Concert Review: Katy Perry's Delectable California Dreams Tour

Katy Perry's California Dreams Tour is only my second concert for the year but it's already my #1 favorite concert of the year - and the other acts who are coming here may have to do a lot, just for me to change my decision.  Ironically, that Sunday night outing almost turned out sour!  For us who were not able to get the front seat tickets and had to content ourselves with the Titanium ones (not cheap huh at 7K each!!) had to come early since the seats were first come-first served - so my friends and I were already queueing at 5:30PM!  We were able to enter around 6PM and we spent the time waiting for the show to start by eating Mcdo burgers, the ladies had their pics taken at the Dove booth and we made small talk, excitedly waiting for the show to start.

The front act, DJ Skeet Skeet came on at 8PM and dj-ed for about thirty minutes, playing today's popular dance songs.  His act ended at 8:30PM and we all thought the show would start by 9PM.  However, the clock ticked at 10PM and still there was no Katy!  People were already starting to boo!  Anyway, at around 10:10, Katy started the show and apologized for the delay due to some technical difficulties.  We soon understood why the "technical difficulties" were important to her show!

Katy interposed a story video of her metamorphosis from being an ordinary girl to Kitty Perry and between that video story, was her show!  She opened her show with Teenage Dream and then followed it with Hummingbird Heartbeat and Ur So Gay.  However, there were several parts which I enjoyed a lot!  First of all was her Hot and Cold sequence where she changed seven times on stage!  It was confounding to us to see her make so many costume changes in so short a time!  The piece-de-resistance was when two dancers sprinkled her with gold dust and as they settled, her dress also changed at the same time!  Que nivel!

Another great part of her show was when she asked a guy to go onstage so she could kiss him!  It was the very hunky Ivan Dorschner who offered, (although my friends think they should've gotten a moreno guy!) and he went upstage and got a wet smack from the handsome guy!

Katy sang all of her hits and as her show peaked she topped it with some foam-spraying when she sang California Gurls!  I also loved her Firework sequence where actual fireworks emanated from the stage!  That was tres cool!  Then, she also had  a laser lights sequence, although I forgot for what song!  With all the special effects Katy had on her show, we finally understood why technical difficulties really mattered!

Can't wait for Katy to release her next album. She has joined the ranks of Madonna, Kylie Minogue and Lady Gaga - pop singers whose concerts are truly grand spectacles!

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Concert Review: Katy Perry, November 14, 2009; MOA

I was not an instant Katy Perry fan. I actually did not even like her first hit, "I Kissed A Girl". Tell a gay man that and he would say "Bwehhh!!" However, like many others, I was instantly hooked to "Hot 'N Cold", and her fourth released single, "Waking Up In Vegas". When word got around that she'd be in Manila to perform, I decided to get a copy of her CD and what it contained surprised me immensely! It was full of songs of heartache and break-ups and falling in love with the wrong sort of guy - a gay man in a woman's body!! No surprise thatthere were a lot of young gay men in the audience - around high school age. By the way, that pic above is with one of the FABE models, Abby, who nicely took the place of my brother Vic, whose heart was not really into watching the show.

The show was more than I expected! I loved it, I loved it, I loved it!! Katy was so irreverent, playful, and coy, all the same time!!! The place was full, the weather cooperated, there was a balmy breeze as MOA is very near the sea! Of course, the only dyahe thing was that there were no chairs. Anyhow, who needed chairs???

There were two very talented front acts - Jed Madela and Arnel Pineda. This was the first time I heard Jed Madela sing and he is quite a revelation! I would be interested to see this guy live!! - in his own show!! As for Arnel, whom, I had seen a few months back with his band, Journey, was as energetic as ever and I only realized now how high his voice is, as I couldn't sing along with him properly, especially when he did a personal favorite of ours, "Don't Stop Believen" I just looooovvvvveeee that song!

She opened the show with "Fingerprints", which is one of my favorite songs from her CD. Then, her first major gimmick was to get someone from the audience to help her in her hit "Hot N Cold". She chose a young guy, obviously gay, whom she asked to jump while she was doing the song. The guy, who said he was from the Ateneo, gamely jumped throughout the song and was rewarded by a quick kiss from Katy!! Lucky devil!!

Katy also sang one of my favorite 80s songs - "Your Love" by the Outfield, which she retitled as "Use Your Love". This was just one of the songs that I shamelessly sang along with her, maybe much to the consternation of the guys in front of me. Sorry dudes, I just know the lyrics, so fuck off!

Katy had so many gimmicks that night - a giant inflateable cat called Kitty Purry! - huge strawberries which she threw also to the audience, and the coup de grace would be the big cherry chapstick which she carried almost to our part of the audience. That was the cherry chapstick she was weating too.