The Trilogy Tour is an elaborate theatrical extravaganza as conceptually audacious as we'll likely see a major pop star manage in a massive sports arena until Melanie Martinez somehow figures out a way to top herself.
Martinez's Trilogy Tour hit downtown Phoenix on Tuesday, June 25, treating fans at a packed Footprint Center to an epic journey in three acts through nearly every song on each of her three albums — “Cry Baby,” “K-12” and “Portals.”
The fact that they're all concept albums following her alter ego, Cry Baby, through childhood, death and rebirth as some sort of mythical, moss-covered wood nymph or faerie or alien creature with four eyes and butterfly wings does admittedly lend itself a production of this nature.
But Martinez has outdone herself in seamlessly bringing those albums to life as one extended piece.
After setting the scene with the image of a pregnant woman's belly on the screens that hung above the stage on either side, the show began with dancers wearing giant rabbit heads and other dancers dressed as babies as Martinez made her entrance, riding a hydraulic platform to a spot that made her seem to be inside the cradle on the screen behind her, singing "Cry Baby," the song that opens her first album.
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Many of the concert's most arresting visuals involved Martinez and her costumed dancers interacting with the scenes projected on the screen behind them.
Melanie Martinez setlist:Every song she sang when the Trilogy Tour hit Phoenix
On "Dollhouse," she appeared to be inside a giant dollhouse. On "Carousel," she rode a bunny on a mounted post as the screen showed a rotating merry-go-round. On "Alphabet Boy," it looked like she was standing on a stack of giant letter blocks.
And so it went as she proceeded through the storyline of all three albums.
On "Show & Tell," from "K-12," we saw Martinez as a dancing puppet whose movements were manipulated by a giant hand projected on the puppet show behind her. Act II ended with an onscreen Cupid somehow shooting a physical arrow at Martinez during "High School Sweethearts" as her dancer carried light-up candy hearts with messages that read "Ur gross," "U suck," "Die Slow" and other less printable fare.
As Cry Baby was reborn in the third act, the video projected to a mesmerizing journey through an underwater tunnel full of mushrooms, moss and flowers while Martinez led a haunting singalong of "Follow the tunnel into the portal/ Lay all your burdens to rest/ Drink from the fountain, death's holy water/ Watch as you're put to the test."
There were occasional props — some giant candles during "Pity Party," inflatable tombstones on "Death," Martinez magically emerging from the tunnel in butterfly wings during "Faerie Soiree."
Her dancers were a prominent part of the show — playing jump rope on "Wheels on the Bus," wheeling Martinez around on a gurney as demented candy stripers during "Nurse's Office" and introducing Act III with some breathtaking ballet.
The members of her touring band were positioned on risers at opposite ends of the stage, allowing the dancers the freedom to occupy the main part of the stage.
Martinez didn't do much interacting with the audience, a large percentage of which came out dressed in their Cry Baby costumes. As the show was ending, she talked about how Phoenix was the second-to-last concert on her U.S. tour and thanked her fans for coming out.
"Thank you so much for (expletive)-ing with my music and just appreciating the art. It means so (expletive) much to me. I love you so much."
Then, she asked them to "scream 'Free Palestine' as loud as you can' on the count of three, which they did.
Those fans spent much of Tuesday's concert singing along with conviction to all three albums, which underscored the emotional depth of power of her songs, which frequently use childlike imagery and sounds to tackle much heavier topics and feelings, which Martinez manages to do with just the right balance of vulnerability and strength.
That's why her music resonates the way it does.
Sofia Isella and Beach Bunny opened for Melanie Martinez in Phoenix
Sofia Isella opened Tuesday's concert, followed by a raucous set from Beach Bunny, who somehow managed to make Footprint Center feel more like an old-school punk club than a huge arena as Lili Trifilio and her bandmates powered through their sugar-coated pop hooks with the urgency of punk to cathartic effect, the churn of their guitars at times recalling the Ramones.
After setting the tone for their set with the reckless abandon of "Cuffing Season," they made their way through such highlights as "Prom Queen," "Good Girls (Don't Get Used)" and "Blame Game."
Melanie Martinez Trilogy Tour setlist: Every song she did in Phoenix
Here’s every song Martinez play at Footprint Center in Phoenix on Tuesday, June 25.
Act I:"Cry Baby"
- "Cry Baby"
- "Dollhouse"
- "Sippy Cup"
- "Carousel"
- "Alphabet Boy"
- "Soap"
- "Pity Party"
- "Play Date"
- "Mad Hatter"
Act II: "K-12"
- "Wheels on the Bus"
- "Class Fight"
- "The Principal"(Video Interlude)
- "Show & Tell"
- "Nurse's Office"
- "Strawberry Shortcake"
- "Lunchbox Friends"
- "Teacher's Pet"
- "High School Sweethearts"
Act III: "Portals"
- "Death"
- "Void"
- "Tunnel Vision"
- "Faerie Soirée"
- "Light Shower"
- "Spider Web"
- "Battle of the Larynx"
- "The Contortionist"
- "Nymphology"
- "Evil"
Encore
- "Womb"
