When I saw that she was touring and that she was going to be playing the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, I thought "Why even front on myself. I want to go to this." I paid for the mid-priced ticket, $84.55 after fees, and could not wait to see the spectacle that this show was sure to be.
Even though I find them to be total pop tarts (basically a group of 5 Britneys), I found myself actually respecting their abilities. From my limited knowledge which is, sadly, gleaned from Diddy's Making the Band show on MTV, it's hard not to appreciate the hard work one has to put into keeping an even mediocre career going in the pop music world. The hours at the gym, the hours spent learning choreography, traveling, recording...you have to be extremely driven just to accomplish the basic requirements that need to be met if you want to be even semi-successful. So even if you aren't a fan of the majority of the Dolls' songs, you can't say they don't work hard to at least give you a decent visual, and extremely sequin-y, performance.
In between the Dolls and the main act, members of the Big Apple Circus came out to entertain the crowd with standard circus tricks while we waited for Britney's crew to set up. Then around 9:30, it was showtime.
After the giant center ring-wrapping screen finished playing the intro video of a wisely chosen wicked Queen Perez Hilton psyching you up for the show, Britney made her grand entrance. As she is lowered into the center of the ring, you definitely feel a starstruck whoosh come over you. It was the same feeling I had when I first saw Madonna. It's just like "Woah! There she is!"
Britney's setlist consisted of mostly songs spanning from "Slave 4 U" to the present CD "Circus." As I mentioned, I'm not a fan of the early stuff so much, so this made me happy. I even liked the songs I hadn't heard on the radio before.
The show itself is definitely not for little kids. If you are expecting family-style entertainment, this is not where you're going to find it. It's not quite as risque as say a 90's era Madonna show, but there are definitely some things you'll be asked about if you bring a youngin'. Although at this point, I can't imagine her fan base includes many under the high school age anyway since for the last few years her music and image have changed quite a bit since the days of "Sometimes."
The show makes reference to a circus of course, with Britney performing in a lion's cage for "Piece of Me", or being the girl who is sawed in half for "Ooh Ooh Baby" for example. Later, she steps up the sexy. Well, I mean if you consider straddling on a swing made of two men for "Touch of My Hand" while blindfolded, giving a lapdance to a lucky guy during "Breathe on Me", or coming out dressed in a stripper police uniform while brandishing a nightstick for "Womanizer" sexy. The only truly old school song she did was "Baby One More Time" remixed to have a hip hop flair to it.
One of my favorite moments of the night was actually not even a live performance. It's a video she made where she lip synchs Marilyn Manson's cover of "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" while partaking in an Eyes Wide Shut-style masquerade house party. If you get past the seductive visuals of the video and really listen to the message of the lyrics, you start to realize this tune is more than just a cool 80's song revamped. It totally applies to her life and the hard lessons she's had to learn about how much people can really suck. Watching her attack the song with a vengeance gives you the sense she's taken back control and everyone better watch out. A better description of how I felt watching it would be "YOU GO WITH YOUR BAD SELF!"
Was the show mostly lip synched? Probably. Do I care? Not really. I didn't come to this show to witness the shock and awe of her vocal abilities anyway. I don't regret the money spent on this, because she gave us all what we came for- glamorous costumes, excessive glitter, dancing, and most importantly, a 2 hour escape from reality. I was there to be entertained. And entertain she did. Thanks Britney!
My terrible media acquired via cell phone:
View from my seat:
Being lowered into the center ring:
Britney yelling at us.
After the giant center ring-wrapping screen finished playing the intro video of a wisely chosen wicked Queen Perez Hilton psyching you up for the show, Britney made her grand entrance. As she is lowered into the center of the ring, you definitely feel a starstruck whoosh come over you. It was the same feeling I had when I first saw Madonna. It's just like "Woah! There she is!"
Britney's setlist consisted of mostly songs spanning from "Slave 4 U" to the present CD "Circus." As I mentioned, I'm not a fan of the early stuff so much, so this made me happy. I even liked the songs I hadn't heard on the radio before.
The show itself is definitely not for little kids. If you are expecting family-style entertainment, this is not where you're going to find it. It's not quite as risque as say a 90's era Madonna show, but there are definitely some things you'll be asked about if you bring a youngin'. Although at this point, I can't imagine her fan base includes many under the high school age anyway since for the last few years her music and image have changed quite a bit since the days of "Sometimes."
The show makes reference to a circus of course, with Britney performing in a lion's cage for "Piece of Me", or being the girl who is sawed in half for "Ooh Ooh Baby" for example. Later, she steps up the sexy. Well, I mean if you consider straddling on a swing made of two men for "Touch of My Hand" while blindfolded, giving a lapdance to a lucky guy during "Breathe on Me", or coming out dressed in a stripper police uniform while brandishing a nightstick for "Womanizer" sexy. The only truly old school song she did was "Baby One More Time" remixed to have a hip hop flair to it.
One of my favorite moments of the night was actually not even a live performance. It's a video she made where she lip synchs Marilyn Manson's cover of "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" while partaking in an Eyes Wide Shut-style masquerade house party. If you get past the seductive visuals of the video and really listen to the message of the lyrics, you start to realize this tune is more than just a cool 80's song revamped. It totally applies to her life and the hard lessons she's had to learn about how much people can really suck. Watching her attack the song with a vengeance gives you the sense she's taken back control and everyone better watch out. A better description of how I felt watching it would be "YOU GO WITH YOUR BAD SELF!"
Was the show mostly lip synched? Probably. Do I care? Not really. I didn't come to this show to witness the shock and awe of her vocal abilities anyway. I don't regret the money spent on this, because she gave us all what we came for- glamorous costumes, excessive glitter, dancing, and most importantly, a 2 hour escape from reality. I was there to be entertained. And entertain she did. Thanks Britney!
My terrible media acquired via cell phone:
View from my seat:
Being lowered into the center ring:
Britney yelling at us.
