Katy Perry, Cannery Ballroom, Nashville TN, 4/14/2009

Katy Perry played a sold-out show at the Cannery Tuesday night… and Nashville liked it?

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Say what you want about the Christian artist turned pop vixen who spawned such thought-provoking hits as “Ur So Gay” and “I Kissed a Girl,” but she actually put on a pretty damn good show Tuesday night at Nashville’s Cannery Ballroom. How good, you ask? Good enough, at least, that she was able to elicit actual cheers and even a little dancing from one of Nashville’s notoriously tough crowds.

Rumor has it Perry kicked off her set with current radio staple “Hot N Cold.” Being all too accustomed to shows never starting on time, I arrived at 9 p.m. to find that not only had I missed opening act the Daylights but also the beginning of the main event. After getting past this initial setback (along with will call losing my tickets), it was time to put my game face on– I’ll be the first to tell you that I showed up, sequins and all, ready to get my Top 40 on with the best of ‘em.

Catching the last few notes of “Hot N Cold” as I walked in, I foolishly expected to be greeted with a sea of half-drunk Nashvillians dancing carelessly to computerized beats and sugary-sweet pop harmonies. Instead, I saw what looked like a typical Nashville show-a slightly organized mass of people, some bobbing their heads in unison but many staring blankly at the stage silently, probably thinking, “I could do this so much better.”

As the show went on, however, and Perry enthusiastically made her way through numbers off 2008’s commercial success One of the Boys, the crowd began to loosen up (much to the relief of me and my ridiculous outfit, might I add). Perry seemed relieved at the increase in energy as well. An early point in her set looked something like this:

“I hear Nashville is known for it’s line-dancing, is anybody going to show me some moves?”

Blank stares.

“Come on, you’ve gotta give me more than the fish-out-of-water dance.” (Imitates indie “dancing”)

High-energy tracks such as “Waking Up in Vegas” and “If You Can Afford Me” got the crowd re-accustomed to movement, though, and it finally started feeling like a real pop show.

Perry, however, held her own onstage throughout it all. I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect from her vocally, but can now say that Perry isn’t just another Britney clone-she really can sing, and pretty well at that. She was comfortable with her own vocal range, tossing in occasional runs and improvisation and also played guitar on a few songs, including her current hit “Thinking of You.” By the end of the night, I felt more like I was watching a female-fronted pop rock band than a pawn of the Top 40 game.

One highlight of the show as a cover of Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now,” which allowed Perry to show off her pipes, and gave her pleasantly tight band a chance to get a little flashy as well. It wasn’t necessarily Freddie Mercury-caliber, but he certainly wouldn’t be rolling over in his grave at that performance.

The end of the show brought the moment everyone in the sold-out room had been waiting for, and Perry hinted at what was to come by asking an audience member if she “brought her cherry Chapstick.” When the finally-enthusiastic cheers of the audience subsided, I could see the girl Perry was talking to throw a small object onto the stage. What happened next will easily remain one of my favorite show moments for some time to come. Perry picked it up, and looked out at the audience from behind her rhinestone-encrusted microphone in disgust.

“Burt’s fucking Bees? You don’t bring Burt’s fucking Bees to a Katy Perry show. But I’ll let you live tonight. Lucky for you, I always bring enough cherry Chapstick to go around.”

With that, she threw a giant inflatable Chapstick tube into the audience and the band launched into an aggressive version of her breakout hit “I Kissed a Girl.” The crowd sang and danced along until the last note, as the band ended the tune with an extended jam, and Perry pranced offstage in full cat regalia. With that, the hour-long show ended as quickly as it started.

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