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Review: Perri leads the girl pack at the Mann

Calling Saturday's showcase The Girls Night Out, Boys Can Come Too Tour was a mouthful for something so simple: three mainstream singing/songwriting women having a go. Then again, that's better than saying Christina Perri, Colbie Caillat, and Rachel Platten yelling, cooing, and griping about love, loss, and lousy boyfriends at the Mann. Philly-raised Perri was headliner.

Christina Perri (left) and Colbie Caillat were joined Saturday night at the Mann Music Center for the Performing Arts by Rachel Platten. Philadelphia-raised Perri was the headliner. Factory Boys
Christina Perri (left) and Colbie Caillat were joined Saturday night at the Mann Music Center for the Performing Arts by Rachel Platten. Philadelphia-raised Perri was the headliner. Factory BoysRead more

Calling Saturday's showcase The Girls Night Out, Boys Can Come Too Tour was a mouthful for something so simple: three mainstream singing/songwriting women having a go. Then again, that's better than saying Christina Perri, Colbie Caillat, and Rachel Platten yelling, cooing, and griping about love, loss, and lousy boyfriends at the Mann. Philly-raised Perri was headliner.

They did the sad, doe-eyed thing; they kvetched; and they went to happily optimistic on the smiley black-to-red dial. New York City's Platten even went hard and dark during her opening slot. Every set, however, revealed the singular joys each woman contains.

As for Perri, she reigned in her hometown and - for the first time since her break five years ago - acted like it. In a short, white, prom-worthy dress and sparkly sneakers, she pranced, pirouetted, and talked about Wawa sandwiches when she wasn't belting whisper-to-scream self-forgiveness-focused ballads such as "Human" and "A Thousand Years," along with upbeat clap-alongs such as "Be My Forever." Perri figured a way to include real drama in every aspect of her sound; during "The Words," she worked through the sinisterly slow song's eerily askew chord changes and cello-heavy arrangement without losing the 10-year-olds there to hear her hit "Jar of Hearts."

Most impressive was Perri's new marriage of classic girl-group sounds to '60s psychedelia. Through monster beats, reedy organs, and needling guitar sounds on "Shot Me in the Heart," "Run," and the repetitive "Arms," her reverberating vocals alternated between tuneful holler and tender yet empowered whimper, with a real cry in her voice. Perri's time is now, and wow.

Caillat, a princess of sun-dappled pop, was like your corny cousin who shows off iPhone videos featuring her dogs at play and her college gal pals doing shots. Usually I'd say "ugh," but that bit worked to her advantage as Caillat presented herself as an earthy, grounded lass who just happens to write soulful femme-empowered ballads about body image ("Try"); breezy, jazzy, folksy tunes such as "Bubbly" and "Lucky" (the latter with Jason Mraz who "duetted" with her by video); and the pastoral "I Do." Caillat did listless ballads and tepid rockers, but the sweet outweighed the tedious, considering the laid-back elegance of her voice and the Latino Stephen Stills-ish lilt of "Like Tomorrow Never Comes."

Platten opened with a gloriously buggy, deeply moody brand of synth-pop tinged with gospel, done in a quivering powerful voice that gave Antony a run for his money.