Music Matters

Katy Perry throws sexual innuendo, fantasy and 17 costume changes —sugar-coating included — at Houston

A Katie Perry concert is never dull.
Is Katie Perry and the bear supposed to be sexy or girlie?

It was so easy to be a parent concerned with what music your kids listened to 25 years ago. Back then pop stars like Madonna, Janet Jackson and Prince sold sex as song to kids on MTV in the most overt way possible. Mom and dad were outraged, but at least it was easy to identify who the offenders were.

Friday at Toyota Center lite-pop icon du jour (no disrespect, Lady Gaga but you're a little darker than lite pop) Katy Perry brought her highly-stylized, visually-stunning California Dreams Tour to Houston and set a new standard for turning three-minute songs into imaginative cohesive theater. She also offered parents a whole new layer of terror: Foreplay presented as fairytale.

"Where are all my sexy ladies at?" asked Perry during a break in her 18-song, two-hour show of hit singles, covers and songs from her two multi-platinum albums. Two excited elementary school age girls enjoying popcorn and glow sticks eagerly started shouting their response.

At first I thought, "How cute." Then a part of me couldn't help but think, "Am I OK with these youngsters responding to the word "sexy?"

Such is the conundrum of Perry and the Candyfornia world she introduced in her chart-topping "California Gurls" video last year and which she has now brought brilliantly to life on a multi-faceted stage.

Perry demonstrated that a strong mid-range and a helplessly likeable personality trumps vocal gymnastics and snooty diva-dom.

On the surface, Perry has created the ultimate 12 year-old girl's bedroom complete with lollipops, unicorns, fluffy pink clouds and furry mascots. Her video screens are lined in pink neon and her band and dancers dress like Barbie and Dr. Seuss characters.

But pay attention to the song lyrics, peek-a-boo fashions and thinly-veiled innuendo and it's clear that there is a lot of heavy flirtation mixed in with Perry's innocent sugar. She is definitely walking a delicate tightrope between PG and a strong PG-13.

I hate that this is an issue, because aside from those moments of discomfort, the show rivaled some of the best and most historic pop concerts of the last several decades. 'N Sync's No Strings Attached Tour and Madonna's Blonde Ambition Tour are the shows it's on par with.

Weaving a tale about an Alice in Wonderland-type girl who flees an evil butcher to be with her beloved Baker Boy, Perry demonstrated that a strong mid-range and a helplessly likeable personality trumps vocal gymnastics and snooty diva-dom.

Live renditions of hits like "E.T." and "Waking Up In Vegas," take on new dimensions when you can see her party girl vision played out as she sings. A powerful vocal on "Firework" and soulful reworking of "Hot N Cold" affirmed that Perry's voice doesn't get the credit it deserves while lesser-known torch songs like "Pearl" offer glimpses about some other artistic tricks she has up her sleeve.

But all that vocal energy was muted by visuals so stunning that the eyes couldn't catch it all. From a multi-colored Lego-inspired staircase to illuminated keyboards, Glee-worthy dance choreography and a stunning 17 wardrobe changes (the seven mid-stride, on-stage outfit changes during "Hot n Cold," is one of the coolest tricks I have ever seen) Perry set the bar very high for how she could possibly top this wonderland in the future.

Perhaps she might design a stage that is as adult as her music.

If Katy Perry has mastered anything over her lady-pop peers it's an ability to appeal to children and adults in equal — but very different ways. For the young girls she has filled her albums and videos with visions of unicorns, fluffy pink clouds and light-as-air choruses that are harder to shake than a debt collector. For her more mature fans there is an undercurrent of lust and physicality in her music that is helplessly magnetic because of its innocent hard candy coating.

The genius is that each individual listener takes what suits them when listening to Katy Perry.

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Movie Review

Sheriff Bob Odenkirk is back in over-the-top new action movie 'Normal'

Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures

Bob Odenkirk in Normal.

Screenwriter Derek Kolstad, who wrote the first three John Wick movies, has essentially had a blank check to do what he wants in the movie landscape since 2014. In recent years that has meant writing the action series Nobody for Bob Odenkirk, who has turned from a comedian into an unlikely action star in his sixties. Kolstad and Odenkirk are teaming up again in Normal.

A film that tries to evoke Fargo in multiple ways, Normal finds Ulysses Richardson (Odenkirk) serving as a temporary sheriff for the small town of Normal, Minnesota after the previous sheriff died. Knowing he’s just a steward until a new sheriff is elected, Ulysses takes a live-and-let-live approach to the job, letting the deputies (Ryan Allen and Billy MacLellan) do the grunt work and trying to stay out of everyone’s way, including Mayor Kibner (Henry Winkler).

A bank robbery attempt by two non-citizens upsets his best-laid plans in more ways than he can imagine. Not only is he forced to confront a crime not often seen in a town like Normal, but the robbery uncovers secrets that turn the film into an all-out bloodbath. Soon, almost everyone in town becomes involved in what comes to resemble a war, along with — you guessed it — Yakuza henchmen from Japan.

Directed by Ben Wheatley and written by Kolstad, the film is a slight twist on the everyman-turned-hero character Odenkirk played in the two Nobody films. While Ulysses is in law enforcement, he prefers to use words instead of weapons, and it’s only when he’s pushed to the brink that he crosses that line. Naturally, his skills are beyond what anyone would expect of him, allowing him to match up well with people half his age.

The film is not a comedy in the traditional sense, but instead aims for laughs by catching the audience off-guard with its ultraviolence. Some characters are dispatched in shockingly unexpected ways, with one of the only natural reactions to the jarring nature of their deaths being laughter. That’s not necessarily the case for other killings, which range from blasé to sadistic, and the only reason they count as entertainment is because the filmmakers have primed the audience to accept them as such.

After a relatively solid setup, where Wheatley and Kolstad seem to take their time getting to know the main characters, the second half of the film is pure action that dispenses with good storytelling. Like many action movies, there are double crosses, surprise revelations, and more, but the filmmakers don’t seem to care about making sense of any character arcs. All they care about is delivering mayhem, and they succeed on that front.

Odenkirk has perfected the mild-yet-intimidating nature of his action characters, and it is satisfying to see him get the better of those who have done him wrong. He doesn’t run or jump like fellow 63-year-old Tom Cruise, but — with the help of fast-paced editing — he still makes for a credible action hero. The only other actors of any note in the film are Winkler, who’s a nice presence with his sardonic personality, and Lena Headey, whose small role doesn't match up with her experience.

You have to have a certain mindset to enjoy a film like Normal, but if you can abide its over-the-top bloodiness, it’s a serviceable action film. Few would have expected Odenkirk to take on these kinds of roles at this late stage of his career, but he’s making the most of his opportunities.

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Normal opens in theaters on April 17.

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