A Taste of Talent with a Side of Tartan: Pinkpantheress at L’Olympia

Photo Credit: ZaneBurkoMedia

The city towered beneath the cold weather in the midst of May–an unfortunate but regular occurrence during the Montreal spring. Yet, splatters of an unspoken but mandatory tartan, red and blue painted the streets, brightening the ordinarily bleak sidewalk of rue Sainte-Catherine in preparation for UK singer-songwriter and producer PinkPantheress. Shivering hands gripped onto umbrellas in line, awaiting the OK to be welcomed into the contrasting heat of the Theatre L’Olympia and to rush to secure their barricade spots. 

I, as per my usual bad habit, arrived at the venue at the last minute, sharing my brewing excitement with the rest of the crowd. As I hurried to secure as solid of a place in the pit as I could, despite my tardiness, a dirty – filthy even – bass began ringing throughout the venue. 

Cece Natalie—Pinkpantheress’s opening act—writes and produces all of her own music, something she has been doing since the age of 15. Accompanied by her DJ Ali, Cece’s bubbly aura quickly turned seductive as she strutted along the stage with a pair of black angel wings on her back. Cece represents a new wave of a genre on the rise within the digital world, with her autotuned vocals reverberating over a beat that is almost impossible not to move your hips to. Without a doubt, “Exitin” and her remix of “Gorgeous” with Isabella Lovestory will be played the next time I’m getting ready to go out with the girls. Her sound felt reminiscent to Slayyyter or lil hero, leaning into the electro-pop ability to boost your confidence tenfold while listening. Towards the end of her set, a cake was brought out to celebrate DJ Ali’s upcoming birthday, with everybody singing a heartwarming “Happy Birthday,” breaking the ice just before our sweat-covered bodies moved and danced against one another moments later. 

Pink’s music is perfect to see live, the energy radiating from her songs and emanating throughout the crowd creates for a contagiously vibrant atmosphere. I went into the show expecting to be swept away by the performance, but I was even more blown away by the crowd itself. Not only did they bring spirit and vigor, in the way Montreal crowds always do, but they also brought looks. From my left to my right L’Olympia was riddled with style, each unique to that individual. However, my awe was quickly cut short as dancers filled the stage, with the lights shining a purple hue as videos of Pinkpantheress began flickering on the big screen. Pink stepped on stage with a red cardigan on her shoulders, left open with the exception of a single button, donning a royal blue tube top underneath, and a pair of trousers layered under her signature tartan patterned skirt. Within the first 5 chords of Pinkpantheress’s recent hit “Stateside,” she had the crowd in the palm of her hands. 

With each one of her songs being a handsome 34 seconds long, she had an extensive setlist of 28 songs. Playing a good variety of songs from all four of her albums, she transitioned from some of her more nostalgic and lyrically vulnerable songs like “I Must Apologize” and “Last Valentines” to her more flirtatious and cheeky ones, like “Tonight” and “Romeo.” Being a personal fan of Pink’s since her first project, to hell with it, I was refreshed to hear her play a number of b-sides and singles from it and can almost guarantee that the exact moment I lost my voice was when the guitar for “Attracted to You” graced my ears. 

From the dancers to Pink herself, the show oozed with drive and spirit. Each performer dripped with talent in a way that made everyone leave feeling inspired and filled with a sudden urge to create something themselves. You could feel the hard work put into the set, the choreography, and the songs– yet, they still managed to make it feel fun and effortless, something which is no easy feat. You could tell that this was no longer the same woman who met each stage with a purse on her shoulder.