Posted March 4, 200916 yr People: It's Britney – One More Time! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Britney Spears descended from the New Orleans Arena ceiling and back into fans' hearts Tuesday night, restarting her career after years of tabloid tumult with a bump-and-grind performance on a Big Top stage. "Ahhh Britney!" gushed one concert-goer via a Twitter message posted on Spears's Web site, which live-blogged the show in words and cell-phone photos. As the pop star launched her first tour in five years, the 16-song set began with Spears, 27, being lowered from the rafters in a cage and breaking into the single "Circus," followed by "Piece of Me" and Radar" with stripper-pole dancing. "Oh my god, she looks amazing," said Joshua Matassa, 23, from New Orleans. "And the show's a spectacle – it really looks like a three-ring circus." Later in the show, fire shot out of the middle of the stage during "Slave," and the nearly sold-out 19,000-seat arena broke out into an explosion of screams as Spears performed "Toxic" and "Baby One More Time" back-to-back. The performance marked a dramatic return to form for Spears, who's been rehearsing for the 32-city tour, and placed aside – for now – the issues that derailed her personal and professional lives: the messy divorce from Kevin Federline, losing custody of her children, and the self-acknowledged breakdown that followed. Instead, Tuesday was a night of celebration and a chance for Spears, who hails from Kentwood, about 100 miles away, to bask in the glow of hometown fans. http://www.people.com/people/article...262850,00.html ---------------------- THE SUN: Britney kicks off tour with spectacular show Brit's Circus is an adult affair BRITNEY SPEARS returned to touring duty for the first time in five years with an X-rated, bondage-heavy show. The star blew the lid off the New Orleans Arena with her adult-only antics. Male dancers sported kinky, leather outfits and masks while the Louisiana native wore some of the most revealing outfits of her career, including sheer body-suits, which left very little to the imagination. In fact, she made support act the PUSSYCAT DOLLS look like a group of nuns. KYLIE MINOGUE's tour director produced the show, which was split into four acts. Taking her cue from some of MADONNA's more risque antics, it was pure raunch from the outset, which saw the star sporting a sexy circus mistress's uniform. Dancers tumbled from the ceiling sporting S&M masks. During Piece Of Me the songbird, sporting a shiny PVC outfit, found herself imprisoned in a cage which was dragged around the stage. A spot of pole-dancing from the Louisiana native preceeded a segment which saw her subject to a number of magicians' tricks like being sawn in half. Controversial track If U Seek Amy saw her bashing her dancers over the head with a pink hammer. A Bollywood-themed section followed with the singer in traditional Indian clothing. Shock rocker MARILYN MANSON's cover version of The Eurythmics' Sweet Dreams soundtracked a particularly eye-popping video which was aired during a segue. It featured Britney draping herself over various mask-sporting men in an orgy-style scenario. But it was the penultimate Freakshow segment that was the most extraordinary of the evening, with track Slave 4 U proving the most eye-popping. Britney sporting a shiny metallic body-suit while flames erupted around the stage was just mind-boggling. The young, parent-friendly Britney has well and truly left the building. Welcome then, 2009's adult, X-rated older sister. sorce: thesun.co.uk
March 4, 200916 yr Good review so far! Although from the pictures the concert doesn't look near being X-rated. I think The Sun is just over exaggerating it a bit but maybe I'm wrong. :lol:
March 4, 200916 yr Britney Spears Fits Just About Everything Into First Circus Tour Pop star seems genuinely touched by the warm reception given to her by the fans at the New Orleans Arena. By James Montgomery NEW ORLEANS — So, how was the opening night of Britney Spears' Circus tour? Well, here's how the first 20 minutes went ... that ought to give you a pretty good idea: A red curtain descends upon the stage. Music starts pounding — the drumbeat of the apocalypse — and keeps building, until a lone ballerina and a mime appear. The mime is clutching a piece of chain-link fence, which he begins twirling faster and faster, until it turns into a geometric square. Then three jugglers and a little person take the stage, then Shaolin monks in black robes, who do a martial-arts routine, complete with kitanas and spinning axe kicks. Then clowns come out with nunchucks. They're followed by acrobats and gymnasts in long flowing robes, performing a routine to the music from "Kill Bill." Then everyone — mime, clowns, jugglers, little person and monks — do a sort of samba, and then Perez Hilton shows up on the video screens to deliver a monologue while dressed as Queen Elizabeth. Then Britney appears and murders him with a crossbow. And then the show starts. Seriously. Yes, welcome to Britney's Circus, a big, huge, loud, funny, nonsensical three-ring affair that includes everything under the big top — even an actual big top. Broken down into four acts — "Circus," "House of Fun," "Freakshow/Peepshow" and "Electro Circ"— the two-hour show is every set designer and choreographer's wet dream, or nightmare, or both. There are literally dozens of costume changes, dancers of all shapes and sizes and acrobats and set pieces that fly about willy-nilly. (This is surely the first concert in history to feature cholos on tricycles, a Bollywood number and a pair of martial-arts routines). It's truly a sight to behold ... the biggest show under one roof. At times, Britney herself is almost dwarfed by the spectacle. She looks great in her myriad of outfits (Genie! Drill Sergeant! Kinda Stripper!) And she can still move with the best of them ... it's just, well, she's almost lost in the sheer hugeness of the production around her. Of course, there were still plenty of highlights — the one-two opening combo of "Circus" and "Piece of Me" was great, as Brit descended from the sky (and got trapped in a gilded cage), strutted and popped, the electro beats whirring around the arena and the lights popping. "Radar" was sultry, as Spears donned a sparkly Wonderbra and did a pole dance. And as she laughed and blew kisses to the cheering audience during the night's lone quiet moment, "Everytime" (which, it should be mentioned, she sang perched on the handle of a floating umbrella), she seemed genuinely touched by the warm reception given to her by the fans at the New Orleans Arena. Still, by the time the third act ("Freakshow," which showcased her naughty side) rolled around, it was almost difficult to pick her out from all the noise. Again, this has less to do with Spears than it does the massive production she's surrounded herself with, though it must be said that her version of "I'm a Slave 4 U," complete with flames and a fierce dance routine, managed to rise above all the ephemera. And by the time she said good night with another great one-two wallop ("Womanizer" and a reprise of "Circus"), dressed in a sexy policewoman outfit, she looked exhausted. But happy. And why not? She brought the circus to her hometown, and it was a huge, sold-out, screaming success. It probably just would've benefited from a little more Britney Spears, that's all.
March 4, 200916 yr Im getting all excited again :wub: Controversial track If U Seek Amy saw her bashing her dancers over the head with a pink hammer. Cannot Wait, SRSLY :rofl:
March 4, 200916 yr Author The reviews are in: Britney is back. The comeback road that started with the Dec. 2 release of her chart-topping "Circus" CD is now in full effect. She'd shown she could reclaim her pole position on both the album and singles chart; the question that remained was if she could deliver the goods live. Hitfix rounded up reviews from a number of outlets to provide a broad picture of opening night of "The Circus starring Britney Spears." One theme (and it ain't the big top) emerges over and over: Spears is such an unexceptional performer to begin with-on her best days-that she doesn't have to do that much to razzle dazzle folks into believing she's back in fighting form. The two-hour show, divided into four acts, draws uniformly high marks for the theatrics, costumes and just the sheer extravaganza of it all. New York Daily News' Jim Farber, who can often be hilariously snarky, plays it straight here , somewhat damning Brit Brit with faint praise. In a nutshell, he says Spears have never been heavy on vocal ability, emotional nuance or personality (But other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the theater?). And she still isn't, so she doesn't disappoint. "For all the talk of a ‘comeback,' there's nothing like the sustained rigor of a live performance to show if a star's still got it. Tuesday night proved that Britney does - at least by her own slick, self-conscious and flighty standards," he writes. "She came across mainly like a Fembot - a dutiful, spry and attractive machine." The Los Angeles Times' Ann Powers, who is unabashed in her love of pop music-and we love her for that reason alone-is fairly tepid as well. She notes that Spears-and the performer's certainly not alone in this-surrounds herself with so many dancers, acrobats, etc.-that it's easy for her shortcomings to get lost in the shiny spectacle. But first, she praises Spears for, uh, her ability to still keep us endlessly fascinated with her: "Her singing was dominated by a backing track. Her moves were nothing special -- defined by much strutting and stripper-like shimmying, with the minimum amount of acrobatics to prove her mettle as a dance-pop queen. Her physical form, still beautiful, didn't take one's breath away the way it did when she was 17. But on Tuesday's opening night of her "Circus" tour at the New Orleans Arena, Britney Spears, the mighty Aphrodite with the troublesome tawdry streak, nonetheless renewed her claim as one of the world's most adept manipulators of the public interest." I doubt that's what Spears was going for. MTV.com says there were so many people on stage, it was easy to lose Spears in the crowd. "Still, by the time the third act ("Freakshow," which showcased her naughty side) rolled around, it was almost difficult to pick her out from all the noise," writes James Montgomery. "Again, this has less to do with Spears than it does the massive production she's surrounded herself with, though it must be said that her version of "I'm a Slave 4 U," complete with flames and a fierce dance routine, managed to rise above all the ephemera." Similarly, USA Today concludes that sometimes, more is just more. "Given the massive size of the center stage (painted to look like a target - we get it, Brit) and the non-stop visual and sonic bombast, the pop princess sometimes got swallowed up," writes Jerry Shriver. He notes that Spears is more effective when she reclaims her own show. "Fan-favorite, ‘Toxic,' however, staged mostly with sci-fi-green lighting effects and a minimalist jungle-gym contraption, succeeded because the focus was solely on the star. And her biggest early hit, ‘...Baby, Hit Me One More Time,' stripped away all spectacle, with just her and the dancers stalking the bare stage, and was better for it." A number of the reviews question whether Spears is singing live. But as USA Today's Shriver correctly points out, the overwhelmingly female audience "couldn't have cared." AP's Stacey Plaisance concurs: "[spears] appeared at times to be lip-synching. But fans didn't seem to care, screaming wildly at the first sight of Spears, who descended from the ceiling on hoops suspended by wires, wearing a short red and black ringmaster ensemble." Plus, it sounds like the show was so heavily choreographed, that there was no room for spontaneity or even words. Spears' only comment to the audience was "Thank you, New Orleans, "after the encore. Opening nights are always tough. As much as an act rehearses, nothing can prepare him or her for the first show in front of an audience. It will be worth watching to see how the show morphs, if at all, over the next few weeks. source: hitfix.com Most excited to see Slave in it's original choreography! :wub:
March 4, 200916 yr Author TMZ: It's Britney's Comeback, Bitch! Judging from the opening night of her Circus tour, it's safe to say, Britney's back with a vengeance. It's actually pretty breathtaking ... in a positive way. Think back one year, when her career was not only written off as over, but she was almost given up for dead. We're told she felt "at home" on stage in New Orleans last night and was beyond happy to be there. The only thing going crazy now ... is the crowd. How amazing is that? I was under the impression that they liked nothing better than bashing Brit, but apparently not! We've had far more positive reviews than negative ones now, right? -------------------------- The show delivered one glitzy punch after another. During Circus, Spears dangled from the ceiling, singing as she sat perched on a circular ring. During another song, she is cut in half in a faux magician's act. In yet another, she sits atop a giant umbrella. - Radar But on Tuesday's opening night of her "Circus" tour at the New Orleans Arena, Britney Spears, the mighty Aphrodite with the troublesome tawdry streak, nonetheless renewed her claim as one of the world's most adept manipulators of the public interest... she apparently has no interest in proving herself as a vocalist; Pink is a better acrobat and her friend Justin Timberlake is a far better dancer. But anyone who thinks her lackluster would do well to remember what she really is: a burlesque performer, a carny's dream born a century or so too late to be fated to ply her art upon the midway, but able to fulfill the spectacle of blond ambition now. - La Times The Circus show packs 17 song segments and every under-the-big-top cliché except Siegfried & Roy's white tigers into a crowd-pleasing hour and 45 minutes. A comeback, certainly, and a solid one at that! - USA Today It's truly a sight to behold ... the biggest show under one roof... by the time she said good night with another great one-two wallop ("Womanizer" and a reprise of "Circus"), dressed in a sexy policewoman outfit, she looked exhausted. But happy. And why not? She brought the circus to her hometown, and it was a huge, sold-out, screaming success! - MTV The show is a non-stop assault on the eyes, a visual extravaganza... from flying sets, smoke, wind, pyro, this concert has it all. But it's biggest asset is definitely Spears herself. - Perez Hilton
