ANOMALY //>

Britney Spears
The Circus Tour 2009
Acer Arena
2.5/5

The crowd: Absolutely INSANE. The loyalty of her fans was OBVIOUS during the show. I've NEVER been to a show with SO MUCH screaming and devotion. It was nice to see, especially after endless media reports about walk outs and upset fans. It was clearly only a small percentage of people who didn't enjoy the show, because from what i saw, most people seemed to have a blast.
The crowd was the most interesting one iv'e seen so far at an Arena tour [besides GaGa's crowd]. SO many poofs and SLUTTY girls, lol, but in a good way!
The female fans were awesome, the crowd was filled with Barbie doll look a likes, some in Britney costumes, others practically in their undies and heels. Even the fat girls bleached their hair and put on the pinkist skirt they could find. Had a tranny sitting in front of me too.

Opening act: Well known Aussie female Dj, Dj Havana opened the show. Cool set up, hot girl, jumping around in her tiny undies and stilettos. Set the mood for the type of show we were about to see.

The show: Firstly, the set up for the tour was done well. The entire stadium glowed pink [gay], and they had sprayed the entire arena with her perfume. I felt like i was sitting inside Britney's vagina or something, was cute :). Once Dj Havana finished her set, they had a big 25 minute countdown to Britney's arrival. It was the PERFECT crowd warmer, because once we got to that last minute, lawd oh lawd, lol, that crowd fucking lost their minds. GREAT way to start the show.

Britney started with Circus, then worked her way through Piece of Me, and a couple of other songs. It was exciting seeing her. She's SO famous, and because i've been a fan for years, i couldn't help but get a few butterflies inside my tummy. I wasn't going nuts though, it just didn't call for it.

As we approached the middle of the show, things got a bit more interesting. Me Against The Music was GREAT. Best performance of the night, they utilized the stage the most during that. The stage was a bit tricky to navigate at times i noticed. There were some songs where she'd just have oher back to us for an entire song. It left you feeling a bit "um.....hello bitch, i'm over here!".
Other stand out moments were Do Something and Get Naked. The dancing in get Naked was really good, and Britney seemed into it. Breathe On Me was funny. The guy they dragged up on the stage looked pleased with the fact that Britney was shimmering her hips in front of him. He was some big jock, he looked REALLY excited in the pants region. I think he was straight, lol.

Other parts of the show i liked were the videos shown. The opener with Perez was done well, so was the Sweet Dreams mask party video.

Now for the not so great stuff.

Miming. This is the first "live" act i've seen mime a show, and it will be my last. I was obviously aware of what i was in for going in, and that's fine, i still chose to go. After going through the experience though, i can't say i got too much out of seeing someone lip every song on stage.
The main problem is the CONNECTION. When you mime a song, there's NO connection with the audience. I don't care if the song is only about shaking your ass!, if you sing it live, it puts a bit of conviction behind it, and it makes me enjoy it more. I don't mind a bit of miming during parts of songs where choreography comes in. But at least sing the majority of it live so i can actually connect with you on SOME level during the show. With Britney, there was nothing like that there. The show felt like it was on auto pilot, and she felt a million miles away.

Another thing, audience interaction. I don't expect ALL acts to sit and chat with the crowd like Pink does. I'll admit, it's a GREAT way to really make an audience feel close to you if you acknowledge there presence in some way, but it's not desperately needed. Britney had ZERO interaction with us. She said "Hello Sydney" and then "Bye Sydney". That was it. She just wasn't............"there". And i don't mean in a "drugged out" way. Her energy levels were good most of the time and she looked like she was having fun, but it was like watching a robot "do her thing" and then leave.

The tour design was nicely done, but i also think at times it was a bit too much. It felt like the performances were DROWNING in the lights and special fx. I wanted to see Britney, not smoke bombs and flying chairs for 5 minutes while Britney dances at one end of the stage where i couldn't see her past the pretty lights. It was overkill sometimes, and i wished she'd PULL BACK some of the sets to allow us in a bit more.

The miming, the lack of audience interaction, the veil of visual effects............it all worked to make her feel like she was a million miles away on that stage. It was just empty.

Overall, as a fan, i had a decent time. She's got some great songs under her belt, and some of the performances were nicely done. What made the night was the crowd atmosphere and the music. As a touring act though, i can't say Britney left any sort of lasting impression on me. I wish i could say she did, but she didn't. I saw the show, and pretty much didn't think about it by the time i got to my car in the car park. I suppose that's what you get when everything she has to offer on stage is so.........."false".

I've been following her career for 10 years, and i'm still a big fan. I'm glad i can at least say i saw her ONCE in my life, just for the thrill of it. Would i ever see her again though? No. I wouldn't.

Sorry Britney, but..............after seeing her fellow pop friends like Pink, Beyonce and GaGa [who only had a shitty club stage may i add], Brit just ISN'T in the same league on stage. At all. In any way shape or form.