Seeing Pink in concert was a dream many years in the making. I want to remember every moment of it many years into the future. To do this I kept a ‘journal’ of my experiences of the week Pink was in Perth. Below is a large segment of this journal which includes many quotes from Pink throughout the concerts I attended. Please note that these quotes are from memory and may not be 100% accurate, however I have tried my best.
Tuesday 25 June 2013
Wake up to drizzling rain mist
I take the train into Perth at about 1.30pm with Mum.
I look in Target for the Pink merchandise.
We see a lot of people who are obviously in town to see Pink. There are people with crazy outfits and hair.
We walk towards Perth Arena to take some early photos. There is a closed merchandise van at the main entrance. I approach the lady standing with the van who tells me there is another one open around the other entry where the ‘standers’ are queued. We walk around the other side and see the people who camped out overnight. We go to the merchandise van and I buy the program, poster and two autograph cards. I also hand my small pressie for Pink to some of the front queuers. These are the people that slept out overnight. I am hopeful that my pressie will reach the stage.
I take a photo with the Pink cut-out in the hotel lobby where I am staying. I feel like a bit of an idiot however the staff reassure me that a lot of people have requested for photos to be taken. As I head back to my room I can hear Pink music (specifically Dear Mr President) blasting from one of the nearby rooms. I’m tempted to knock on the door and say hi but decide not to.
At about 3pm I head back into town to waste some time. I am now in my Pink outfit so I get a lot of looks, however I am not self-conscious, I just SMILE. There are a lot of other people wearing Pink stuff and we just smile at each other. After spending a little while in the city it starts to rain. I race back to the hotel just in case it starts to get worse.
I head to Perth Arena at 6pm. The radio station crews are out for opening night. I see Troy and Dani from 92.9 interviewing people. Some of the people I am surrounded by the in queue are a bit grumpy but nothing will bring down my mood.
At 6.30pm the external doors open and everyone rushes inside. I am one of the first people in and head straight for my door. It is being ‘guarded’ by two guys. We talk a bit about whether or not they have seen rehearsal etc. They also comment on the high pitch static noise that is coming from speakers. There is Pink music playing softly in the background.
At 7pm the internal doors open and I am first in. I take my seat and wait. The pre-show The Kin were good but very loud. I was hoping the main concert wouldn’t be at the same volume. The pre-show finishes and there is another half hour break. After a while I notice the screens change and Rubix is shortly out to interact with the audience. At first he is over the other side of the Perth Arena where he dirty dances with the crowd and steals a few drinks. A few minutes later I notice people around me start talking a lot louder. I look around and see that Rubix is very close to where I am seated and has found his bald victim. It is the usual games and then he disappears. He then re-appears back on the far side where he says hello to a few more shocked and confused people before climbing over them in order to get back to stage level. He reaches the stage and disappears. A few minutes later the screens shows 3 Rubix heads singing The Truth About Love. When it finishes he comes back on stage and delivers his opening monologue and the show begins.
“F**king hi Perth! Ooh I forgot I don’t swear any more. Sorry”- Before Leave Me Alone I’m Lonely (?).
Screws up the first line of the second verse of Leave Me Alone I’m Lonely.
“The Kin are cute. I can say that because Carey Hart is back in Malibu”- Before How Come You’re Not Here.
Standard Great Escape intro… learning new instrument each tour etc. Didn’t stuff up Great Escape which was disappointing.
My pressie chucked on stage after Great Escape while she walked to centre stage for the rest of acoustic set? She said there was three parcels and immediately took them back to the main pressie stash.
Someone chucked up a small frog which sat on her and Justin’s knee during Who Knew.
New acoustic cover, Time After Time by Cyndi Lauper. “I’ve never done this before. Hopefully it will be good. We should sound better tomorrow.” She reads the lyrics of a piece of paper at times. There was an extra long pause before each chorus to catch out the crowd who was singing along. Each time this happened she looked out to the crowd and smiled.
After Who Knew/ Time After Time- “Did you notice Justin f**k up guitar? I like to point it out because it doesn’t happen very often.” Audience says no, they didn’t notice. She pulls a face and makes a nodding motion to try and convince us that he did mess up.
During the acousitc set she takes a sip of her tea- “Holy crap that is hot!”
Gets Jenny to assist with taking off her jacket after Medley. “By Myself! Gah I’m talking about my daughter again- shut up!” Then launches into Slut Like You intro.
Slut Like You intro- “A question for the over…. what is the right thing to say here? 18? Who in here is a slut? I like the people who are pointing to their friends.”
She gets given a set of fairy wings at the end of So What.
Impressive extra vocals in Just Give Me A Reason and near the end of The Great Escape.
So What was really exciting. She flew close to my seat a few times. It wasn’t until just before the song started that I remembered to look for the landing towers.
Throughout the concert lady sitting to me left tried to take photos, however her camera had a basic zoom so they didn’t turn out very good. She seemed a little pissed off that my photos turned out so well. The lady sitting to my right looked fairly uncomfortable most of the show, but then again at about eight months pregnant I guess anyone would be uncomfortable. I kept hoping she wouldn’t go into labour.
I also saw radio guy Troy inside the venue. He was in the back of the standing zone basically in front of my seat.
Remi did a lot more acrobatic flips during Blow Me. He also did the customary flip at the introduction at end of show.
Show finished at 11pm.
Wednesday 26 June
Awake at 5.30am. Out of bed at 6.30m.
Watch Sunrise on Channel Seven, Pink had a small segment. At about 8am I take an emotional walk to the Bell Tower. I take some pictures of it and the Swan River.
I get home at about 11am and spend the rest of the day organising and posting photos.
Saturday 29 June 2013
Wake up not believing that I will see Pink again today.
I spend most of the morning reading a book. Mum seems amused that I am so engaged in it considering the circumstances.
I hop on the train to Perth at about 2.30pm.
When in Perth I go straight to the hotel and check in. I then go straight back into the city and buy breakfast and spare water.
I have dinner with a close friend. She has no idea about any of the show. While we are waiting for external doors to open I warn her about Rubix/ Jimmy in case he finds us before the show. I tell her it is the one spoiler that she does need to know about.
Pre-show comes and goes. This time they ask people to ‘light up their phones’ for one of the songs. This is really cool and I take a picture of all the glowing lights.
Rubix/ Jimmy comes out and entertains the crowd. The lady to my left asks who it is. I tell her that he is part of her crew. She figures I must know what is going on because I have been talking to my friend about it. The crowd interaction goes by the script and is pretty much identical to Tuesday night. The only difference is that this time a (drunk?) lady decides to show Rubix up at his own game with a very LONG session of dirty dancing. He seems shocked and amused but it quickly grows old. He eventually escapes her and the show begins.
As soon as the first song was over the experience already out-ranked Tuesday night when I spent most of the show taking photos. The seats were close to the stage and although they were side on she appeared much larger and easier to watch.
After U + Ur Hand- “I wanna eat my cheese balls. I will stop my show to eat. Am I hungry?”
Between Trouble and Are We All We Are she accepts a big chewy candy heart with her name on it. She looks very excited by it and asks if it is home-made. The fans says no, a friend made it, Pink says she wants the friend’s phone number.
Between Are We All We Are and How Come You’re Not Here- “I like it here, it has good sound. I can actually hear myself. Perth Arena is new right? Well good job Perth, I like it.”
Just before Great Escape she steps on stage just before intermission act finishes. “Oooh, I’m early to my own party.”
“I like to learn a new instrument […] maybe next time it will be… flute? Or an interpretive dance piece with Willow.” [Crowd cheers]. She shakes her head and mouths Fuck No. “Willow is so ready to get out here, but not yet anyway. We’ll wait a few more years.”
“Jason Chapman close by [….] last night he almost had to save me.”
She interrupts first line of Great Escape to adjust microphone. She also stumbles over a line later in the song but moves on quickly.
She accepts gifts and signs things before Who Knew. Someone presented a gift bag with a fairy outfit for Willow. She really loves it. She also gets a jar of Vegemite, “that’s not going to happen. You have to grow up with that stuff. Back in Philly I grew up with Scrapple. You know what that is?” Audience says no. “Scrapple is animal scraps, the parts you don’t want to think about. I don’t eat meat now, but I can say it was tasty.”
Someone was fussy about placement of signature for tattooing. “Hold still! Which way do you want it?!?”
She gets another gift bag. “Is this a fairy dress for me?” The present is a decorative plaque or more sweet food. “Did you make this” [no] “That’s ok I still like it.”
After Who Knew she starts talking about Justin’s guitars then does a double take. “Why do you have that one? Oh I forgot we do a new song now” [Time After Time].
“This next song is full of mum words…” [gets distracted by crowd]. “Now getting back to the important thing I was saying…” [she pulls a face, trying to remember what she was saying]. “Oh I don’t remember I’ll just sing.”
Before leaving the stage near end of Perfect she is handed a large Australian which she drapes around her neck and the crowd roars.
“I’m sad this is my last show in Perth. It has been the best.”
“Thank you for my packets of Tim Tams.”
After medley [while lying on stage]- “Damn dancing is hard work, that’s why I fly.” [Takes a few deep breaths then gets up] “Ok I’m back.”
After medley, before Slut Like You. “Hey everyone, this is Kat… and that is a bra.” [Someone threw a bra at her] “Sorry but it won’t fit. I have small ones which is good for flipping and flying around.”
“I’m gonna try not say “y’all” for the rest of tonight. It’s gonna be hard. I’ve gone country today.” [After saying “y’all” many times already]
She waved at the side block many times throughout the night. It was great.
Show finishes at 11pm. Asleep before 12pm.
Sunday 30 June
Wake up at 7am. For some reason the first thing I do is look out of the open window and think of dancer Janelle who tweeted about losing a close friend yesterday. I have a shower and head back home.
I attend the family Sunday lunch. I discuss the concert with my family, including an aunt who works at the Perth Arena and saw the show.
I look at the online pics and videos helps with the post-concert blues.
The program Sunday Night on Channel Seven premieres Pink’s new music video True Love.
Monday 1 July
Well it’s all over. I create my collage frame and reflect back on the past week. I am thankful that the music video premiered when it did and that there are still pictures and videos online for me to look at.
Most of all I think about the fact that there are still so many concerts to come. Next up Pink will rock Adelaide.
P!nk Pandemonium 