Where should I begin?! As a long time fan of the pop princess, it is kind of interesting that I have never seen her in concert before last week. I mean, I wanted to go, but it was either a matter of not having a show close by, or I blanked on buying tickets in time. Regardless of the reasons for not going in the past, when Britney’s fantastic album Circus was followed by rumors of a coinciding tour, I promised myself that this time, I wouldn’t miss out; and after seeing the show, I am glad I made this decision. In a word, the show was amazing. It was a visual treat for the eyes; costume changes for every song, remixes and different versions of classic Britney hits, and Britney herself commanding the stage and dancing and performing her heart out for a solid 2 hours. I have to say, if there was any time I have ever TRULY believed that Britney was going to be successful with a “comeback”, it occurred in Phillips Arena last week.
We started off the night by getting dinner with my buddy Stu (who was just as excited to see Britney as I was) after which, we headed to Phillips Arena. I decided that driving would be better, because I knew Marta would be utter madness for this event, so I was fully prepared to pay out the nose for parking. We managed to get close by for $20, and in our excitement, James managed to lock us out of the car as we headed to the stadium. However, the car itself was still running at the time. Nice. So, we had to wait for AAA to show up, and then we made our way into the show. No harm, just 30 more minutes of anticipation, really.
Opening for Britney were the Pussycat Dolls, and they were actually very, very good live. That Nicole Scherzinger can fucking sing, and she made it apparent that she is definitely still the head Doll. Those other girls can DANCE, but Nicole has got the pipes that puts the dinner on the table, and she made that point known at the show. After a decent set, they exited the stage, and Britney’s crew set up the stage (which was a theater in the round set up), and the anticipation grew. Would she blow us away, or just disappoint? I was about to find out if my pop princess still had it in her all these years later.
Britney came out with a bang, and performed Circus right off the bat, which I thought was brilliant. Song after song, she danced, and worked all three of the stages; the main center ring, and both smaller rings on each end of the stadium. She must have danced her way back and forth through Philips Arena a good 15-20 times, and she remained full of energy the entire show. It was impressive how she commanded the stage, and it was amazing to see her perform. All of the performances were very well choreographed, and while I am certain she lip-synced a lot of them, it didn’t matter to me; I wanted to see her perform, as she sang the original song anyway. The show was a feast for the eyes that I doubt I will see the likes of again any time soon.
She ended the show with a bang, releasing confetti in the arena, and as we exited back to our car, we all agreed that what we had seen was an amazing show. Is Britney back for good? I guess only time will tell for sure, but I can say one thing with certainty, she was definitely in top form that night, and going to see her live was worth every penny. Since then, I have had Britney fever, and have been re-enjoying music of hers that I haven’t listened to in ages. Britney is definitely the princess of pop, and I hope that she just keeps on bringing us the goods; because I am certain that pop music wouldn’t be the same without her. This show most certainly ranks amongst the best concerts I have ever had the privilege of seeing.
You know you expected this; of course I had to post a Britney song, I still have Britney fever!! However, instead of just posting something off of Circus, I wanted to post one of my favorite B-side/unreleased tracks of hers, and a song that many of you have probably never heard. This song was released on the deluxe/international version of her self titled 3rd album, Britney. I haven’t heard it in quite some time, and yesterday, in prep for the show, I was listening to lots of Britney, and this song popped up, and I instantly remembered how much I loved it. This is such a sweet pop ballad, and it makes me wonder why I wasn’t on her official release of Britney. Either way, this track is fantastic, and I’m glad that it came back into my life. Britney fever continues!
I discovered Natalie randomly through one of my many music blogs that I follow, and after listening to her recent release 1000 stars, this is by far my favorite track from the album. At my first glance of the title I thought it was a cover of that Liz Phair song, but I was extremely surprised and elated that it turned out to be something totally different. I love the beat and the haunting synth that pops and moans throughout the song. I do have to comment on her last name, which is somewhat of a doozy; how do you even pronounce it? Any Aussies that can help me out (Natalie’s from down under)? Well, regardless of how you pronounce her last name, Natalie has released a decent pop album, and this track struck me, and as such, I had to get the word out about it. It really reminds me of a great early 90s track that has been refreshed for today; and the result is music to my ears.
I was riding in the car the other day, and BBMak came on the radio. I instantly got out a pen and wrote BBMak on my hand, because I have completely forgotten about this amazing boy band for far too long, and I wanted to rectify that as soon as possible. When I got home, I put both of their CDs in the computer and ripped the mp3s for my iPod, because I have missed these guys, and didn’t even know it until I randomly heard them on the radio. I had a serious love affair with BBMak back in the day, and I was very sad that they disbanded after their second CD. Both of their albums were very great, and each one of these boys is very swoon worthy. I did some scouring for info on the internets, in order to find out what they are up to these days, but didn’t find much. I hope they are well, and are still making music, because they are just far too talented to let it end with BBMak. I wish that I would have gotten the chance to see them in concert, because I have a live DVD, and they are amazing; they all played like 3 or 4 instruments, and their harmonies are just incredible. Welcome back into my life BBMak! I’ve missed you!!
I guess this continues the “blast from the not so distant past” theme of this week’s 5SF, and I am glad to keep it going; there is so much great stuff that I have in my music collection that has been collecting dust for absolutely no reason. I read that Katharine is working on a new album due out later this year, and I hope that she has more success with her sophomore release. I have no idea why her self titled debut didn’t do much better than it did, because it is an impressive pop album, filled with fantastic vocals and very well produced songs. Katharine was my favorite on her season of Idol, and I was glad that she got through to the final two because I knew it would mean a record deal. Her debut album is great, and actually made my year end list in 2007. After listening to it again this week (I have to say, I am glad that I am going back through my massive music collection and dusting off some old favorites… I have no idea why I didn’t do this before!!), I am still scratching my head and wondering why this album didn’t make her an instant superstar. Katharine McPhee is arguably one of the most beautiful women on this planet; both in appearance and voice, and I would have thought that to be enough to propel her to the stardom that she deserves. Here’s hoping that her next album will allow her star to truly shine.
Yet another album that I have been wrongly ignoring is the amazing Ghosts, by ex-Sugababe Siobhan Donaghy. This was another album that made my favorites list in 2007, and deservedly so; it is an interesting electro-pop record with haunting vocals and infectious rhythms and song arrangements. This song is just so beautiful and unique that I couldn’t help but love it, and it makes me long for more great stuff from Siobhan in the near future. This is one of those songs that you hear, and you think to yourself, “self, that is a weird, beautiful, strange, and interesting song, isn’t it? You know what self, it is… and I LOVE IT!”. Well, that is at least what I said to myself when I heard it the first time… what do you think?! The whole album has a similar weirdness that this track possesses, and that makes it unique, interesting, and actually very good!
As I posted about yesterday, there were some pretty major releases coming out this week, and while I was very excited about all of them, there was none that I was more excited about than the release of Sara Bareilles’ live CD/DVD, Between the Lines – Live at the Fillmore. When I first heard that she was going to be releasing a live album, I was immediately ready to plunk down the cash as soon as it hit shelves, because if there is one thing that is true about Sara, is that she is not only an impressively talented musician, but she completely delivers live (not to mention that I am a HUGE fan of hers). 
), kids, so run out and pick it up today. This is definitely one of the best live performances I have ever heard recorded, and it has definitely made me think that there is hope for live albums after all.
I have found it; today, I had the best green tea frozen yogurt I have ever tasted. After lunch at Doc Chey’s, my buddy Deb and I wandered over the 
