SFist Reviews: Britney @ Oracle Arena
(AP Photo/Peter Kramer, file)
by Tiffany Maleshefski
Heartbroken about missing the Britney Spears show in Oakland last night? Chin up. Because the only thing you missed was the tramp-y attire on the mob of tweens, teens, and grown women in honor of their favorite, busted-up idol.
Fan fashion aside, the Circus Tour lacked one important thing: Britney. On the rare occasions Spears took the stage, the bulk of her time was spent walking really fast or walking really slow. Every now and then, though, she'd pause to swish her hips back and forth or gyrate against something. Throw in dramatic hair whipping, and that's pretty much the show. Sad.
When she wasn't on stage -- which was around 75 percent of the time -- crowds were entertained by the large volume of circus performers Brit hired to kill time while she changed from one sparkly bra and pantie set to the next. (If you can't give fans their favorite star, a magician pulling scarves out of his pocket wasn't a good substitute.)
At one point in the show, the dancers ate up 20 minutes of stage time with personalized introductions and other boring shit we could not have cared less about. Sometimes, everyone got a break and show producers simply played video montages of Brit from her heyday (sob) or her music videos while the audience continued to text, check Facebook, and play Wordle.
The stage was set up like a three-ring circus and at the center ring, where most of the action took place, hung a 360-degree swath of video screens (the "big top" if you will) that not once gave us in the nose-bleed seats any close-up shots of Spears. Instead, the screens were programmed with endless digital animation, like one that focused on a Hummer limo pimped out with a rhinestone-encrusted B for the hood ornament.
Most of the songs programmed into the sound system were off of Circus, which while expected, was still kind of a bummer. Not nearly enough of the big blockbuster hits made it into the concert. And even when Brit did bust out hits like "Toxic," "Gimme More," or "...Baby One More Time," the songs were so heavily that they were rendered unsatisfying.
The show, however, wasn't a total disaster. After all, seeing Britney performing anything these days has its subtle charm. But last night's show seems to prove that we're just not getting the old Britney back. When she performed "Piece of Me," that pretty much summed up this most recent tour. And quite possibly the latest turn in her career. Alas.