Britney is not Madonna. She just ain’t.Madonna is Hillary Clinton. She’s whip smart and survives, even thrives by adapting. And Lord knows she wants it more than anyone.
Britney is Sarah Palin. Baby drama headlines. Podunk back story and a massive industry machine behind her. She’s a manufactured star aimed at the lowest common denominator.
But for a generation who grew up without Madonna as queen, she’ll do.
Last night at a sold-out TD Banknorth Garden, Spears dazzled her adoring fans with lots and lots of bells and whistles and a few solid numbers.
Taking the Circus theme literally, the show opened with 20 minutes of jugglers, clowns, acrobats and, oddly, dancing ninjas. When Brit finally appeared, it was awesome. The booming base of Circus came pumping out of the speakers and Spears dropped from the sky with her dancers.
Then it quickly became evident that this big top was more spectacle than substance. The big-budget magic of “Ooh Ooh Baby” and “Hot as Ice” were neat in a Vegas sort of way. But the hyper-sexuality of the show, loads of S&M imagery, barely pantomimed threesomes and a stripper pole Spears mounted on the back of a giant tricycle for “Boys” wasn’t all that titillating. And chasing the Bollywood trend on “Me Against the Music” just made her look behind the curve.
A smarter, stronger ring leader could have pulled it off, ahem, Madge, but not Brit. Or at least not the Brit who showed up in front of last nights 17,804.
Spears didn’t even pay lip service to lip synching, instead she just occasionally mouthed along to her backing tracks. And, as the show wore on, her dancing seemed less crisp and eventually bordered on lifeless, even if - thanks to 20 dancers framing the star - the encore of “Womanizer” rocked.
The machine has produced a string of wickedly catchy hits, but it just can’t create the legendary stage show it aimed for. Britney’s still just the Mouseketeer with lip gloss.
The Pussycat Dolls opened with an old-school burlesque show. They’ll never headline, but they set the stripper tone of the night early and well.
http://news.bostonherald.com/entertainment/music/general/view.bg?articleid=1159150
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