Tickled Pink

We had a rare evening out last night - with Zac being looked after by his grandparents - going to see Pink at the O2. (No thanks to London Underground for closing the Jubilee Line, forcing us to get there by boat.)

I've always liked Pink without ever being a huge follower - Heather's the fan - but I have to say she was awesome. Whether it's belting out the big anthems like 'So What' or the more introspective moments of something like 'Family Portrait', her voice is always pitch perfect, switching effortlessly between growling snarl to intimate vulnerability.

Pink in 'not scowling' shocker

And the setlist she performed showed off every facet of her repertoire. The opening half of the set was pumped out one after the other at breakneck speed before a gentler, acoustic third quarter gave everyone a chance to catch their breath. To be honest, I wasn't entirely convinced by a closing run which included covers of 'Bohemian Rhapsody' and Gnarl Barkley's 'Crazy' - no major artist with five albums under her belt should need so many covers (four in all), and no one, no matter how good, should ever need to resort to Bo Rap, period. However, no one else in the crowd seemed overly bothered, so who am I to argue?

The highlight of the show, though, had to be the acrobatics - a trademark of Pink's live shows, I'm told - incorporated into three of the closing songs: 'Sober' (see photo below) had her performing somersaults from a trapeze while belting out the chorus, and the two-part encore of 'Get The Party Started' and 'Glitter In The Air' featured some nifty aerial work while suspended from a bungee rope. How anyone can even think - let alone sing in tune - while performing somersaults, spins and all manner of other moves, is beyond me. Mighty impressive, though.

Just hanging around ...

All in all, a great show, both as a singer and as a performer. Acrobatics aside, a Pink gig is great theatre, and she really seems to connect with the audience. (I was pleased to notice that I was neither the only male nor the only over-30 in the crowd.) I'd definitely go and see her again.