At the risk of sending the sold-out house into sugar shock, Katy Perry last night transformed Madison Square Garden into Candyland. She set the stage with a cotton candy clouds, bouquets of lollipops and candy cane accents.
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Yeah, she’s sweet — and at this show, it was hard not to like the brunette California babe who, in song and patter, blended her innocent girl-next-door image with intense sexual sizzle.
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The one-night stand at the World’s Most Famous Arena was a pop-art confection of campy, stylish stagecraft that served as a perfect backdrop to the substance of her vocals.
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She started the show with “Teenage Dream,’’ and continued with the up-tempo “Ur So Gay’’ and encored with, as you’d expect, “California Gurls.” In between those benchmark tunes, she squeezed in all of her hits, as well as cover tunes, including a meld of The Strangeloves’ “I Want Candy” with Kelis’ “Milkshake.”
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Perry’s version of “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” was also a terrific homage to Whitney Houston’s original. Her between-song banter was New York-centric and funny, the music made you move, and the audience, a 50-50/boy-girl mix that spanned generations, seemed as playful as Perry
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To her credit, Perry remains one of the few pop princesses on the concert circuit who actually sings every song. In the 19-tune set, Perry layered emotion into each number, whether it was in a nod to old-school R&B in a cabaret retooling of “I Kissed a Girl” or whipping “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.),” one of last summer’s hottest songs, into effervescent pop.
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The show was a musical extravaganza in which Perry modeled an array of bright, colorful outfits that were often pinup-girl retro. Her vintage style included a baby-doll party dress with spinning pinwheels; a flouncey mini; a cat-woman get up; and a feathered peacock outfit.
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Perry also showcased her zaniest side with an over-the-top lighted bathing suit for the tune “Fireworks.” As wild as her different looks were — and as theatrical as the two- hour production was — Perry never forgot that it was about the music.
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