madonna-like leotard, with 'Get the Party Started'. For half the song you saw Pink on a trapeze above the walkway, wowing everyone with her acrobatic moves and a bungee jump from the trapeze itself that saw the whole crowd gasp in awe!

But the best was definitely saved for last. As a circle of acrobats wound themselves expertly around swathes of red cloth way above stage, Pink entered in black cape. Glitter began to fall from the cloth of the acrobats as she sang 'Glitter In The Air' for the finale. As the cape was taken off to reveal a white and silver body costume (that covered little more than her lady parts) she joined the acrobats on her own (pink of course) swathe of cloth and sailed into the air. Somehow (I couldn't quite see) she managed to get fully submerged in a pool of water before emerging on the trapeze to utter the final few words of the song, dripping wet.



I have to say that the stunning ever changing costumes, amazing dancers and obvious athleticism of Pink made the night much more than a concert. It was much more than a showcase of Pink's amazing songs full of meaning lyrics and obvious attitude, and much more than her vocal prowess. It was a complete spectacle, a night of dazzling, eye popping entertainment that I will never forget.

No need to worry if you missed Pink in Birmingham though. Her shows sold out so quickly that she's coming back to the NIA right at the very end of October, so bag yourself some tickets and get ready to Get the Party Started!

FUTURE GIGS

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