I have to admit that the opportunity to enjoy the aural and aesthetic wonders of Nicki Minaj of a Wednesday evening held a certain appeal for me. You could even say it got my heartbeat runnin’ away. I couldn’t wait to hear that boom badoom boom, boom badoom boom bass.
The whole experience was oddly surreal. My pal Hannah summed up our mutual sentiments nicely when she said “that was weirdly fantastic, but once was enough.” Gazing out into the oddly sparse crowd of Minaj appreciators and impersonators, it was a sea of uniformly and impossibly short skirts and fluoro wigs. The evening could be described as a spaceship spectacular with the crowd initially roused to attention by an ‘incoming transmission from Nicki’. Landing on stage in all her unblinking otherworldly glory and threatening to put her dick in yo’ face, she opened with Come On A Cone.
Throughout the show there was a constant assault of lights, obscenities, booty shaking back up dancers and even merchandise fired upon fans from T-shirt guns (the first time I have ever witnessed one used in the real world). The crowd was certainly stimulated, even as Minaj repeatedly disappeared from the stage for extended periods to up the outrageousness of her attire. Like their idol they were small and scantily clad, the meagre response received from a call out for those over 18, confirmed they were mostly underage.
While for me Minaj doesn’t seem the ideal role model, she imparted some wise words upon her young flock. “Be in school, be smart and don’t give your cookies away to every Tom, Dick and Harry.” It was all very affirming, Nicki was “so proud of us”.
While showmanship abounded, not all that much singing actually went on. There were a few slower ballad numbers midway through, which momentarily gave the impression that Minaj might have vocal skills as rounded as her voluptuous booty. Closer inspection revealed that the talent was in fact sourced from two less manufactured backup singers. Minaj interjected their rather impressive performances at points, mostly with “yeah” or “Nicki” or “yeah, Nicki”.
Superbass and Va Va Voom elicited squeals and got a stadium of feet shuffling, but it was a long time between Nicki’s touchdown and my ejection out into the cold night air. Somewhere around the third costume change, I started fading. I was holding out for of Starships and as the closing number it reinvigorated my soul.
A lot of Minaj’s show was like watching a space age Barbie spit out sexual innuendo, which, to be honest, is pretty entertaining. Some other highlights included Minaj’s nonsensical banter with her fans and the most impressive display of twerking I have seen since Big Freedia was out.
BY JO ROBIN
Photo credit: Charles Newbury
LOVED: Watching Jack from Mornington’s dreams come true when he and his Barbie bling necklace were called up on stage and got their time to shine.
HATED: The extended periods of obnoxious MCing during costume changes.
DRANK: Water.
