3 things Barbz loved about Nicki Minaj's tour stop in Austin

As far as pre-show banter goes, the DJ asked a standard question: “Is there any real Barbz here in Austin, Texas?”

Surely he didn’t really miss the ocean of pink bob wigs, like a fleet of cotton candy Edna Modes, on Sunday night in the Moody Center. Or the pink body-con dresses. Or the pink bandannas, cowgirl hats, faux-fur coats, distressed jeans — you could probably see the flush of pink on a few cheeks as fans awaited the late-night arrival of Nicki Minaj.

The queen of rap gathered her Barbz in Austin for a rowdy Mother’s Day stop on the Pink Friday 2 World Tour. Minaj is a generation-defining artist and a giant in hip-hop — not just for women, but those broken barriers speak for themselves, too. In recent years, though, headlines have often centered around her controversies — about her marriage, her public acrimony toward other artists, etc. — as much as her music.

But if you had any doubts about Minaj’s enduring pop power, this concert testified that she’s a diva in her prime. Just look at the material; thousands of lyric-memorizing fans can’t be wrong.

Here are three things you should know about Sunday’s show.

Nicki Minaj is a Swiss army knife of a performer

As the train pulled into Gag City at 10:37 p.m., Minaj rose from under the stage in a white wrap skirt and golden breastplate — full goddess wear. A fitting first fashion moment for an opener of “I’m the Best,” Minaj’s 2010 track that doubles as a memoir of her career rise. “I hear they comin' for me/ Because the top is lonely,” she rapped, bedazzled pink microphone in hand.

All night, Minaj’s showmanship felt like a resume in motion. The looks kept coming, for one thing. One sparkling leotard with a matching wig turned her into a pink diamond set into a chain of silver-clad dancers.

As a lyricist, Minaj has always demonstrated a deep well of pop culture knowledge. The line “Lara been Croft” still garnered a smile on the hard-hitting track “Chun-Li.” That wit has endured into newer output, like the menacing earworm “Red Ruby Da Sleeze,” which saw Minaj rap about “a bunch of airheads like Kelly Bundy.” (As well as one admittedly clever but tasteless line about Christopher Reeve.)

Minaj’s prowess as an emcee needs no defense, either, but what impressed most on Sunday was her rap athleticism. This was not the kind of hip-hop show where an artist cycles through a medley of verses with plenty of breathers and air horns while the audience carries the flow. No, Minaj charged through a stacked setlist with control and power.

On songs like “Beep Beep,” Minaj planted her feet, hands at her hips, and stood on business. The star didn’t park and bark all night, though. She got in on plenty of choreo, including booty popping, some floor work with legs on yoga mode and a few moves we can’t mention by name because of obscenity guidelines.

“These rap (expletive) you like is my sons/ Still gon run this rap (expletive) when I'm done,” she spit on “Barbie Dangerous.” Two of her favorite recurring claims of dominance, punctuated by plumes of pink smoke spewing from the stage like columns in a Roman temple.

And speaking of Roman …

The many personas of Nicki Minaj showed up

From day one, Minaj embraced the theatricality of her artform. She created many personas that let her shift into different styles, and at a live show, they make for a dynamic set.

Midway through the night, the dancers wheeled out a set of cabinets, each bearing the name of one of Minaj’s rap characters: Roman, Barbie, Chun-Li and more. She cycled in and out of them as the setlist dedicated, most satisfyingly for the meme-able fury of “Roman’s Revenge.” You could probably hear the audience screaming “raah, raah, like a dungeon dragon” from Interstate 35.

Even without the personas, Minaj embraced elasticity. At one point, she emerged from underneath the stage butt first to “Pink Birthday,” fully giving sex siren. For “Feeling Myself,” her collab with Beyoncé, she pulled silly mugs and recalled the live-action cartoon energy of her early videos.

And since eras are all the rage in the concert ecosystem these days, it’s worth mentioning that Minaj has built herself a nice back catalog of aesthetics. She loaded the second act of Sunday’s concert with her biggest nostalgic hits, from “Anaconda” to “Super Bass” to a crowd-thrilling “Moment 4 Life.”

Nothing better displayed Minaj’s versatility, though, than the show’s two energetic high points: “Monster” and “Starships.” The former saw Minaj unleash her already-legendary verse from Kanye West’s 2010 song with a fury usually reserved for jet turbines. The latter, a chart-smashing pop confection that Minaj recently tried to shrug off, played with the bacchanalian glee of a Super Bowl half-time show.

The queen spoke to the Barbz directly

The train to Gag City didn’t make many stops for banter. In fact, Minaj barely stopped to speak to the audience until just around midnight. Then, she waxed aimlessly about love. “Maybe love is overrated,” she said. “But then again, it feels so good when it’s good.”

The star addressed those dealing with haters, of course: “What matters is how happy you feel when you go home at night and close the door behind you.”

Minaj promised the single folks that their person just hadn’t found them yet. She urged people to go to school, like she usually does. She handed the mic to fans to sing “The Night Is Still Young,” yanking it back from one tone-deaf Barb with a zany expression of comic disgust.

In just those few moments, the symbiosis between performer and fanbase was undeniable. Minaj took note of the diverse audience, shouting out “all walks of life in one room having fun, minding their business.”

“For whatever reason you like me,” she said, “I love you.”

Eric Webb is an award-winning culture writer based in Austin. Find him at www.ericwebb.me.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Nicki Minaj hosts a very pink Mother's Day bash with Barbz in Austin