Hellooo! on the 19th June last year, I took a trip to Sheffield's FlyDSA Arena to see Katy Perry's Witness The Tour! My seat was Block 202, Row G, Seat 7 and it was a great view! I was with my bestie Lyndsey and we'd previously been to see Katy Perry when she toured the UK as part of her Prismatic World Tour which was incredible, so we were VERY excited to be seeing her again! Lyndsey (who also wrote a blog post on the night) and I arrived at the arena pretty early and were among the first to arrive at the merchandise counter which made it a very smooth experience! I have begun a (rather expensive) tradition of
buying a t-shirt from every concert I attend and this time, I decided to go for the 'vintage' tour top for (I think) £35 with the full list of tour dates on the back. I also grabbed a programme for £20, which seemed super expensive but it's a VERY pretty programme! All the pages are glossy, it's high quality with a spine like a book and it came with a pack including stickers, cards and a postcard which I liked!
Hailee Steinfeld opened the show and I LOVED her performance! Her setlist comprised of Love Myself, Show You Love, Hell Nos and Headphones, Capital Letters, Most Girls, Starving and Let Me Go. I liked the choreography throughout her performance and she executed it alongside her dancers effortlessly! I liked that even though she was the support act, she still had an on-screen production behind her and she was a great opening to the show! I liked that her set mixed songs from her EP with recognisable singles and I LOVED her performances of Love Myself, Most Girls, Starving and Let Me Go! I love her voice and she definitely didn't disappoint live!
Onto Katy Perry! Her set was split into five acts, along with an encore and my first impressions when entering the arena was that the stage seemed a lot smaller than when we saw her last. I liked that there was a runway from the stage into the crowd, along with a small podium near where we were sat to allow her to get closer to the crowd. The stage and screen behind the stage were both in the shape of an eye, continuing the theme from her Witness album however, the stage looked small in the arena and I was intrigued to see how it would work throughout the show.
Act 1 included Witness, Roulette, Dark Horse and Chained to the Rhythm and I loved the gold outfit she wore for this section. I loved Roulette and particularly the ending and I LOVED the moving platforms and how they were used during Dark Horse, along with the overall production for Dark Horse. The 'TV Heads' in Chained to the Rhythm were weird but fitted the Witness era, although the giant 'TV Heads' were a bit creepy! Act 2 opened with Teenage Dream and as much as I love bright colours, I'm not entirely sure what
the dancers were supposed to be dressed as! I loved the pink theme from the giant flamingos to the guitar and LED top in Hot N Cold and loved the overall performance! Following Hot N Cold, Act 2 also included a snippet of Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F), before launching into California Gurls and I Kissed a Girl! I love the live version of Katy Perry's debut single, I Kissed a Girl and I liked that the lips with eyes helped tie the song in with her Witness album.
Onto Act 3! I think this was my favourite act in the show as I loved the costumes, production and rose theme of this section! Act 3 opened with Deja Vu and while Katy was singing, the tour techies were still trying to get the last giant rose into it's position at the end of the runway! It took them a while but eventually they managed it, earning a cheer from the whole arena which was great to watch! I loved the graphics on screen throughout this song and how they matched the giant roses positioned around
the stage and runway. The next song in this section was Tsunami and I loved how the props were integrated into the show, particularly the use of the rose at the end of the runway! E.T. was the next track and is probably one of my favourites of Katy Perry's! I liked the alien and loved the overall performance of the song, which was followed by Bon Appetit (including a snippet of What Have You Done for Me Lately by Janet Jackson), completing Act 3.
Wide Awake opened Act 4 which is another of my favourite Katy Perry songs and I loved this act! I loved the arrangement of the song on the Prismatic World Tour, which gave it a more dance feel but for this tour, Katy Perry went for an acoustic version of the track. While performing the song, she flew around the arena sat on a rainbow planet! This allowed her to be closer to the audience which I loved, along with her amazing silver outfit! Following this, she landed on the teardrop podium to sing Into Me You See. The performance was simple and showed off her voice which suited the song well. It was an emotional performance that allowed her to connect with the fans around her and I loved it! The final song for Act 4
was Power, which she performed while stood on a podium with giant wings behind her. I LOVED the wings, her passionate performance of the song and just the song in general! The final act of the show, Act 5, opened with Part of Me, another of my favourites! I loved the performance and the choreography in the song! The next track was Swish Swish, performed with a giant basketball hoop, matching the music video. I loved the video production behind the performance and the confetti ending! Finally, Roar completed this act, also including a snippet of Hard Knock Life, which worked well with the song. I loved the performance and the geometric tiger head in the background!
The encore opened with Pendulum, which I loved! Katy Perry floated through the audience on a giant clock hanging from the roof and I LOVED her dress! The last song of Witness The Tour was Firework, which also closed the Prismatic World Tour. She performed the song while stood on a giant hand at the end of the runway, beginning the song with a twist on the original version, before switching to the classic production. The song showcased her voice and I LOVED the colour scheme, with the video fireworks matching her dress, along with ACTUAL fireworks! The song ended with Katy Perry sinking into the hand, along with a downpour of confetti!
Overall, I loved the show! I particularly loved Acts 3 and 4 but there wasn't a bad performance throughout the whole night! Hailee Steinfeld was the perfect support act for Katy Perry! Throughout Katy Perry's set, there was a good mix of tracks from her whole discography, including plenty of songs from her latest album, Witness. There were some pretty random props and sets but it made for an exciting show with plenty of twists! I do think the stage could've been bigger but the production made the most of the space and I loved the use of the runway and teardrop podium! I had a great night and I'd definitely recommend seeing Katy Perry live!
Thanks for reading!
Sophie
P.S. Here's some more pictures!
