Two nights at the National stadium in Glasgow and the promise of a summer carnival is what brought almost 100,000 people to the Glasgow’s Southside for a cornucopia of delights… or something like that.
P!nk was in town and that always means fun; fun dressed up in pink hats and feathered boas; fun dressed sequins with a side dish of unbridled joy for her many fans.
Alecia Beth Moore, a.k.a. P!nk, brought her mammoth tour to the dear green place that is Glasgow and Glasgow knows how to party like few other places… this promised to be mega!
On the approach to Hampden Stadium you are met by a sea of pink… pink cowboy hats, pink dresses, pink, pink, pink everywhere. The party, evidently, had already started and there were 3 hours before the main lady took to the stage!
The late June Scottish weather appeared to be playing ball and with the crowd suitably warmed up GAYLE, The Script and DJ KidCutUp the countdown was on for the arrival of the mega star everyone was here to see.
That moment was tantalizingly close as the huge screens flickered into life on either side of the stage and a CGI P!nk appeared as a modern day Max Headroom. Max P!nk addressed the crowd on many things before insisting they (the crowd) scream… they screamed and then they screamed some more! The finale of the Summer Carnival was about to blast off.
Max Headroom was a cult figure for the youth of the mid 1980’s. A computer generated TV presenter who used pitch shifting and arrogant wit to commentate on the issues of the day… look him up on YouTube.
P!nk made her entrance at this point and, with it being P!nk, it was obviously a dramatic entrance. She emerged from a massive red lipped mouth at the top of the high stage before plummeting towards the stage floor… thankfully for the almost 50,000 people present (and her insurance company) she was attached to a bungee cord whilst declaring the party started.
“Get the Party Started” (with snippets of Eurythmics Sweet Dreams factored in) brought bungee, pyrotechnics and glitter canons along with the famous Hampden roar. Miss Moore showcased her incredible ability to sing whilst being catapulted to and from, up and down on her bungee cord. Although this has been a part of her show for a while it still never fails to impress.
The night was full of promised Carnival acts such as illuminated motorized swans being driven around the stage, Aerobatics, interpretive dance, Beach balls, people dancing in suspended metal cages, trampolines, giant walking red lips and so much more!
The hits kept coming all night and working the fans into a frenzy; regular close up shots of fans appeared on the huge screens with delighted and sometimes tearful faces appearing . Tears of joy for being in the presence of their hero and being part of something special with friends and loved ones.
She blasted “Who Knew” and “Just Like a Pill” early in the set before a amazing dance version of “What About Us” … she’s only 5 songs into the set!!
A short interlude before Act two saw P!nk disappear for a costume change while one of her dancers took to the walkway into the crowd and performed an interpretive dance in time to a heartbeat…it was pretty spectacular to watch.
P!nk reappeared to symbolically soothe the dancer as the rhythmic heartbeat was calmed… all was well.
P!nk displayed more of her incredible Aerial stunt work to “Turbulence” as she spun and swept across the stage and walkway. It was dangerous looking as it was elegant.
Next up was a slowed and broken down part of the show where P!nk played piano to her version of the Bob Dylan song “Make Me Feel Your Love”. Sometimes these kind of breakdowns don’t work but this was excellent and well judged by P!nk and her team.
More hits and absolute perfection followed from here with too many moments to mention; genuinely too many magnificent pieces of musical art to put in one review. It was that good.
To give an example of one or two was when she performed “What’s Up?” a 1993 hit from 4 Non Blondes. The crowd went into over drive at this point with the very catchy and hugely singable chorus… one of the best and loudest moments of the night.
Special moments for those working hard on stage came during “Blow Me (One Last Kiss)” and “Never Gonna Not Dance Again” when P!nk introduced her band members and dancers to the audience. There was a genuine love from her to the cast as they were all given a time for a brief show case of their talents with solo riffs and moves.
The final act of the night was played out “So What” and placed P!nk in a harness and zip lines as she took to the sky above the stage and above the fans. P!nk resembled some sort of guardian angel as she swooped through the darkness whilst bathed in a bright spotlight. Every so often she would come to sudden stop and opened her arms in a crucifixion pose; the spotlight shone as if from Heaven to make her appear like some sort of saviour of, or messenger to, her fans… on these two night(s) at Hampden that is exactly what she was. Her musical message brought her flock together to watch and listen to the word… the word of P!nk.
As Goddess P!nk left the pulpit of Hampden her disciples spread forth in to the dark of Glasgow’s Southside and beyond in the knowledge that they had witnessed the latest chapter and verse of the book of P!nk.
In a fantastic piece of star / fan interaction, P!nk stopped the show for around five minutes to talk to some fans at the barrier around the walkway. She had spotted a Norwegian(?) fan who had a sign mentioning a *hawk. She then proceeded to talk with the fan whilst signing items thrown onto stage. It was an incredible gesture by the star.
*P!nk then told the fans about the significance of the hawk. In short, just before her father died he had told her of his wish to come back as a bird. Shortly after the funeral of her father she unexpectedly saw a hawk within her house and immediately thought it was her dad.
The hawk came back the following day and dropped a dead squirrel on the windscreen of her husbands car… that’s when she KNEW it was her dad reincarnated!
Such an engaging and funny woman with, it would appear, a heart of gold and a mega star into the bargain… this was more of a show than what would normally be termed as a gig. Scotland has been really fortunate this month with huge musical stars visiting our country; P!nk seems like the perfect act to see out the month.
Thank you miss Moore……
Review & Photo by John Brown
