P!NK – SUMMER CARNIVAL TOUR – LIVE @ FENWAY PARK

By Joe Perusse

P!nk was a surprise addition to my summer concert schedule as my nephew bailed on my sister to see Beyonce and left her with an extra seat for the show. I have seen her before and she put on a good show so I was excited for the night. P!nk did not disappoint during the second of her 2 night stay at Boston’s historic Fenway Park.

A video montage introduction by a robotic P!nk led into “Get the Party Started” as fireworks rang out and P!nk dropped down from above the stage to a roaring crowd. 2 of her male dancers performed acrobatics during the song from glowing ring pops.”Raise Your Glass” followed with a beach scene and dancers giving it a Barbie movie vibe especially with all the pink outfits.

“Who Knew” had the crowd singing along so loudly that I could almost hear it better than P!nk. She mentioned to the crowd how thankful she was to be performing at Fenway, being an east coast girl which got a thunderous reaction. “Just Like a Pill” brought her out to the front stage for the first time of the night. Before “Try” she thanked a fan down front who has been following her for 20 years which made her cry. She was very personable and funny during her talks with the audience throughout the evening.

“What About Us” brought out fireworks again. This time both in the air and fountains all over the stage. After the first wardrobe change of the night came “Turbulence” and then a dress floated down from the sky for P!nk to slip into for her “guess what P!nk song” was playing on piano. She guessed wrong, told the crowd she is horrible at the game and gave the Twizzlers she would have won to a member of the audience. The crowd agreed with her statement that Twizzlers are better than red vines.

She then took over the piano for “Make You Feel My Love” by Bob Dylan saying she wished she wrote the song. ”Just Give Me a Reason” featured a huge video of Nate Ruess singing his parts. The crowd was really fired up singing “Fuckin’ Perfect”. The pyro was out for “Just Like Fire” which included elements of “Heartbreaker” by Pat Benatar which surprisingly neither Pat Benatar or Neil Giraldo came out to play on as they were one of the openers.

After another costume change P!nk encouraged the crowd to just change outfits a few times during the night next time they are at a party saying she does it all the time. Mentioning that it’s weird for her to sing a love song acoustically, she sang “Please Don’t Leave Me” next. “Cover Me in Sunshine”, “Kids in Love”,”When I Get There” and “I Am Here” followed.

Before “Irrelevant” she talked to the crowd about bullying and how it is never acceptable. “No Ordinary Love”, a Sade cover, followed another outfit. “Trustfall” featured dancers on trampolines which was very impressive. “Blow Me (One Last Kiss)” set off the confetti gun and included band introductions. “Never Gonna Not Dance Again” featured dancer introductions. It was the first time I had seen the dancers get introduced, a nice touch. The finale of “So What” sent the crowd off on a high as P!nk soared around Fenway during her aerial stunt, hitting all sections of the venue.

KidCutUp led off the evening DJing and was entertaining with his pop and rock selections. Grouplove followed. My sister was trying to figure out what song she would know of theirs and it figures as soon as she went to the ladies room “Tongue Tied” was up. Always perfect timing when at a show. Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo finished off the opening lineup with a strong 10 song set highlighted by “We Belong”, “Hell is For Children”, “Love is a Battlefield” and closing with “Heartbreaker/ Ring of Fire”.

A fun night of music for this Yankee fan in Fenway and thanks to my sister, Claudine and brother in law, Billy, for the invite.

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