P!NK AT CITIZENS BANK PARK IN PHILADELPHIA
It may officially be fall this week, but we’re still celebrating the summer with P!nk’s “Summer Carnival Tour”. The iconic pop artist made a stop in Philadelphia for two shows this week at Citizens Bank Park. The first night was sold out, and while the second night wasn’t quite sold out, the venue was still packed with almost every seat filled. With support from Grouplove and Brandi Carlile, fans were in for the ride of their lives.
Opening up the set before P!nk was Brandi Carlile. Walking out in a gorgeous pink suit with her band, she played a really solid set. Her vocals were tonally beautiful and she had a gorgeous rasp to her voice during certain parts of the set that really helped her to stand out. Opening up for what would be some crazy antics to follow is an incredibly difficult endeavor, but Brandi Carlile did a fantastic job of getting concert goers out of their seats and warmed up for our main act.
When it was time for P!nk to take the stage, the crowd roared with excitement. She didn’t take the stage per se, however. Moreso, she took over… the ceiling? At the top of the stage was a large lit up sign reading “Summer Carnival” and in the middle was a giant mouth. When the lights went up the mouth opened and hanging inside on her bungee cords was P!nk, smiling and waving out to the crowd. What followed next was an insanely cool opening for a show, as she flew down towards the stage on the bungee cables. Bouncing all through the air, not quite touching the stage floor yet, she opened the show with her iconic track, “Get the Party Started”. While performing, she was flipping through the air and performing aerial stunts above the stage. The giant LED screen behind her that took up the whole space in the background projected 2000s-esque, Y2K looking visuals, including the words “Get the Party Started”. When it was time to come back down to the stage floor, P!nk joined her dancers for “Raise Your Glass”. The stage was decorated with a ton of summer themed items and her dancers were dressed for the part as well. Donning a beautiful jeweled bodysuit, pink jacket, and silver platform boots, P!nk ran back and forth across the stage, dancing and singing her heart out. Her charisma onstage is phenomenal and she really knows how to hook your attention right from the start. You never would’ve known this was the second of the two nights with how much energy she gave the audience.
Throughout the performance, she played through a ton of tracks in her discography, really appealing to fans from all throughout her career. Whether you were jamming along to an older track like “Just Like a Pill'', or a newer track like “Turbulence” (from her latest album TRUSTFALL, released in February), there was something for everyone. Not to mention, her stage production for this tour is wild. Besides the aerial sections that happened several times, she also had fireworks shooting off above the venue, and had fire on stage for the track “Just Like Fire”. Later on during “TRUSTFALL”, one of my favorite newer tracks of hers, she had her dancers bouncing and doing stunts on trampolines.
About halfway through the set, P!nk’s daughter Willow joined her on stage to perform “Cover Me In Sunshine”, which was truly such a beautiful moment. Even in a stadium with tens of thousands of people, P!nk manages to make her show feel sort of intimate, with this moment being one of many. For an artist of her magnitude, that is no small feat. She even frequently interacts with the audience in the seats near her stage and catwalk, taking gifts, and even signing a box of empty Whoppers that somebody presented to her. She is a true artist in every sense of the word, making sure that your experience at her show is unique and unforgettable.
When it was time for the encores, some fans knew exactly what was coming. Having seen P!nk in the past a couple years ago, I loved that I would once again get to experience seeing her aerial stunts out above the crowd. During her last song “So What”, P!nk ricochets her way around the whole venue, giving everyone the chance to see the singer from a closer view. Honestly, you would be a fool to not be impressed by the fact that she’s still singing with insanely accurate pitch while flipping around the stadium. The show that P!nk puts on is truly like no other.
P!nk still has a ton of tour dates left in the U.S. before she makes her way to Australia and New Zealand. Whether you live in the states, or in Australia/New Zealand, it is highly recommended to find a date to attend. If you missed it, keep your eyes peeled for whenever her next tour is, because P!nk is not an artist to miss in your lifetime!
Nicole DiBenedetto is a photographer based out of New Jersey. She likes making new friends and meeting new people so catch her out in the pit and say hi!