The Circus Tour

Britney Spears
April 14, 2009
Energy Solutions Center
Salt Lake City, UT

"Boy, don't try to front, I know just what you are" snarled Britney Spears in the closing performance of her Circus tour. Dressed as a police woman as she mouthed the words to her No. 1 hit single "Womanizer", you couldn't help but realize that Spears really wasn't trying to front either. Or it might have been that she no longer can.

After a very public breakdown, Spears has been understandably timid and it has shown in her interviews, her acceptance speeches at last year's VMAs, and her MTV documentary. She can no longer put on a smile and make the public believe that everything is perfect in her starry world. Instead, perfection has come by way of a three ring circus that designed to be so busy and rapid-fire that its hard to even notice that Spears is still in the process of getting her confidence back.
The Circus opens with Britney descending in a full on ringleader costume as she dances to the title track. No sooner has the song finished then a burst of smoke obscures Spears for only a few seconds and magically, she is wearing something completely new as she whips her hair seductively while writhing around in a cage with her legs open spread eagle to "Piece Of Me". At its conclusion, she descends into the stage for a third costume change in as many songs. No "Hello Salt Lake", no, "Make some noise", no nothing.

The show continued in much the same way until about ten songs in when Spears finally acknowledged the audience. During her performance of the self-penned "Everytime", she said the most, telling everyone she was going to slow things down and introducing the song. As the concert progressed, you could tell Spears was loosening up. Her movements seemed less rigid and she seemed to be enjoying herself more. By the time she got to "Do Somethin'", the pop star was actually singing live and shouting out things to the crowd. Highlights include her blindfolded rendition of "Touch Of My Hand" wearing boobie-tassles and suspended in the air atop two of her dancers and an updated version of "...Baby One More Time".
What the Circus concert really needed was more Britney. She was dwarfed by the spectacle of dancers, acrobats, magicians, and yes, even the midgets. The real Britney Spears was hidden behind a shroud of costume (Sexy ringleader! Sexy stripper! Sexy drill sergeant! Sexy cop!) and she disappeared and reappeared so quickly and frequently to keep up with the breakneck speed of her show that there really wasn't any time for audience interaction. Sadly, that seems to all be apart of the plan. The Circus tour was designed to give the world just enough Britney and crowd her with dancers, fire, and slick video interludes so that you would leave saying, "Yeah, she's back alright". Unfortunately, Britney has a ways to go until she reaches the heights of her turn of the century showmanship.