A few nights ago I had the privilege of catching
The Circus: Starring Britney Spears, Brit's seventh concert tour. The show had its ups and downs which is why I've compiled some dos and don'ts of touring.
When returning to stage after a period of absenseDo: Enlist a major pop act to rev up the crowd before you take the stage. The
Pussycat Dolls were an excellent selection on Brit's team's part. They were full of energy and had a list of hits to perform that the crowd was familiar with.
Don't: Keep the crowd waiting with superfluous acts. After the Pussycat Dolls' 40-or-so minute set we were
treated to performers from the Big Apple Circus. By this time we wanted one thing: Britney. I didn't want contortionists or unicyclists or any crap like that. I wanted the show to start! Simple as that.
When Choosing a Setlist
Do: Keep the energy going with dance tracks, mixed with the occasional ballad to slow things down.
Don't: Disregard your hits. Considering its been a while since the last tour I wanted to celebrate the new albums as well as the golden days. While there were nods to $ucce$$e$ such as
Baby One More Time, Slave, Toxic, and
Everytime noticeably absent were
Oops!, Crazy, Lucky, My Prerogative and
Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman. The setlist in general was peculiar; there was a pluthera of
Blackout tracks, however, sans
Break The Ice. Previous album tracks such as
Breathe on Me and
Touch of My Hand worked their way in (granted I love them, they still could have been replaced by singles or current album tracks).
When Choosing CostumesDo: Bring major designers on board, such as DSquared2, to create dazzling ensembles that are stage-friendly and conscious of your newly hot bod.
Don't: Change every other song if the costumes all look similar; I would rather keep the momentum going with fewer costumes than constantly stop and start only to see another sparkley, sequined number.
Overall the show was remarkable, full of energy and quite the production. The circus theme was well executed initially but was phased out as the concert progressed. The highlight was the amazing opening with
Circus which was followed by
Piece of Me and
Radar after a quick wardrobe change. Also, there was a stunning video interlude, set to a cover of
Sweet Dreams by the Eurythmics, in what could have been a promo for
Gossip Girl. The best part of the concert was definitely being able to see Britney back in action. I had my doubts as to whether or not the show would be cancelled or whether she could pull off an entire performance but I was pleasantly surprised at how well Ms. Spears managed throughout the night. I can't wait for the next tour which will hopefully include some more of her back catalogue.