REVIEW: P!nk soars — vocally and literally — over Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium

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I could say everybody was waiting for P!nk to arrive to get the party started in Edmonton on Saturday night — but I won’t.

The powerhouse performer, who turns 45 next week, soared in more ways than one at Commonwealth Stadium in front of tens of thousands of all-ages fans — united in a sea speckled with pink glittered-out and fringed-up ensembles — on a clear summer night with fireworks launching throughout the hour-and-45-minute party.

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“The last time I was here, there was 16 feet of snow on the ground. Now it’s hot, and we can sweat together,” P!nk said, trying her best to individually thank every person in attendance for coming out to play.

Welcome to P!nk’s Summer Carnival — complete with trippy kaleidoscopic pool floaties, a spilled spiky ice cream cone set piece, and palm trees adorned with disco-ball mirrors.

Sporting a sparkly black bodysuit and platform boots, P!nk made her entrance bungee jumping from a snarling smile set piece atop the stage, lunging into 2001’s Get the Party Started, with attendees murmuring how incredible she looked.

Seriously, what can’t she do? She belts out career-spanning hits, weaving in seamless harmonies while bouncing around and performing high-octane choreography with her sculpted dancers. P!nk sings while suspended above the crowd, seamlessly doing flips, turns and spinning acrobatics, and hanging from a rope by her ankles.

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Raise Your Glass was a full-fledged neon workout class complete with exercise balls and lit-up flamingo scooters.

P!nk played piano and sang solo for Bob Dylan’s Make You Feel My Love, where she dealt with annoying bugs landing on the white grand piano by not killing them: “Be gentle. Don’t hurt him.” The song spurred a simultaneously funny and heartwarming makeout cam.

“I do not write love songs; I write warnings,” she said. “I like to sing other people’s love songs.”

She sat on top of the piano for Just Give Me a Reason, showcasing her dynamic harmony as a fan passed her a hangry first aid kit.

P!nk covered the 4 Non Blondes’ What’s Up? for a crowd happy to provide backup vocals.

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At one point, she mentioned she got arrested at 13 for disturbing the peace at 3 a.m.

“It was too early. I see that now,” she joked.

The show featured edgy outfits, like a cheeky leather jacket with lip shoulder pads and “Kiss My” emblazoned on the back for Blow Me (One Last Kiss) as P!nk’s dancers dressed as giant lips. For another number, a long white skirt appeared from above on wires, draping P!nk in the outfit like she was Cinderella. A personal favourite was her sparkly nude fishnets and combat boots with black feathers poking up to her knees.

The singer, who seemingly did not stop double barrel smiling the whole show appeared to be having as much of a blast as the audience, mainly Gen Xers and millennials with their kids.

“It’s been a long time since I stood up the whole concert,” a guy behind me said.

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The fearless, energetic singer showcasing her elite-level stamina and athleticism closed her concert with none other than Rockstar, flying, flitting and flipping above onlookers throughout the entire stadium. Her gratitude was on display as she tried to wave goodbye to every single fan while she landed on perches in the crowd.

She took the time to spotlight and name every member of her band and dance crew, calling them “the most talented people on Earth, and I want to show them off” (during Never Gonna Not Dance Again and a beautifully harmonized Please Don’t Leave Me).

“Thanks to you guys, we get to go around the world and be idiots,” she told fans.

Sheryl Crow and The Script open

Sheryl Crow said she’s “wearing pink in honour of the great lady”: a one-shoulder top, aviators, and sparkly knee-high heeled boots.

“She blew my mind when I saw her the first time, and she’s going to blow your minds tonight,” she said of P!nk.

Crow swapped out her Fender Telecaster to play acoustic guitar, bass, and harmonica throughout to perform classics like If It Makes You Happy, My Favorite Mistake, Soak Up the Sun, and Everyday Is a Winding Road.

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The mandolin hit the heartstrings in First Cut Is the Deepest, plus stunning guitar solos in Steve McQueen, and a delightful cover of I Want You to Want Me.

She dedicated Strong Enough to the men she didn’t marry, saying she’s loved a lot of great people and a lot of other people too.

It was time for All I Wanna Do, a three-decade-old song: “I still want to have a little fun,” she said as she slapped the bass to cheers.

Crow blew kisses and tossed picks to the crowd before taking a bow with her band, who switched instruments throughout like the pros they are. The second Crow left the stage, crew members ran to install a harness on cables above the floor pit.

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Pop-rock Irish band The Script performed its 2008 hit Breakeven and dedicated 2012’s Hall of Fame to Edmonton.

DJ KidCutUp energized the crowd — “all the ’90s party people in the house” — with throwbacks and mashups, like I Will Survive x Flowers and Girls Just Want to Have Fun x Hollaback Girl, and Freddie Mercury’s 1985 Live Aid vocal warmup.

ksmall@postmedia.com

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