#witnesstour

Katy Perry @ Rock in Rio Lisboa - 2018, Portugal

© Marta Ribeiro

I’m always amazed at how music stars can do the same thing night after night, spanning months, and in some cases, even years, when they’re on a global tour.

Last night was Katy Perry’s 98th show of her Witness World Tour — and I’m sure it was just as good as her first.

Music-lovers were welcomed into the venue with a giant eye-shaped screen behind the stage that flickered and looked across the room.

Right on 9 o’clock, the lights went out, the screen parted, and the Californian pop star made her entrance - flying into Perth Arena on a Sci-Fi like object and summoning her army of Perth fans with the verse to ‘Witness’.

Giant dice appeared on-stage and she smashed out ‘Roulette’, before leading into  her 2013 hit ‘Dark Horse’, where she told the audience she knew some of them only came to hear that song.

‘Chained To The Rhythm’ was next, with Perry dancing around lanky figures on stage while her dancers paraded behind her, fit with giant televisions over their head.

I’m not the biggest fan of her newest catalogue, so thankfully all her original hits came next — a perfectly cheesy ‘Teenage Dream’, followed by ‘Hot and Cold’ which saw her rock out on a pink guitar, before giant flamingos bombarded the stage for ‘Last Friday Night’ and ‘California Girls’.

In honour of her 10-year anniversary of her debut hit single ‘I Kissed A Girl’, giant red lips convulsed above the stage as the first part of the song took on an electrical makeover, before Perry encouraged us and her band to “bring it back to the original”.

Another costume change, and Perry glided amongst giant roses to the more mellow ‘Déjà Vu’ and ‘Tsunami’.

A highlight was ‘Bon Appétit’, which saw her spread across a giant leaf with oversized salt and pepper shakers drenching her in glitter seasoning.

My favourite costume, a silver sequinned extravaganza, saw Perry float around Perth Arena atop of a giant Saturn, strumming her guitar and encouraging us to sing the “first three words” in ‘Wide Awake’.

She thanked all the parents in the room for letting their children stay “wide awake”, and apologised for the sugar-induced behaviour they were likely exhibiting, whilst thanking punters for spending their “hard-earned money and time” to spend a Wednesday evening with her.

The intimate “Into Me You See” was perhaps the most stripped-back we’ve ever seen Perry — there was no sensory overload, heavy production, bells or whistles — it was just a singer and her fans, singing a raw and emotional ballad.

Smash-hits ‘Part of Me’ and ‘Swish Swish’ followed, which lead into a basketball game with ‘Jason’, a Dad she hand-picked from the audience.

Her first farewell was to ‘Roar’, an empowering anthem that had fans of all ages on their feet, before they begged for an encore.

Sailing above the audience on a broken clock, Perry returned donning a princess-like dress to ‘Pendulum’, before being deposited into the clutch of a giant hand at the end of the stage for her final farewell — the global smash hit that gave Perry her name — ‘Firework’.

The show was filled with plenty of banter, with Perry showcasing a lame attempt at an Australian accent, doting over kangaroos and frothing over meat pies. She pointed out the man that stamped her immigration pass to get into Australia, and laughed out how she couldn’t bring her beloved dog into our “small island”.

Vocally, Perry is undeniably strong — she puts her back into it and she oozes joy on stage. This tour has re-confirmed her rightful place atop of the pop sphere, and should serve as a beautiful reminder of her decade of success going from a church-performing young girl, to a fierce musical goddess who is dominating arenas right across the globe.  

Set List:

Witness Roulette Dark Horse Chained to the Rhythm Teenage Dream Hot N Cold / Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.) California Gurls I Kissed A Girl Déjà Vu Tsunami E.T. Bon Appétit Wide Awake Into Me You See Power Part of Me Swish Swish Roar