Katy Perry Can Actually Sing

Molson Amphitheatre

Toronto, ON

on Jul 26 2009

Stephanie Joudrey (CHARTattack)

07/27/2009 3:38pm

It may have been pouring buckets of rain earlier in the day, but that didn't stop people from every walk of life congregating at Ontario Place for one of the last shows Katy Perry will play before her tour ends and she heads back into the studio. Apparently everyone from shivering under-dressed divas to goth kids, grandmas and tiny tots, relates to Perry and her lesbian experiences.

Montreal's The New Cities started off the evening. While the band are visually fun to watch, their electro-based pop music isn't going to break new ground any time soon. At least they jump around a lot.

On the flip side are Stereos. The band are known from MuchMusic's DisBand and, according to their introduction, have already gone platinum on their first single.

Since their music is really poppy, you would expect them to have energy, but they barely made the effort to move. Stereos have played many festivals in their short time in the spotlight, but they haven't learned how to use the big stage yet.

That leaves you to focus on the music and that's when you notice singer Pat Kordyback has so many effects on his voice he sounds like a robot. The kids seem to dig it, but us folks over 20 aren't buying all the digitalism. I wonder if Kordyback can even really sing without all the AutoTune.

Stereos' set included a bunch of tracks from their upcoming album that the kids ate up at every turn. Unfortunately, I suspect this this is not the last we hear from this band.

You had to be curious watching the stage get transformed for Perry's arrival. The stage was filled with white picket fences, pink flamingos and giant strawberry beach balls. The pink-suited band entered to the tune of "California Girls," followed by Perry in a little pink '40s style bathing suit, which she herself admitted was ridiculous.

The set started with "Fingerprints," and it was clear that despite what some may assume due to her pop tartlet status, Perry can sing. She actually has a really good voice.

But she doesn't sound like the Katy Perry you've heard recorded. Her voice is more full and less poppy. She would be better suited to jazz numbers than sweet high notes. This leaves her to reinterpret her songs live, bringing her voice down a few keys.

Perhaps that's why the crowd was so docile for what you'd expect was the typically trill screaming of a pop concert audience. There are seats at the Amphitheatre, but I have never seen so many of them being used for actual "sitting."

Singles "UR So Gay" and "Waking Up In Vegas" got them on their feet. But the dance tracks Perry did were wasted and went over the audience's collective head, at which point it was obvious most people were only there for the hits and no amount of Perry running around the stage could rouse them.

Perry kept the energy high and even sought out the craziest dressed person in the crowd to drag up onstage to dance alongside her. The options were vast, but the winner was a girl in the front row dressed as a flamingo. "Jessica from Cambridge" got the chance to show off during "Hot N Cold," and was rewarded with a guitar Perry drop-kicked during the song.

Perry ploughed through songs on her album, getting big cheers if nothing else. Even though the crowd were lukewarm, Perry showed off her vocal abilities again and again with ballads like "Thinking Of You" and "Lost." She shone the brightest when she wasn't actually singing her own song like during a cover of The Foundations' "Build Me Up Buttercup."

She dashed off stage before the final chords of "If You Can Afford Me," leaving the band to slink off alone. Then out of the stage popped a huge blow-up cat head with glowing blue eyes, and a creepy, echoing meow noise filled the air.

The band returned and Perry's encored started before she had even come back the stage. She sang a cover of Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now" from backstage, returning by the chorus in a sparkling pink leopard print catsuit complete with tail.

We all knew how the show would end. "I Kissed A Girl" rounded out the night, but things weren't complete until Perry leaned into the crowd to actually kiss a girl wearing cherry chapstick. The crowd dragged her down while Perry smooched the lucky lady, but then it was definitely time for all of us to call it a night.

It's nice to see there's some substance behind Perry's girly pop shtick. She has range and vocal ability and personality. Now maybe she will return to the studio and use it before she gets swallowed by the machine that is radio pop music.