Combining Matrix-like visual effects, numerous costume changes, a bevy of buff dancers and even a mid-show game show (with some very special guest hosts), Britney has some help working it up there. But even with all the effects in the world, the Britney Show wouldn't be the Britney Show without La Spears herself, who has emerged from a girl-on-the-verge act to a girl-REALLY-on-the-verge act. Her audience includes more little girls than the Jive Records set usually attracts, but it also includes a lot more single men. At different times in the show, you'll find Britney wearing kitty pajamas in her cutesy bedroom and Britney wearing a cowboy hat and tighter-than-tight jeans while writhing on a pole. You'll find Britney in a pillowfight with her dancers; you'll also find Britney in a revealing purple catsuit writhing (again) about her "Satisfaction" on a velvet throne.
Even if you're not a Britney Spears fan, the show is worth seeing. See it for the effects, see it for the laughs, see it for the philosophical questions it raises. At 18, is Britney finally about to shed her little-girl tendencies and explode into full diva mode? Or is she going to stay conflicted about being a kid versus being a sex symbol? It's a question that's sure to have plagued her for years, and being legal now can't help things. Whatever she decides, this show proved that if she keeps working as hard as she has been, she just might have more staying power than anyone expected. Oops!... she actually may be the next Madonna.
Beyond Britney: The Spears camp knows how to pick its opening acts. Though the evening began with standard fare from Cali boy band No Authority, current TRLers BBMak -- who are sure to have people opening for them soon -- demonstrated why they've got such buzz these days: they've got it all. They write and produce much of their music (largely pop gems), play many of their own instruments and are very, very easy on the eyes. The Pre-Britney Experience was rounded out with a set by Innosense, the five girl group managed by Lynn Harless (better knows as Justin Timberlake's mom) who are sure to become the biggest guilty pleasure since the Spice Girls last graced our shores.
-- Zena Burns
