Pink’s “Beautiful Trauma” tour brought eye candy and pop hooks to Grand Rapids for a spectacle that was also about empowerment. Local Spins reviewer Tricia Woolfenden was blown away.
High-Flying Pop: Pink brought an over-the-top extravaganza to Grand Rapids on Sunday. (Photo/Anthony Norkus)
All her life and career, Pink has been criticized for being “too.”
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Too loud. Too outspoken. Too weird. Too masculine. Too strong.
Outspoken: Pink on stage Sunday night. (Photo/Anthony Norkus)
Too much.
The Grammy Award-winning artist’s “Beautiful Trauma” tour takes that notion of “too much,” stares it unblinkingly in the eye, shrugs and says “Yeah? You think that’s too much? Wait until you see this s***.”
Pyrotechnics. Aerial acrobatics. Glitter. Confetti. Sexy choreography. Ten back-up dancers. A full band. Costume change after costume change. An inflatable Eminem.
The singer’s Sunday night performance for a packed Van Andel Arena in downtown Grand Rapids spared no expense and pulled absolutely zero punches.
With nearly two decades under her belt, Pink — born Alecia Beth Moores — is a forerunner for today’s generation of outspoken, badass #MeToo women pop stars. She may have kicked the evening off with a light-hearted dance-floor anthem (2001’s “Get the Party Started”), but Pink’s nearly two-hour show wasn’t fluff.
Sure, it oozed with eye candy and poppy hooks, but Pink’s performance brimmed with a message of empowerment, social justice and the importance of owning your own strange self.
Action-Packed Spectacle: Pink’s “Beautiful Trauma” tour delivers an eye-popping show. (Photo/Anthony Norkus)
Not surprisingly, the 21-song set drew heavily from the album for which the tour is named; Pink’s seventh studio recording, released last October. The album is a commercial hit, with popular tracks like “What About Us,” “Beautiful Trauma” and “Revenge” (featuring Michigan’s own Eminem) connecting instantly with Sunday’s adoring crowd.
Woven throughout were plenty of tried-and-true hits (“Just Like a Pill,” “Raise Your Glass,” “Try,” “Just Give Me a Reason”) and several covers (No Doubt’s “Just a Girl” and Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit”). And she wasn’t lip syncing, in spite of all of the dancing and aerial gymnastics.
If pressed to choose a highlight from the kaleidoscopic funhouse that was Pink’s show, it’d be hard to deny the jaw-dropping wonder of first encore, “So What.” For her penultimate number, the seemingly-fearless singer strapped her head-to-toe-sequined body into an apparatus that zipped her up and around the arena, where she greeted upper bowl fans at eye level.
It was daring. It was crazy. It was too much.
It was perfect.
PHOTO GALLERY: Pink at Van Andel Arena
Photos by Anthony Norkus
Copyright 2018, Spins on Music LLC
