KEY POINTS:
Pink's gig was always going to be as much a pop spectacle as a musical experience. To her credit, it didn't rely on spectacle alone.
Yes there was plenty to keep fans visually entertained, including acrobatic dance, burlesque and even a campfire singalong. But it was also a magnetic performance. Pink doesn't just perform with that huge, gravelly rock voice but with her whole, lithe body. Even when she's dancing like an idiot just to get a laugh.
This was her last stop on a multiple-date worldwide tour for her latest album, I'm Not Dead. Practised and polished though it was, she showed she was more than keen to go out with a bang.
Vocally she was pitch perfect, despite what must have been a challenging opening set that included big songs Trouble, Who Knew and the first crowd pleaser, Like A Pill. But it was first song Cuz I Can that set the mood for the night, no matter which side of her personality she was showing off.
This being a pop extravaganza meant doing so in elaborate Cabaret style, right down to the two-storey stage design and multiple costume changes.
The first came for Stupid Girls, her ode to Hollywood bimbos, where she donned a long coat, wig and dark glasses and teetered down the catwalk to humorous effect. It was also her first role model moment as she called for young girls to aim for bigger ambitions in life.
Parents probably weren't as keen on her next sermon, where she stripped down to a bikini, jumped into what looked like a big fish net and cavorted suggestively to the self-explanatory Fingers. More thrilling was the song's ending when she wound up dangling from the ceiling Cirque du Soleil-style.
Next came Earth Mother Pink, and although the concept of her fake campfire was a nice touch, this is where the gig hit a limp point. Wearing a slinky white dress, bare feet and a head scarf (don't worry, it did have skulls on it), she joined three band members at the end of the stage in front of a fake campfire to sing Bob Marley's Redemption Songs and a heavy-handed rendition of Dear Mr President. But her super-charged, vocally awe-inspiring covers of 4 Non Blondes and Janis Joplin songs more than made up for it.
And then party-girl Pink was back to perform U & Ur Hand and Leave Me Alone. Dressed in black leather jacket, knee-high boots and straddling a motorbike, it was easy to believe her when she sang "you don't want to mess with me tonight" while gesturing appropriately.
The crowd was having way too much fun to take offence.
