Pop singer,
Pink, returned to Metro Detroit on Tuesday evening with opening support from Swedish
garage rock band, The Hives. This was the first time that Pink has performed in
Michigan since opening for Justin Timberlake in March of 2007. Pink’s “The
Truth About Love Tour” is a nonstop high-flying spectacular which exhibits the
gravity defying stunts that Pink has become known for. From the first song of
the show, “Raise Your Glass”, Pink was already flying in the air being
propelled by a reverse bungee system. She continued her set with “Just
Like A Pill”, “U + Ur Hand” and “Leave Me Alone (I’m Lonely)”, which she dedicated
to all the awful dancers in the audience. Pink’s daredevil self was back in the air
during the performance of her most recent hit, “Try”, performed while spinning
from a contraption holding her over the audience and followed by a
choreographed fight-dance routine back on the stage.
Pink slowed
things down with a stripped down and sultry cover of Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game”
and her duet with fun.’s lead singer, Nate Ruess, who appeared on the giant
screens on stage. One of her biggest
stunts of the evening came during “Sober”, Pink and her dancers were in a moving
chandelier flying from the ceiling, while Pink walked on the outside rim of the
chandelier and ended up hanging from it. It was a stunt that you’d be more
likely to see during a Cirque Du Soleil show than at a pop concert. Pink performed
acoustic takes on “Family Portrait” and “Who Knew” and performed a medley of
songs from her 1999 debut album Can’t
Take Me Home with “Most Girls/There You Go/You Make Me Sick”. During “F***ing
Perfect”, Pink addressed motherhood by saying that she won’t play the version
with the swear words in it anymore.
Pink’s most
jaw dropping moment of the evening was during “Blow Me (One Last Kiss)” when
she flew above, tumbled, and spun through all corners of The Palace above the audience.
She was on some type of wired system
that would probably give most common folk some type of motion sickness, yet the
daredevil in Pink likes to amp up the thrill level for herself and the audience.
There were two pillars placed on the
furthest corner of The Palace on which Pink flew to and did a hand stand on. Pink finished things up with a recreation of
her VMA performance of “Glitter In The Air” in which she flew high above the
audience and finished going under the stage and coming after she was submerged
in water. Tickets to Tuesday evenings sold out show were in such demand that
The Palace were selling tickets in the press boxes and tickets behind the stage
with very limited sight lines.
One of my
personal favorite live bands, Swedish garage rockers, The Hives, opened the
show. The Hives played a very fun set of garage-tinged rock and roll with
singer Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist interjecting humorous jokes and set ups between
songs. The Hives played a brief set, not long enough for me, which
included their biggest hits including “Walk Idiot Walk”, “Tick Tick Boom” and “Hate
To Say I Told You So”. They also played music from their latest release, Lex Hives, including “Go Right Ahead”.
Almqvist is a great, egotistical, self-mocking front man; it takes a few
minutes to tell if he’s being serious in his on stage routine or if the stage
is one big joke for him. Out of over 120 acts that I saw last year, a set by
The Hives, topped my personal list. Here’s a funny note: When I called The
Palace to inquire about the set time for The Hives, the woman at the box office asked
me if I even knew who The Hives were because everybody going to the Pink
concert was asking who they were. Truthfully, The Hives were the only reason that i had interest in going to the show. Next time The Hives play Detroit GO SEE THEM!
