She came, she sang, she flew.
Pink, who now stylizes her name as P!nk, seemingly adopting Ke$ha’s keenness for punctuation, earned her exclamation point Wednesday night when she brought her dazzling “Truth About Love” tour to the Value City Arena at the Schottenstein Center.
The show kicked off with a bang as the 33-year-old singer, born Alecia Moore, burst high above the stage, strapped to a bungee cord and hoisted by three male dancers. Wearing skin-tight leather pants, she somersaulted through the air while belting her anthem of a hit, “Raise Your Glass.”
Abs and acrobatics were on full display during the two-hour set, which resembled an erotic circus, as Pink and her talented crew of dancers kept the energy-and the raunchiness-at peak height.
But for all the evening’s special effects and stunts, Pink still managed to reveal a more ordinary side of herself in between songs, sharing anecdotes about her daughter and husband, her job in a fast food restaurant and an outing to Home Depot. It seemed uncharacteristic yet genuine of the superstar, and a clear sign that she may not be the wild, rebellious party girl she once was.
However, that didn’t stop Pink from plowing through her 13-year catalog of tell-off, girl-powered anthems. Older singles “Just Like a Pill,” “Trouble,” “You Make Me Sick” and “There You Go” were clearly crowd favorites, as were more recent Top 40 hits like “U & Ur Hand,” “Blow Me (One Last Kiss)” and “Try.” The latter number found Pink entangled in a fierce contemporary dance sequence with a male dancer, similar to her gritty performance at last year’s American Music Awards.
Emotional ballads “Just Give Me a Reason,” “Family Portrait” and a beautiful acoustic version of “Who Knew” showcased Pink’s impressive vocal chops, which surprisingly never faltered, despite the intense physical choreography.
The show’s only downturn was its off-putting sequencing on the large screen, which was framed by a cheesy game show and anchored by an eccentric, frizzy-haired MC who was much more annoying than entertaining.
Opening the show with infectious energy was The Hives, a quintet of Swedish rockers who donned tuxedos and top hats. Frontman Pelle Almqvist behaved like an erratic Tinkerbell who survives on applause, wandering into the crowd and thrusting like Mick Jagger as he drank audience members’ beers.
After delivering 21 songs met with enthusiastic approval from the crowd, Pink must have been exhausted, but she rallied for an encore that included “So What” and “Glitter in the Air.” The evening literally ended on a high note, as she soared across the arena on her trusty bungee cord, smiling and waving down to her roaring fans.
