A scary moment occurred late in Katy Perry’s sold-out concert at Chase Center in San Francisco on Friday (June 18).
It happened during one of the Perry’s (roughly) 278,433 aerial/high-rise sequences in the show, as the superstar boarded a giant black mechanical butterfly and soared off high above the crowd during the anthem “Roar.”
Suddenly, the butterfly lurched downward, as if one of its cables holding it aloft had come loose, drawing gasps from KatyCats (aka, Perry’s fans) as it appeared that the superstar could fall or otherwise be in serious danger.
Fortunately, the vocalist was OK and would finish her ride on the none-too-steady butterfly back to the stage. Disembarking from the creature, Perry would utter a memorable response to the mishap — one that fans would immediately begin quoting.
“Not today, Satan,” said the singer, who started off her career in Christian music before going on to find massive fame in the mainstream pop world.
The dicey butterfly ride was the exclamation point on what had been a technically challenged show — so challenged, in fact, that it almost didn’t happen. Organizers didn’t open the doors on time, leaving many KityCats — dressed in their glittery best — outside while crews worked on the problems with the elaborate set. It was only moments before opener Rebecca Black took the stage that it was even decided that there would — and could — be a concert on Friday.
Yet, Perry wasn’t about to disappoint her Bay Area fans.
“I was like, ‘no we are doing the show,” she told the crowd. “This is my biggest show in America, so thank you San Francisco!”
She’d thank fans by putting her all into this stop on her Lifetimes Tour, her fifth trek overall and first road show since 2017-18’s Witness: The Tour.
Since last Bay Area KatyCats last saw her at SAP Center, Perry had a child, spent several seasons as a judge on “American Idol,” released two albums that hardly lit up the charts and, yet, somehow still managed to grow her fanbase to include KatyCats who weren’t even born when the singer scored her last top 10 pop single.
Katy Perry performs in concert at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, July 18, 2025. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
This review will be updated soon. Please check back.
Katy Perry setlist July 18, 2025:
1. “ARTIFICIAL”
2. “Chained to the Rhythm”
3. “Teary Eyes”
4. “Dark Horse”
5. “WOMAN’S WORLD”
6. “California Gurls”
7. “Teenage Dream”
8. “Hot n Cold”
9. “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)”
10. “I Kissed a Girl”
11. “NIRVANA”
12. “CRUSH”
13. “I’M HIS, HE’S MINE”
14. “Wide Awake”
15. “Not Like the Movies”
16. “The One That Got Away”
17. “ALL THE LOVE”
18. “E.T.”
19. “Part of Me”
20. “Rise”
21. “Roar”
22. “Daisies”
23. “LIFETIMES”
24. “Firework”
Katy Perry performs in concert at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, July 18, 2025. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
Katy Perry performs in concert at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, July 18, 2025. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
