Capturing Katy Perry’s 2014/2015 concert tour recorded in Sydney, Australia last December, the show features seven different acts, nine costume changes, five hair changes, and a giant triangular stage that runs throughout the arena floor. Everything included is sixty tons of equipment requiring thirty trucks to transport.
With everything needed to put on a show of this magnitude you would expect it to be an impressive performance, and visually it is. The giant triangle-shaped video screen behind the stage was crisp and clear as it projected various pictures and videos that went along with the different themes. During “Dark Horse” in the Egyptian portion of the program, Perry came out on a golden horse reminiscent of her arrival during her Super Bowl performance on a giant golden lion but on a much smaller scale.
She had outfits lit with LED lights and bright neon clothes and hair. Multiple times she was lifted into the air on wires, During “Birthday” she was being whipped around the arena as balloons poured from the ceiling. Even her band that arose from trap doors had lighted instruments, and during “I Kissed a Girl,” the two guitarists flew up into the air shooting sparks and fire like Ace Frehley from KISS. Even the encore song “Firework” had all kinds of visual effects that must have been even more impressive to see in person as the audience had to put on their 3D Prism Vision glasses to watch.
While the visual and the musical aspects of the concert were well done, there were a few things that were not so good. Half the songs I did not recognize, and in all of those songs Perry sounded very good. The other half of the songs that I knew really well her voice didn’t sound right. I don’t know if it’s because they do some tweaking to her vocals on the albums, or because her voice was tired from touring, or if maybe she had made herself a little horse because she kept screaming at the crowd instead of talking to them. But it was very apparent that her voice sounded lower than what it sounds like on the radio.
The other issue with the concert was the overall focus of the different themes. They were based more on imagery and creating new images than what the songs were about. The entire middle of the concert suddenly shifted to appealing to eight-year-old girls. Katy and her dancers were all in cat costumes dancing around, and during a costume change, the dancers chased around a mouse with a giant piece of cheese. She then came out and watered the ground to make a pizza box grow out of the stage so she could talk about her gluten allergy and give the pizza away to a young girl.
During another crowd interactive moment, we learned she has the dreaded disease selfie-ing. It was nice that she brought up some fans out of the audience at multiple times during the performance, but the interactions seemed odd as if she wasn’t mentally there.
The Blu-ray is presented in1080i High Definition video in a 16:9 ratio. The quality is excellent. All of the flamboyant colors pop out and everything is crystal clear. While it is impressive, it seems a little odd because most concerts seem to have a lot of smoke in them making it easier to see the lighting effect which also shows up on the recording.
The soundtrack is available in DTS HD Master Audio and LPCM Stereo. This audio is done well, and it would have been nice to use the surround sound just a little more for the music, but the crowd noise made it feel as if you were actually there with the cheering fans. The quality also holds up when the volume is turned up to maximum without any kind of distortion or breaking.
There are three Bonus Features: “Behind the Scenes” is a brief look at what it takes to make a tour including wardrobe, hair, and equipment. “Stage Build Time Lapse” is exactly what it sounds like as you see how everything is setup in a twelve-hour period. “Crew Tidbits” members of the crew stand in front of the camera and discuss their favorite moments, most challenging pat of the tour and the moment that will stay with them forever.
Track Listing
- Roar
- Part of Me
- Wide Awake
- This Moment/Love Me
- Dark Horse
- E.T.
- Legendary Lovers
- I Kissed a Girl
- Hot N Cold
- International Smile
- By the Grace of God
- The One That Got Away/Thinking of You
- Unconditionally
- Walking on Air
- It Takes Two
- This is How We Do/Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)
- Teenage Dream
- California Girls
- Birthday
- Firework
