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P!NK and Pat Benatar at Fenway Park

Photos courtesy of X, Jaiden Tripi

Review by Sherry Maltese, Sarah Maltese Brown

Courtesy of 'P!nk Junkies'

Pink's Summer Carnival Concert was the summer concert highlight of the year!

There was a full moon for her concert on Tuesday, August 1st at Fenway Park in Boston, which just added to the ambiance of the show.  I went with my adult daughter and there were so many other mother/daughter concert goers of all ages.

Fenway Park Stadium in Boston, Massachusettes buzzed with excitement. The audience consisting of folks of all ages adorned in their pinkest pink were ready to celebrate what promised to be a night to remember. Pink’s summer tour appropriately named “Summer Carnival” was nothing short of a celebration complete with acrobatics, pyrotechnics, fireworks, and choreography complete with trampolines. 

Grouplove was the first opener of the evening. Before leaving the stage they were sure to thank Pink for bringing them on tour and stated “We hope you haven’t heard of us until tonight and now you love us.”

70-year-young Pat Benatar was next to perform. She showed exactly why is a legend. She played her timeless classics including “Heartbreaker” and “Love is a Battlefield”. The chemistry was still strong with her bandmate and husband of over 40 years: Neil Giraldo. 

July 31, 2023, Boston, MA: Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo performs as part of the P!nk: Summer Carnival 2023 concert at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts Monday, July 31, 2023. (Photo by Jaiden Tripi/Boston Red Sox)

Pink floated onto stage in a harness with an outfit bedazzled with sequins while singing. She proceeded to spend two hours dazzling the audience with not only singing hit after hit, but also with her impressive dance and acrobatic movements. The show was packed with choreographed moves by Pink and her backup dancers, aerial movements, and an infamous finale where Pink flipped, cartwheeled, and somersaulted hundreds of feet above her audience sailing across the stadium. The show left many fans claiming it to be one of the top concert experiences of our lifetime. Pink also took time to pay tribute to her late father, talk about her children and playfully joke about her marriage. She incorporated messages of strength and empowerment into her performance with a song about fighting for your rights and told young girls to stand up for themselves and be who they are. Fans left the show with a feeling of pure awe of Pink’s talents ranging from her dance skills to vocal abilities as well as empowered. Numerous fans alluded to a newfound feeling of strength and confidence following the show. 

Pink came out and got the audience pumped with Get This Party Started. 

Then she kept her fans on our feet with Raise Your Glass.

She alternated with a few slower ballads so either she or her dancers could regroup and do a quick costume change.  It was seamless and well orchestrated.  

Pink continued her playlist with Who Knew, Just Like A Pill, Try, What About Us, Heartbeat, Turbulence, Family Portrait, Make You Feel My Love (Pink played the piano to this Bob Dylan song}, Just Give Me A Reason, F**kin Perfect, Just Like Fire, Please Don't Leave Me, Cover Me In Sunshine (ending song with her daughter Willow's recorded singing this song), Kids In Love, When I Get There, I Am Here, Irrelevant, Smoke, No Ordinary Love, Are You Gonna Fall?, Trustfall, Blow Me One Last Kiss, Never Gonna Not Dance Again.

Many of these songs included beautiful dancing, synchronized trampoline act, aerial dancing and just fun filled entertainment. Pink joked with the audience especially talking directly to a few young girls telling them not to get caught up in social media.  She is a badass, but also her motherly gentleness showed her other side.

Pink's encore was So What...doing an aerial flight high up in the sky flying around the entire stadium...this was amazing..and she sings while she is doing her aerial stunts!!

So my daughter and I had a blast at our summer carnival show.  Pink has been my favorite female singer, but this concert proved she is a wonderful entertainer and all around good person.  Go see her show if you can.  You will not be disappointed!!

Setlist 

Act I

Act II

Act III

Act IV

Encore:

  • So What
    (Aerial stunt; extended intro and outro)