Living the Teenage Dream

I don’t usually write about the concerts I go to that aren’t metal, but I think it’s time I stop restricting myself to that. So, why not start that off with Katy Perry’s show from last night?

I’ve loved her since I was a teenager, and last night felt like I was living that teenage dream. I never really expressed the desire to see her live when I was at that age; probably because I believed that it was nearly impossible to get tickets to big artist shows, and it was expensive.

Well, I’m wrong about that. I recall the tickets went on sale sometime in the spring. As soon as I heard about it, the first person I told was my mom who surprisingly expressed immediate interest in going. At the same time I felt my inner teenage self emerging, and that’s when I realized I still loved Katy and wanted to see her. My mom told me to get really good seats. So, we bought floor ones that were still available. I was shocked that they still were, considering how fast they can sell out for most big artists!

The show was postponed from September 13th to November 1st, but that didn’t stop us from going. If you love concerts, I think you should always consider going to one with your family once in a while if they like to do that sort of thing.

It was definitely a blast.

I took the train to downtown Toronto to meet my mom at Fairmount Royal York hotel. I must say, one thing I love about Toronto is that all the old buildings with beautiful architecture are still standing. Fun fact: My nana (maternal grandmother) used to work as a maid at that hotel!

I had glammed myself up for this concert and did a icy blue eyeshadow and hot pink lip. I knew the blue shadow was one of Katy’s signature looks, and it was a new favourite of mine!

After meeting up, my mom and I went to the Loose Moose for dinner. We always try caesar salads at every restaurant new to us, and we got nachos too.

By the time we got to the ACC, to our surprise, our tickets were inspected and we were offered an upgrade to move ten rows forward from where we were originally assigned. Hell yeah we took it!

The stage was shaped like a giant eye which serves as a symbol for Katy’s latest album Witness. Noah Cyrus opened up, and she was pretty decent, but in my opinion, I still prefer Miley.

Then, for a whole hour, we sat looking at the giant eye on the stage while some nice 80’s music played. I belted out Danger Zone by Kenny Loggins. Oh, and one of the best thing about concerts is the surprise, not knowing what songs are going to be performed, and when you don’t check the time constantly, it’s always a great feeling of excitement when the room goes dark and the act you’re waiting for comes on.

It so exciting to see the eye-shaped stage light up and show space moving before Katy hit the stage. As soon as she appeared, my mom and I went hysterical immediately. We rose up from our seats and began to dance like crazy. I took a lot of photos, but narrowed it down to the top 3 which came when she walked out to the platform that thrust into the audience. I’m pretty sure she looked in my direction a few times! Plus, she was wearing blue eyeshadow too like me!

I think it’s safe to say she performed just about ALL of the songs I love. There’s only two I can think of that weren’t on the set list. There was a different theme on the eye for each song, as well as different props, costumes, etc. for it. That’s what I love about Katy; she always does something so unique and crazy for each of her songs. When I fantasize about being a singer, I feel like Katy has part of the inspiration behind it.

She started with two songs from her new album that are still growing on me, followed by Dark Horse which eventually caused me to belt it and dance freely. I wasn’t surprised by the dancing TV’s during Chained to the Rhythm, which I only realized now there’s a dark political message behind it, especially if you watch the music video.

My mom kept hoping she [Katy] would perform Teenage Dream. But, I assured her that she would; there are some songs that bands/singers HAVE to do at their concerts, they’re fan favourites after all. I was right. I also absolutely loved how the stage changed once in a while with the props and everything. A fair amount of the songs she performed, I was not fond of at first, but after hearing them live, I like them now.

When it was time for I Kissed a Girl, I seriously had an attack of nostalgia; it being the first song I heard by her and all. I was going to post a picture where she calls her mom with a giant phone while the left shark is beside her. (That thing has been going around since her half-time show at the Super Bowl, with the dancing sharks and all). But sadly, the picture didn’t turn out so well.

I went ballistic when she performed E.T. as it is my all-time song by her. It perfectly describes my love life, and all my fictional crushes being aliens and unique! I hate the version with Kanye West though, because I felt like, I don’t know, sometimes there’s a little something about a song that can come in that’s not your cup of tea, and ruin it for you. But, at least the version with Kanye hasn’t replaced the clean version thank God. I screamed and sang it at the top of my lungs while jumping and dancing with my hands in the air.

The most touching moment was when she flew out into the audience singing Thinking of You, she even invited a young girl on stage to make a wish upon a star. I was jealous at first, because it seems that kids always get chosen first for these kinds of things, but I had immediate change of heart and was happy for the kid when she said her wish was to get a new condo for her family. A very touching gift indeed. I’m happy for her.

The wings were perfect for the song Power and she let a dad in the audience come on stage to shoot baskets with her during Swish Swish. That was pretty hilarious, and there were Pac-man animations on the screen during Part of Me!

To close off the night, she sang Roar with a giant animatronic lion face in the center of the eye. I kept looking at it believing that it was going to make a roaring sound or spit fire, and then she finished off with Firework on a large hand with Aphrodite’s statue in the background. A great way to close off the night.

I should write more about my concerts, regardless of genre. I’ve seen Taylor Swift, Tove Lo (twice), and now Katy Perry. I think she was the best one to be honest! I definitely don’t regret going to see her, she puts on a great show and well worth the wait.

That should be it for my concerts of 2017, unless something else comes up. So far, there is nothing planned for the new year, and I’m putting everything on hold because of how busy I might be by then. But, I’m going to start choosing concerts more wisely, especially if my career starts to demand a lot from me. Pick who you want to see the most and make the necessary arrangements to go, as they say.

👽Emily