PHOENIX - At the kickoff of her debuting headlining tour, Pink was concerned about pleasing a certain segment of her audience.

 

"You guys are fun," she told the capacity crowd of about 2'000. ``My dad and my stepmom are in the audience. I'm on my best behaviour. I hope I haven't sworn that much, have I?''

 

Pink, who launched her tour Thursday at the Web Theatre, offered an energetic opening to her set with apropos Get The Party Started, the first single from her album Missundaztood. Wearing an orange jumpsuit with a turquoise tank top peeking out, the platinum-haired Pink jumped to the beat. Glow-in-the-dark patches adorned the outfit, one of a handful she wore.

 

During her 75-minute performance, Pink proved her vocal prowess, which she buried beneath over-produced teen pop/R&B on her 2000 debut, Can't Take Me Home. She wrapped her smoky voice around an emotional rendition of 4 Non Blondes' ``What's Up,'' an obvious nod to Linda Perry, the former group's frontwoman who produced and co-wrote material for Missundaztood.

 

``Ten years ago when this song came out I was when I fell in love," Pink said.

 

She referenced Perry several times during the performance.

 

"When I was gonna do this new record, I decided to go after one of my idols. [The recprd company] told me I couldn't, so I did it," Pink said as the audience laughed.

 

"Linda thinks I have problems. I don't think I do. She wrote this for me and let me sing it. It's very special to me," she added about the track Lonely Girl.

 

Behind the band, a curtain ran the length of the stage, making it look as if the album title Missundaztood was spray-painted along a white brick wall. At times, it was pulled aside and replaced with a video screen. Using slide shows, Pink paid homage to Janis Joplin, her divorced parents and Vietnam veterans during her set.

 

Pink poked fun at the various ways she has been ''Missundaztood.'' A female dancer joined her for a sexually suggestive number meant to acknowledge the rumors that she is a lesbian. (She is reportedly dating male extreme sports star Carey Hart.)

 

She was playful, holding the microphone over the crowd to let them sing the chorus of There You Go, one of the few tunes from Can't Take Me Home she played.

 

The playfulness segued to visual irritation when a fan threw a tampon on stage as a gift.

 

''I think I make enough money to buy my own tampons, thanks,'' she said.

 

Pink's father and mother's divorce weighs heavily on her latest album, and that was reflected live as well. Family Portrait was accompanied by a slide show of her family.

 

"This song goes out to all the mommies and daddies who broke up. You made out lives that much easier," she said facetiously about Family Portrait.

 

At the end of My Vietnam Pink was joined near the front of the stage by four of her five bandmates, who locked arms and face the video screen as her guitarist played a Jimi Hendrix-esque verison of ''The Star Spangled Banner.''

 

Near the middle of the show, Pink mentioned that she had seen a few problems with her performance.

 

''Since this is the first show, you get to see all the screw-ups. You should feel honored,'' said Pink, who ended her show with "Don't Let Me Get Me."

 

There were no obvious "screw-ups," however. Just evidence of a burgeoning star.

 

 

 

 

TORONTO - A homemade sign being waved on the first balcony at Massey Hall summed up last night's sold-out show: ''Pink kicks ass.''

 

The 22-year-old Philadelphia-raised singer -- best known as one quarter of that skanky young foursome that recently remade Labelle's Lady Marmalade -- has been, until now, an overlooked solo talent.

 

Not to her devoted following, of course, who have snapped up her sophomore album, Missundaztood, to the tune of three million copies.

 

Many young female fans flocked to last night's show, showing off freshly dyed pink hair, pink balloons, pink signs and bursting with infectious enthusiasm. They immediately rushed the stage and started screaming when Pink -- whose hair is actually blond now -- and her five-piece band opned the evening with her bouncy hit single, Get The Party Started.

 

Dressed initally in green overalls unzipped far enough to show off a pink strapless bra, the tomboyish Pink maintained her stance as The Anti-Britney from the beginning.

 

Whether she was grabbing her crotch or pouring out of a black bustier later on, she often recalled Madonna if anyone.

 

And after a more R&B drenced first album, 2000's Can't Take Me Home, the newer material -- particularly rock anthems Don't Let Me Get Me, Just Like A Pill, and 18 Wheeler, along with funkier hip-hop numbers Respect and the title track from Missundaztood -- are a breath of fresh air.

 

All were well represented -- along with more serious, issues-oriented tunes like Dear Diary, Lonely Girl, Family Portrait, and My Vietnam -- last night by the singer, whose ballsy, sexy vocals are reason enough to catch her in concert.

 

With a swaggering confidence -- she happily received gifts thrown on stage including glow-in-the-dark necklaces and a pink bracelet -- and several costume changes, it was a potent combination.

 

Pink possesses a powerful voice a la Janis Joplin, who she later paid tribute to with hair-raising renditions of Summertime, Me and Bobby McGee, and Piece of My Heart.

 

"Go and buy an album called Pearl," Pink advised afterwards of Joplin's signature album. "It's a great album by a great woman."

 

She also gave a shout-out to her Missundaztood collaborator Linda Perry of 4 Non Blondes fame covering their hit What's Up almost note-for-note

 

Pink returns on July 30 to open for Lenny Kravitz at the Molson Amphitheatre. Do yourself a favour and don't miss her.