Raleigh Roars For Katy Perry

The Lifetimes Tour Lights Up the Lenovo Center

It’s been a long time, almost eight years in fact, since pop star Katy Perry has been out on tour. This year, that all changed as she is bringing The Lifetimes Tour to arenas packed with rabid fans, known as KatyCats, making her music come alive in full force once again. Last night, Perry lit up Raleigh, NC, with a spectacular show with a production that is second to none.

Now, eight years can seem like a lifetime to Perry’s young fans. So what exactly has Katy been doing? For one thing, she’s been staying super busy with the world’s most important job, being a mom. In addition to that, she did a bunch of fun things like a residency in Las Vegas, recorded a country-pop duet with Thomas Rhett, released a new album, 143, and even went to space last April on the Blue Origin NS-31. So a summer blockbuster tour seems the natural next step, right?

I have to be honest that going into the concert, I knew very little of Perry’s music, with my knowledge of her coming mostly from catching snippets of American Idol over the years and hearing “Roar” blasted on just about every summer playlist out there. I saw some reviews of the tour, and it appeared to be a love/hate relationship with the critics, so going in with no preconceived notions or expectations was probably a good thing.

The evening started out about 45 minutes past the posted show time, so my hope for an early evening was quickly dashed. Would it be worth it? Time would tell. Kicking off the night was a performance by singer-songwriter Rebecca Black. Black gained notoriety back in 2011 with the viral hit “Friday,” which kick-started her musical career. Flanked by dancers on each side, Black got the crowd excited early on, and even though we only heard a snippet of “Friday,” it was clear that Black was a seasoned performer and a perfect fit for the KatyCats in attendance. I am positive that Black made a lot of new fans based on the audience reaction.

During the intermission, fans were walking about the arena floor all decked out in everything from feather boas, blue wigs, and pink fuzzy boots, some, who were old enough to partake, carrying around the venue’s purple cocktail designed especially for the evening. The excitement was definitely starting to build, and the atmosphere was off the charts.

As the venue lights dimmed, our attention was drawn to the main stage as a variety of videos played on the LED screens, hyping up what was shortly to come and drawing us into the story that would play out throughout the night. Perry made her appearance via a metal cage that rose up from the floor of the arena as she soared high above us for the opening song “ARTIFICIAL.”

Making her way to the main stage, the lighting revealed a huge infinity(figure-8) shaped stage in the middle of the floor with fans all around and some very lucky ones in the middle of the two sections. This was an amazing scenario as it gave Perry a huge interlocking, circular catwalk to perform for all areas of the arena. I can not stress this enough, the infinity stage was massive and absolutely amazing. It made for awesome views no matter where you were seated in the venue and as the show went on, Perry would spend a majority of her time on it.

The setlist for the show was divided up into six sections called Levels, and each Level provided a costume change for Perry as well as props and scenery changes. If you’re a fan of visual displays, this is definitely the tour for you. There was something going on each and every minute.

Perry surrounded herself by a bevy of dancers, performing choreographed sequences on both the main and infinity stages. Level 2 has a huge metal sphere in the middle of the infinity stage where Perry rose up as dancers hung on to the outside of the orb, one even dangling below, spinning in a fantastic acrobatic feat. This was definitely a high-energy Level with “California Gurls” and” I Kissed a Girl” with Perry pulling out all the stops to ensure fans had an evening they would never forget.

Level 3 had huge plants on stage with dancers and Perry herself spinning as she sang “NIRVANA” and “CRUSH” and flew via a wire across the venue floor to a small flower pedestal at the rear of the venue. There was so much going on that at times it was hard to take it all in, but it was definitely a magical sequence.

The next section of the show would get a little more personal, with fans voting on songs they wanted to hear Perry perform. She was joined at the center of the stage by her keyboardist and guitarist, and chose four incredibly lucky fans to join her and play the egg shaker. This was a prime example of the performer/fan connection as Perry made the dreams of a young, blind girl come true as everyone sang along to a poignant version of “The One That Got Away.”

As the fans exited the stage, the crew was hard at work to quickly prepare for the next sequence. Let me give a huge shout-out to Perry’s crew because the changes were quick and seamless, which is no small feat when you consider the magnitude of this production.

Level 4 was up next with “E.T” and “Part of Me” ushering a space theme complete with a light saber-wielding Perry battling with her dancers. At one point, she even fired a space laser at the LED screen on the main stage, igniting fireworks and pyrotechnics. Wow! What a show!

We had now reached the final level in the Katy Perry game, as Level 5 brought out the most anticipated songs that really showcased what a phenomenal concert we were part of. Perry appeared in the center of the infinity stage, rising up in a huge flying butterfly as she asked, “Raleigh, are you ready to “Roar?” And the answer was a deafening and resounding yes! Singing one of her most popular songs, Perry flew across the venue, waving and singing to fans all around the Lenovo Center as a dazzling light display went on below her. Of course, Perry was saving the best for last, going out with a bang during “Firework” as fireworks went off around the edges of the infinity stage, and confetti dropped on the fans on the floor.

So, the question remains, did I love or hate it? I think I can speak for not only myself but for every single attendee last night, we loved it! It was a sensational show and one that will go down in the memories of all who experienced it, the kind of show that the young girls will someday tell their little girls about. While I won’t be adding Katy Perry songs to my Spotify playlist anytime soon, I wouldn’t hesitate to buy a ticket to one of her live shows. Who knows, I may even consider myself a KatyCat. She only has a few shows left in the U.S. before the tour heads out of the country for the remainder of the year. Don’t miss your chance to be a part of it, if you can.

See The Full Gallery of the Night Here!

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