Pink played tour dates in Florida and she handed out 2,000 banned books during those concerts. PINK said, “Books have held a special joy for me from the time I was a child, and that’s why I am unwilling to stand by and watch while books are banned by schools.” The books she handed out to concert attendees are four books from PEN America’s Index of Banned Books: Todd Parr’s “The Family Book,” Gorman’s “The Hill We Climb,” Toni Morrison’s “Beloved,” and Stacia Deutsch’s “Girls Who Code.”
Sadly, Florida leads the country in book bans. A whopping 40% of the book bans have taken place in Florida school districts. PEN America, has record of more than 3,300 book bans across the U.S., a 33% jump from the previous school year. And Florida leads in these bans. Texas came in second with 625 bans. Book bans target female and LGBTQ authors more than others. Nothing like rolling the country back in time, Florida (and Texas)! Of course, presidential candidate DeSantis is behind much of this.
Apart from the personal lives of the authors...the subjects of the banned books are deemed 'inappropriate content' related to sexuality, gender identity and race. "It's confusing, it's infuriating, it is censorship," Pink said, "It's especially hateful to see authorities take aim at books about race and racism and against LGBTQ authors and those of color. We have made so many strides toward equality in this country and no one should want to see this progress reversed. This is why I am supporting PEN America in its work and why I agree with them: no more banned books." DeSantis said, "In Florida, pornographic and inappropriate materials that have been snuck into our classrooms and libraries to sexualize our students violate our state education standards. Florida is the education state and that means providing students with a quality education free from sexualization and harmful materials that are not age appropriate."
In my opinion, these banned books are not pornographic nor are they harmful! This is simply more maga ultra conservative BS of rolling the country back in time. And THAT, in my opinion is shameful and scary! So I say, CONGRATULATIONS to Pink for taking a stand and giving her concert attendees in Florida 2000 books back! Because if we all simply stand around and allow this kind of thing to happen, we will be welcoming another era of Hitler, dictatorship and censorship into the fabric of this country. And that my friends, is just TERRIFYING! May it never happen again as it did during WWII!!! (Disclaimer - If you disagree, thats fine. This is simply my personal opinion. As human beings we are all allowed to have an opinion and free speech. And this is mine.)
The following is the review from P!NKs show in San Francisco in October 2023...
Alecia Beth Moore Hart, otherwise known as P!NK, knocks another one out of the park with her epic live show, three ring circus in San Francisco. It was held for two consecutive nights, Oct 14th & 15th, at the 19,000 capacity Chase Center. P!NK is a multi talented singer songwriter, acrobat, mother, wife and amazing badass performer. Each time I've seen her perform, she's amazed me. "Wow!" - Describes the evening perfectly in a nutshell!
After Grouplove, the opening act, alternative indie rock band from New York. P!NK opened the show appropriately with "Get the Party Started." She appeared in a pair of lips hanging up high near the ceiling. After a minute or two she swings out of the mouth and bungees onto the stage. P!NK spent the evening getting into and out of trapeze ropes throughout her two hour performance. And several wardrobe changes, of course. At one point a large ring came down around her. It was her skirt, long white and flowing! Her shoes were very tall and very sparkly! Onstage with her, were five band members, four back up singers and about a dozen dancers. All super talented and providing an absolutely epic performance.
The audience in attendance was all ages, cultures, and genders, with plenty of families in the house. She was charming, funny and warm, chatting throughout the show about music, motherhood and sweets. P!NK exposes her sensitive, caring 'Mother" side a lot, and she even had her 12 year old daughter, Willow Sage Hart, sing a song with her, whilst she beamed with pride standing alongside her onstage. And Willow delivered an effortless performance, (video below). P!NKs final and 23rd song of the night was "So What" whilst flying high over the audience on trapeze, of course (video below). During the show, P!NK performed songs from other artists as well as her own material. She mentioned one of her idols, Janis Joplin and sang "Me and Bobby McGee", and a couple more from others such as Adele, Sade and Bob Dylan.
© Cheryl Alterman Photography 2023
This tour is called, the Trustfall tour 2023 and finishes in Tulsa in November. The band was fantastic, consisting of, Justin Derrico on guitar, songwriter, Jason Chapman keyboards, Paul Mirkovich keyboards, Eva Gardner on bass, and much to my surprise...Mark Schulman who is normally her drummer is not playing with her anymore because he is focusing on his speaking career and performing with his All-Star Band, Rockers Collective. In his place was another killer drummer, Brian Frasier. He was excellent and unafraid to hit those drums! P!NKs' songwriting is a bit like her persona onstage and in her documentary, "P!NK: All I Know So Far". She encourages to her children to be their truest selves. P!NK seems like a badass but reminds us to be kind to each other. She's inclusive to all in life, and onstage. Whilst giving thanks to her crew, she thanked not only the musicians and dancers but she also shows her gratitude for everyone from the water guy to the roadies. She seems positively inspirational in her strength for women, and how she encourages all to be different and honour our truest selves, just as she teaches her children. When one is 'different', whether it be through choice of hair color, personality, career, or how one lives their life, it can always be more challenging. And in todays society with LGBTQ, racial, political and cultural differences, life can get hard and cruel. But P!NK encourages people to stand up, be different, and be proud of your differences. Stand tall and be okay with who you are. As she describes in her song, "Fucking Perfect." It says how we may love someone so much, that they are perfect to us, but they don't see themselves that way. We've probably all experienced this at some time in life.... "Pretty, pretty please, don't you ever, ever feel like you're less than fuckin' perfect. Pretty, pretty please, if you ever, ever feel like you're nothing. You're fuckin' perfect to me." P!NK says it loud and proud - no BS. I like that about her lyrics she's a no BS kinda girl. You can hear the entire song here: https://youtu.be/58L9zi5DtLo?si=ioHk8ZQGtMjo6-wR At the Chase Center, Oct 14, 2023:
If you haven't yet seen P!INK's documentary, "P!NK: All I Know So Far" I highly recommend it, as I also do for her live shows. In my opinion...last nights performance was simply amazing. Looking forward to her return to Northern California. She's always fantastic to photograph and a joy and inspiration attending her live performances. She's full of honesty, and warmth with a seemingly genuine love for her audience. I'm very grateful to have been able to cover this show, and share it with The Music Soup community once again. I wish her nothing but continued success in the years to come.
As usual, mine is not the only opinion. I also like to share others' reviews on the show. So my friend Loralai had the following to say about this event..."The show was an honest narrative of a woman living her life out loud for the world to see. She is a true inspiration for what it is to be living with courage, passion and heart. It appeared to me, P!NK is experiencing life to the fullest and encouraged us all to be bold and honest about who we truly are."
© Cheryl Alterman Photography 2023
On a side note - I have been laying low for ten weeks now due to a broken arm. This show was my first time getting back to what I love - shooting live music! I'm so grateful to be back! Whatever your joy is, whether it be painting, photography, playing an instrument, helping others, cooking, sailing, hang gliding, whatever it may be...get out there and do it. Even if it scares you. Especially if it scares you! Life is so short, find your joy, and DO IT! (And if at all possible - do it with someone you love). Oh, and if you ever get the chance to see a P!NK show - DO IT!
© Cheryl Alterman Photography 2023
© Cheryl Alterman Photography 2023
The following are some iPhone videos from the show: