Katy Perry in Dublin review: California girl rolls out the hits in Malahide
A recent image of Katy Perry, who played Malahide Castle in Dublin on Wednesday. (Photo By Alvaro Ballesteros/Europa Press via Getty Images)
★★★★☆
For the 30,000 who showed up in Dublin on a school night, Katy Perry makes a promise early on: "I'm going to bring you all the songs you grew up with… I am going to play the songs you want to hear."
She keeps that promise. A tight 90-minute set leaves out the excess and draws heavily from her early records, with an opening run of transporting the crowd back to the early 2010s.
Opening the show in a bedazzled US-flag tie over a white T-shirt emblazoned with the words 'I am not a robot', she is held aloft by a troupe of men in exaggerated muscle costumes ("Did you have your protein shake?" she teases) against a chaotic set that includes a giant computer and smartphone complete with interactive screens displaying messages and videos throughout the night, as well as a giant inflatable water bottle, which she later uses to crowd-surf above the audience.
This is not a gig for the easily overstimulated. But this kind of fever-dream absurdity is Perry at her best. That particular brand of maximalist pop has been largely absent from the charts in recent years, but Zara Larsson's recent resurgence and Sabrina Carpenter's pin-up-inspired innuendo suggest we are ready for it to make a comeback. And tonight, Perry is determined to remind us that she was — and still is — one of its masters. And few have this kind of hit rate in their catalogue.
At 41, the singer is long past what a notoriously ageist industry would deem her prime and, unfortunately, the past decade has seen controversies and cringeworthy moments garner more attention than the music itself. Her decision to reunite with controversial producer Dr Luke for her latest album felt particularly tone deaf, made all the more jarring by the fact that its lead single, — pitched as a feminist empowerment anthem — was co-written by him. (The song was notably absent from tonight's setlist.)
An ill-advised trip to space as part of Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin crew followed and — in Perry's own words — she became "the internet's piñata".
So it has been a rough few years for the star, and yes, there are awkward moments in tonight's show, from a bizarre ramble about how we should all "make AI work for us" (this after a previous monologue in which she told us "all you gotta do is unsubscribe to come alive") to an impassioned defence of her space trip that culminates in the declaration: "Most people say they'd go to space, but LACK THE BRAVERY!"
But, there are also moments when the singer briefly drops the caricature. A stripped-back rendition of 2008's with Perry alone on guitar without the gimmicks, is a highlight, while which begins as a pared-back acoustic number before swelling into something far bigger, tonight feels less like motivational-slogan pop, landing with a renewed poignancy after Perry addresses her recent struggles head-on.
"For the past few years, I haven't been roaring," the singer admits, “but I am back. I'm releasing a new song, a new chapter is starting... I am not going out to pasture."
The pop landscape has changed dramatically since Perry matched Michael Jackson's record with five number 1 hits off a single record ( ), but tonight’s sold-out show suggests there is still an audience out there wishing her well.
While the few songs included from recent album didn't garner much of a reaction from the crowd, her most-recent release inspired a decent sing-along. A performance of that forthcoming song she references, with its rock-inflected edge, feels more aligned with the direction contemporary pop is heading.
Whether she can mount a full-scale comeback with new music remains to be seen, but Wednesday night's performance was a reminder of why Katy Perry was once the biggest popstar in the world.
