At Katy Perry’s show in Montreal last week, one member of the audience attracted a lot of attention: a certain Canadian ex-Prime Minister.
After the Bloom fell off Perry’s marriage earlier this year, there was much public speculation that she had found comfort in the arms of Justin Trudeau after the pair hung out for hours in Montreal, going for a walk, to dinner and then on to drinks, two days before Trudeau attended Perry’s gig at Bell Centre.
Would this scenario repeat itself in Toronto? Would it be the moment the gossip rags heralded a new coupling? Kustin, perhaps. Prudeau?
That was the big question hanging in the air at the Scotiabank Arena last night. The short answer: no, which lends credence to reports that “friends” have insisted the singer and the politician are just pals.
But just because Mr. Trudeau wasn’t in the audience on Tuesday night witnessing Perry’s latest performance of “The Lifetimes” tour doesn’t mean that romance wasn’t in the air.
The dazzling two-hour spectacle was a total love-in between the Santa Barbara native and her “KatyCats,” the devoted fan base that has overlooked the piles of flak Perry has received on any number of fronts. There was the poor reception of her album “143,” which an Associated Press review dismissed as “uninspired and forgettable,” and its misfired satirical first single, “Woman’s World.”
Then there’s her decision to reunite with her hitmaking producer Dr. Luke Gottwald, accused by the singer Kesha of sexual abuse among other things (Gottwald and Kesha settled their mutual allegations out of court in 2023). Even her recent trip into space on Jeff Bezos’ rocket Blue Origin came under fire.
But the loyal audience of around 13,000 that jammed into Scotiabank for the first of two shows — Perry’s first Toronto appearances in eight years — were having none of it. Many dressed up in lavish costumes, ranging from a traffic cone to a blue shark, plus a few Perry doppelgangers.
The all-ages audience, spanning excited grade schoolers and cane-wielding seniors, came to worship and celebrate a woman whose most influential albums (2008’s “One of The Boys,” 2010’s “Teenage Dream” and 2013’s “Prism”) offered them a source of strength and empowerment.
In return, Perry dumbfounded them with a high-tech, visually eventful night of aural and optical thrills that relied heavily on the Pink playbook of gymnastics and a lot of hydraulics.
The entire arena was Perry’s canvas: A figure-eight-shaped Infinity stage covered the floor, with gaps in the middle for fans who were willing to pay a premium to be constantly close to the action. At the north end, a gigantic wall was covered in 32 operational video screens in multiple shapes and sizes, some of them depicting grey static.
After a surprisingly robust set from confident opener Rebecca Black (she of “Friday” fame, although she neglected to play her hit), an animated intro clip introduced Perry’s theme for the evening.
A mishmash of Marvel, the 1992 movie “The Lawnmower Man” and Canada’s own animated “Reboot” series, the Lifetimes Tour intro established a convoluted plot featuring Perry as an android avatar named KP143 (the “143” stands for “I Love You”). Her mission: to rescue trapped butterflies in order to save a drone-patrolled Earth from an A.I.-driven computer mainframe control.
It was set up as a video game to boot, with progressive levels yielding new access to KP143 as she gathered hearts to complete her mission.
Did I say it was sophisticated? I did not. Luckily, the confusing onscreen projection didn’t undermine the elaborate staging of the concert. Abetted by 10 male dancers and a four-piece band, Perry made a spectacular hovering entrance for the track “ARTIFICIAL” from “143.”
Three songs in, she issued her first of many therapy-related exhortations during “Teary Eyes” from “Smile.”
“Toronto!” Perry yelled. “Don’t be afraid of your tears; they’re trying to heal you!”
Another: “We’re all going through stuff and we’re going to try and work through some of it tonight.”
By the time the fifth song hit the speakers, “California Gurls,” the crowd was all-in, singing along to the hit word-for-word at the top of their lungs.
The pace of the show was dizzying. Over the 25-song set list that was heavy on dance beats, everyone kicked up their heels as prop after prop was unveiled before them. More inflatables than the Rolling Stones could conceive of were blown up and collapsed. The glamorous former “American Idol” judge undertook a series of costume changes and also sung from a number of physically distorted positions — including while dangling upside down within a globe — that would rupture the spleens of others attempting such moves. What helped temper the bombardment of the senses was that the singer was in fine voice and energetic form (and as she reminded us, she is now 40).
She was generous in her praise of Canada.
“This is the sweetest country in the world,” Perry exclaimed during a breather in between tunes. “You are progressive. You are the role models for all of us right now.”
Then she dedicated “I Kissed A Girl” to “the gay community.”
At another point, Perry spotted three costumed fans and encouraged them to follow their dreams, no matter what, but not before handing them shakers and inviting them to join her and a couple of musicians as they performed an acoustic version of “The One That Got Away.”
Of course, the most enthusiastic receptions were reserved for Perry’s biggest hits, “Roar” and “Firework,” which everyone knew and adored.
By the time the climax occurred — a Star Wars-type battle and a flight around the arena on a giant butterfly — any dubious attendees were won over.
While a little less whimsy and bombast with the sci-fi stuff would have been welcome and just as effective, for this crowd it was a once in a “Lifetimes” experience.
