Post by merg on Mar 29, 2004 15:22:09 GMT -5
this is the review from her show in Miami.
Source The Miami Herald
Review: Britney shows body but no soul
BY HOWARD COHEN
hcohen@herald.com
A few years ago Britney Spears recorded a ballad called I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman.
Make no mistake, this former teen pop idol is no longer in limbo. Spears is all woman with a sexed-up image, and her fans packing Miami's AmericanAirlines Arena Sunday night for her Onyx Hotel Tour are keeping pace with her.
Miniskirts that looked a bit wider than the average belt were the norm. Barely-there halter tops with messages reading, ''Young, willing and able.'' And these were just on the fans.
''She's cute, she's fun and she's saucy,'' gushed Phillip Kaine, 24, who arrived with eight pals from South Beach, each clad in a T-shirt that spelled out ''I (heart) Britney'' when they stood together. Kaine, in a brick-red mohawk and glitter, was the `E.'
Sure there were some little ones and parents who probably blanched late in the show when Spears, reclining in a transparent tub in a body stocking, sang an ode to masturbation (Touch of My Hand) and simulated the act as her male dancers in tighty-whitey underwear humped beds. She French-kissed one of them in a move that would likely have Madonna seeing red. (Madonna, the blueprint for this tired act, was rumored to be making an appearance but didn't show.)
''I'll probably cover her eyes,'' Chicago's Nicole Lerner said of daughter Sydney, 8, before the concert. Sydney probably spent a couple numbers peeking through mom's fingers.
She didn't miss much. The concert, shown live on cable's Showtime, was a flashy, empty bore. Flames shot to the rafters on the opening Toxic; confetti spewed over the fans during (I Got That) Boom Boom; there were seven or eight costume changes; an obnoxious emcee dressed as a French clown escapee from the Cirque du Soleil of your nightmares belched and insulted a female in the audience.
The garish show was dubbed Onyx Hotel for some unfathomable reason but had no theme to speak of unless Spears shimmying on luggage carts while being pushed by topless bellboy dancers contains some hidden meaning.
Musically it was a bust, too. Cocktail lounge restructurings of her early bubblegum pop hits like . . . Baby One More Time and Oops! . . . I Did It Again were ill-conceived, done in by discordant arrangements and Spears' shocking lack of vocal ability. If anything, her breathy and nasal voice is becoming weaker, rather than stronger, as her career progresses.
Last week Spears was forced to cancel a concert when she hurt her knee the night before while performing. For most vocalists this wouldn't be as serious as losing their voice, but when your whole concert is based on aerobic-style dancing and you lip-sync for practically the full 90 minutes of your act, your legs are your most valuable asset.
It was almost amusing to hear Spears gasping for breath when her mike would switch on for between-song pitter-patter and then, miraculously, immediately thereafter she'd ''sing'' without panting.
''The last couple years have been like a roller coaster, a lot of ups and downs . . . but at the end of the day that's what makes you who you are,'' she said at one point, offering some philosophy, Britney-style.
Too bad Spears never reveals who she is in this uninvolving, impersonal spectacle. We get a lot of moves borrowed from Janet Jackson and Madonna in this Sex du Soleil bomb but in terms of artistry and personality the star is a blank.
In the classic song Hotel California the Eagles sang, ''You can check out but you can never leave.'' That's how it felt watching this seemingly endless Onyx Hotel.
let me be the first (and maybe only one) to say THANK GAWD!!! seems she's starting to get some hefty negative feedback!
Source The Miami Herald
Review: Britney shows body but no soul
BY HOWARD COHEN
hcohen@herald.com
A few years ago Britney Spears recorded a ballad called I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman.
Make no mistake, this former teen pop idol is no longer in limbo. Spears is all woman with a sexed-up image, and her fans packing Miami's AmericanAirlines Arena Sunday night for her Onyx Hotel Tour are keeping pace with her.
Miniskirts that looked a bit wider than the average belt were the norm. Barely-there halter tops with messages reading, ''Young, willing and able.'' And these were just on the fans.
''She's cute, she's fun and she's saucy,'' gushed Phillip Kaine, 24, who arrived with eight pals from South Beach, each clad in a T-shirt that spelled out ''I (heart) Britney'' when they stood together. Kaine, in a brick-red mohawk and glitter, was the `E.'
Sure there were some little ones and parents who probably blanched late in the show when Spears, reclining in a transparent tub in a body stocking, sang an ode to masturbation (Touch of My Hand) and simulated the act as her male dancers in tighty-whitey underwear humped beds. She French-kissed one of them in a move that would likely have Madonna seeing red. (Madonna, the blueprint for this tired act, was rumored to be making an appearance but didn't show.)
''I'll probably cover her eyes,'' Chicago's Nicole Lerner said of daughter Sydney, 8, before the concert. Sydney probably spent a couple numbers peeking through mom's fingers.
She didn't miss much. The concert, shown live on cable's Showtime, was a flashy, empty bore. Flames shot to the rafters on the opening Toxic; confetti spewed over the fans during (I Got That) Boom Boom; there were seven or eight costume changes; an obnoxious emcee dressed as a French clown escapee from the Cirque du Soleil of your nightmares belched and insulted a female in the audience.
The garish show was dubbed Onyx Hotel for some unfathomable reason but had no theme to speak of unless Spears shimmying on luggage carts while being pushed by topless bellboy dancers contains some hidden meaning.
Musically it was a bust, too. Cocktail lounge restructurings of her early bubblegum pop hits like . . . Baby One More Time and Oops! . . . I Did It Again were ill-conceived, done in by discordant arrangements and Spears' shocking lack of vocal ability. If anything, her breathy and nasal voice is becoming weaker, rather than stronger, as her career progresses.
Last week Spears was forced to cancel a concert when she hurt her knee the night before while performing. For most vocalists this wouldn't be as serious as losing their voice, but when your whole concert is based on aerobic-style dancing and you lip-sync for practically the full 90 minutes of your act, your legs are your most valuable asset.
It was almost amusing to hear Spears gasping for breath when her mike would switch on for between-song pitter-patter and then, miraculously, immediately thereafter she'd ''sing'' without panting.
''The last couple years have been like a roller coaster, a lot of ups and downs . . . but at the end of the day that's what makes you who you are,'' she said at one point, offering some philosophy, Britney-style.
Too bad Spears never reveals who she is in this uninvolving, impersonal spectacle. We get a lot of moves borrowed from Janet Jackson and Madonna in this Sex du Soleil bomb but in terms of artistry and personality the star is a blank.
In the classic song Hotel California the Eagles sang, ''You can check out but you can never leave.'' That's how it felt watching this seemingly endless Onyx Hotel.
let me be the first (and maybe only one) to say THANK GAWD!!! seems she's starting to get some hefty negative feedback!