Before watching the Circus Tour Show, a friend had joked that Britney was like a Cossack Bear chained to the stage by her leg, made to perform for us. Lucky for those who get to watch a Russian bear perform, at least there isn’t the heavy malaise of meds and the dead eyes of a broken spirit to hamper the enjoyment of the circus.
During the forty minutes Britney was actually onstage, she got into a gold cage to sing ‘Piece of Me’ and it was at that point that I realised those pulling the strings on one of pop’s most personality-free puppets were entirely aware of the bird-in-a-cage metaphor that summarizes a career in which the star has very little to do with the end product. It was like the Golden Age of Hollywood all over again: Judy Garland, plied with prescribed uppers so shoe could get through the filming of Meet Me in St Louis.
Apparently Jamie King, Madonna’s tour director was brought in at the last minute to basically restructure a show where the lead singer couldn’t lead or sing. So much of the entertainment came from video screens, circus performers and solo moments for her dancers, while she was downstairs, offstage wondering where she was and how she got there.
I had terrible seats, though I’m glad I did, because it was heart-breaking enough to witness the exhaustion of a lazy, uninspired performer who was so far removed from what she was doing, let alone to have to see it up close. The only people who were being fooled where the fans young enough to have never seen a person sing live.
They’re shrill, crazed screams when Britney would spend a calculated twenty seconds down their end of the four-pronged arena before she slumped to the adjacent round to strike the same limp, in-articulate pose was a reminder of the out-of-control pop machine that has manufactured not just this style of music and entertainment, but the merit on which we judge a performing artist. What Madonna begun in the 80s with her original brand of spectacle touring, Britney’s minders have replicated. But this photocopied version (in Madonna’s Stick and Sweet Tour wig, no less) was barely alive, let alone in the moment. It was like ‘Weekend At Britney’s’.
And yet the fans loved it, because it was Britney, here, “live”, in front of us!
I didn’t actually go for the purpose of seeing Britney, although ever since she tried to reclaim her identity (or avoid hair-analysis drug testing) by shaving her head, I have been interested in the ‘spectacle that is’. I went because I have spent so much time exercising and driving to her pop songs, from ‘Baby One More Time’ (which was originally written for the Back Street Boys - bizarrely obvious once you are aware of it) to her hip hop inspired work with The Neptunes in the midpoint of her career and producer Danja on her last two albums.
The genius with which these songs were remixed and produced to be heard in an stadium reminded me just how much I love the tracks, and quite frankly it could have been anyone up there miming to them – we were, in any case just watching over-produced drag.
I don’t know whether this is the level at which she always performed, but this particular brand of ‘shopping centre appearance’ pop is a lot more forgivable coming from a teenager, especially given the ticket process she is now commanding. The huge arena in which she performed, designed to fill the biggest stadium in every major city of the world and help cover the cost of her prescriptions, unfortunately only highlighted how limited her ability to move could be.
Using the motif of ‘the circus’ was entirely too telling - but unlike when it is done well, it was too obvious that Britney Spears is just smoke and mirrors.
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Wowsers, Danny!
ReplyDeleteI can't wait for Britney Unplugged – when she sits amongst candles, wears a cardigan and plays her air guitar.