I've always wanted to say that since falling in love with Lady Gaga. ;)
Before I put up part two of my Britney Spears Circus Tour review, I thought I'd let you all in on my next review. Yes, the "Lady" I referred to before is LADY GAGA and I'll be covering "The Fame Ball" tour!!!
I got my press pass approval for her show on Thursday at the 9:30 Club in DC and will bring you all along virtually for this one too. You can follow live, up-to-the minute tweets by clicking here (live tweets will start Thursday after 10:30 p.m. EST....I'm covering the late show).
On to the full "Britney Spears Circus Tour at the Verizon Center in Washington DC, March 24, 2009" review (phew)! This will be a long one but I promise to make it interesting (I'll break it up into parts if it gets too terribly long).
I hadn't planned to talk about myself so much when I did this review, but when you hear what happened to me you'll see why I just HAD to share it with all of you. Seriously. Read to the end because stuff kept happening all through the night.
Besides, I want to set myself apart from other concert reviewers by giving you the personal with the professional...it's what bloggers do best after all, right? I also want you to feel like you were right there next to me, which by the way? Would've been awesome.
My apologies in advance if any of my post sounds braggadocios. I don't mean it that way AT ALL. Cross my heart. In fact, if I were cocky, I wouldn't be so surprised that all of this happened to me, so there. :)
I'll walk you through from the beginning to end and intersperse videos throughout. I promise much better quality videos in the future....the ones I took for this were awful because of the distance and my suckage with the camera, but I'm learning. You can see them all on my YouTube channel.
Be prepared for bad audio in some of them as my camera chopped up the sound whenever I zoomed in and out. And I also need to learn how to dance and film better...you'll see what I mean.
The title of this post came from a group of girls that told me I had to go party with them after the concert. "You are the Circus B*tch!" one of them said. In fact, the costume I wore attracted so much attention that I felt like a star! Oooooh, just wait until you hear what happened to me after the show!!!
The first sign that we stood out actually happened as soon as we hit the highway to head to the show. A (very cute) guy in an SUV kept pulling up along side of us and blowing kisses at us, lol. The drive ended up being awful, though, (stuck in traffic) and when we finally arrived, we discovered that the Verizon Center had closed off parking. Crap. Didn't count on that happening.
So there we were, moving an inch a minute through traffic, scrambling to find a parking garage. We finally found one a few blocks down, after some illegal u-turns and near-pedestrian-strikes. We did our best to run to the center, Amanda having to yell at me to slow down because she was in heels.
I started to think that maybe I was going to stand out more than I thought as heads kept turning, and as soon as we entered the center, Virgin Mobile shouted out to us and pulled us to the side. They asked if they could take our picture to display on the curtain (the jumbotrons weren't in use...so pre-show stuff was shown on a giant curtain like a movie theater) and to put on their official Britney Spears Circus Tour site.
Ummm.....YES!!! They took our photo and had us sign release papers. So keep an eye out on their site. We should be up there whenever they add photos from the DC show.
Oh, and then? A guy in a clown suit was walking by and Virgin Mobile was trying to get his attention. So I tapped him on the shoulder and told him they wanted his picture. Guess what his reply to me was? "I'm actually in the show." Yes, I touched a guy that was later dancing it up on the stage. You know you are impressed. You are, right? :)
I think it had to be just a little after 8 at that point, when the show was set to begin, but no music was playing yet. We also weren't sure if The Pussycat Dolls would even be there to open since they had to cancel the night before due to illness.
I decided to try to get better seats and talked to a guy that had a Verizon Center lanyard on. "Do you think there's any room on the floor for us?" I asked.
His response? Seriously? "With the way you look, I'm sure they'll find room." *blush* He directed me to the best point to try to get down there and we hurried off to find it.
But when we got there, a female was in attendance and she must not have been that impressed by me, lol. She looked at me like I was crazy and gave me a firm "no" when I asked if we could get down there (why, oh, why couldn't it have been a man?!)
At that point, we heard the crowd erupt into cheers and music started playing. We totally missed our photo if it did indeed appear on the curtain and any other fun pre-show stuff.
We raced to find an escalator, along with five million other people, and began a cramped, crowded ride to the 1,456 floor. :) Nosebleed, people...nosebleed. All the while, we could hear The Pussycat Dolls and we were mixed with joy that they were there and frustration that we weren't in our seats to see them.
A word about the Verizon Center. The place is very well laid-out and it's easy to navigate. It's clean and there are tons of bathrooms (I even made a pit stop before the show without any lines). Color me impressed if you happen to have that crayon in your box.
Also, as we would learn later, there are no "bad" seats there. Even though we were far back, we could see everyone and everything on stage very well. The only thing the distance affected was my finicky camera.
PCDs performing "Beep"
The PCDs were everything we expected and more. Phenomenal dance moves and no lip syncing (not that I mind that). You wouldn't even know that Nicole, the lead singer, had been so sick the night before. Her voice was flawless.
They performed all of my favorite songs: "Don't Cha," "Buttons:"
Buttons, baby! My FAVE PCD song! If you listen closely, you can hear me singing along.
..."Stickwitu," "When I Grow Up," (it's "groupies" btw....not "boobies" lol) "I Hate This Part," "I Don't Need a Man," "Beep," and "Whatcha Think About That."
The biggest surprise though came when they sang their brand new song "Jai Ho" from "Slumdog Millionaire:"
Nicole then got the crowd really revved up for Britney:
And Amanda and I both said to each other at the same time, "I SO want to be a Pussycat Doll!" Really. In my Heaven there will be a stage where I get to dance and sing like that in front of millions. :)
When the PCDs left the stage, Amanda and I attempted to grab a bottle of water at the concession stand and I tried to buy a t-shirt. Water bottle- success (at a price of $4). T-shirt - FAIL. The "line" (which was really just an unorganized mass crowd of people trying to get to the counter) was far too long.
Weird thing about the water.....they don't allow you to keep the cap. And I kept hitting the bottle in the armrest holder with my elbow and almost spilling it all over Amanda. And the paranoid side of me worried about someone slipping something into my drink while I was standing up dancing so I didn't drink out of it after I had stood up. (I have issues...I know...but hey, it DOES happen! I'm all for following the "no drink left unattended" safety rule.)
As we were waiting for Britney, I felt a tap on my shoulder. Someone was getting my attention for a lady that was three rows back (who kept yelling "I f'ing love you, Britney" which made me love her).
"Can I take a picture of you?" she asked me. (remember, this is all because of the costume I wore in the picture at the top)
So I stood up from my seat, with hundreds of people sitting all around me and posed for the camera. Then the girl next to me asked, "Can I take one too?" So I pose again. In my head I'm thinking, "don't do anything to look stupid," and "OH MY GOSH!!!!"
After that point, anyone walking up the aisle past us stared at me with a look of either, "who is she?" or "die, b*tch" (the latter coming from the female population....go figure).
There were really cool circus acts going on on the stage during the intermission, including this one:
It was like a show within a show. Just fabulous.
Anticipation was building as we waited for Britney to appear and we didn't have to wait long. How best to describe what I'm about to describe....hmmm....there was this circular video/jumbo tron thingie that encased the center ring of the stage. There? How did I do? You totally can picture it now, can't you? :)
You'll see what I mean in the next video below. This....screen I'll call it....really jazzed up the entire show as colors, videos, pictures and even lightning played across it.
Anyway, the circus opened with a montage from Perez Hilton on the screen and it was fabulous, even though I can't stand him. (He has been awful to Britney despite her featuring him at the start of her show, and rumor is it's because the 10-year-old boy in a grown up gossiper's body had his feelings hurt when Britney wouldn't allow him to join her on the tour....boo friggin hoo.)
I set aside my distaste for his behavior and enjoyed his deliciously freakish "Welcome to the Circus" intro:
(Here's a much better video showing the entire intro...notice Britney's appearance on screen at the end, and then she disappears behind the curtain)
At that point, I, along with the entire stadium, almost lost all bodily function (except for our voices, which we all put to good use) as Britney descended onto the stage (the stage was set in the round with one large stage in the center and two smaller ones to each side).
I had watched footage of her show in other cities. I knew what was coming. And I had been enthralled by the videos I had watched.
But there is nothing....absolutely nothing....that can prepare you for the fabulousness that is Britney when she is right in front of you. Chills, heart racing, feet leaving the floor from jumping up and down with excitement....I felt it all.
See for yourself, but a video just cannot do it justice:
Do you hear that crowd? OMGosh!! (And I can't tell which one is my voice singing because Amanda and everyone around me were singing at that point)
Okay, I just hit "preview" and realized this post is going to be way too long. So I will have to let this one digest for you and do a part two. I'll be posting part two soon because I need to tell you the exciting news about my press pass approval for another HUGE concert happening next week. Stay tuned!
Okay, what is the deal with the Interwebs conspiring against me? Twitpic was down for most of the night last night (it's back up now) and now Blogger is announcing a scheduled outage at 7 p.m. EST tonight. *sigh*
Hopefully I can slap up a post really quick before the outage.
Last night? One of the most AMAZING NIGHTS OF MY LIFE EVER!!!!!!!!!!! My head is still spinning from it all and I can't decide how best to sum everything up for you. There's just SO much to tell.
Quick tildas for now (with full details coming soon). I'll intersperse some of the best pics in between in no particular order, because that's just how this post is going to roll. I'll be putting the videos up in my more detailed post later. Click the photos to enlarge.
Amazing props!
~Thanks to everyone who talked me into buying that costume, especially Poppy. Best money I ever spent. I had NO idea that wearing that costume would make my night even more amazing. I can't wait to give you all the details, but I can honestly tell you that I felt like, and was teated like, a star!!! *faint* I'll tell you more but in the meantime, you might want to keep an eye out here for yours truly. ;)
A little tongue action from Britney during the "Break the Ice" montage.
~I have been to many concerts in my lifetime, but never have I seen one as amazing as this. Never have I seen a crowd more pumped, more thrilled, more enchanted, than I did last night. With every song played, there was a chorus of voices across the entire stadium singing along to every word. It was unbelievable!
Stripper pole! This was for "Radar."
~Britney looked amazing. You just have no idea until you see her in person. She is a phenomenal performer and knows how to put on a show. She was flawless. And energized. You could tell she was having a blast and she put her all into the show.
Perez's opening video montage.
~She engaged the audience, giving a shout out to DC, asking how we were, and just talking to us in general. At one point, she even shouted out, "Merry Christmas!" which no one seemed to get, but I loved it anyway. (I think that was the point)
PCDs performing their brand new song "Jai Ho" from "Slumdog Millionaire"
~The Pussycat Dolls did show after all! After cancelling their performance in New York the night before due to Nicole (the lead singer) being ill, I was worried they wouldn't be there. But they were and they were on fire! They really got the crowd revved up and ready for Brit.
Opening act....Circus!
~Britney wore a completely different outfit for her "I'm a Slave 4 U" number. No wardrobe malfunctions this time and nothing "hanging out." :)
"Me Against the Music" Bollywood style!
~I learned, after uploading and watching my videos last night and then being extremely nauseated, that dancing and shooting video don't mix well.
The PCDs looked smokin' hot!!
~I learned that when I'm shooting video, I should not be panning in and out so much. And I learned that when I do so, something with my camera chops up the sound and ruins the video.
Buttons baby!!! My favorite PCD song! I was dancing my heart out to this one!!
~I learned that my camera is very finicky and I never know when it will take a crisp, clear shot or a blurry one. I think the lighting made a lot of difference because my PCD shots came out much better than my Britney ones. Keep in mind that we were far back so that really affected the quality of the photos and video as well.
Britney climbing into a life-size picture frame for "Get Naked (I Gotta Plan)."
~I learned that even though your voice is blending in with the crowd while you're singing along, it will sound like the only one around on the video (thus you're going to hear a lot of me and Amanda singing, lol).
I think this one was the "Freakshow" number. And oh man did I rock out to that one. Wait until you see the video intro!
~I hate all of the pictures of me because I am PMSing which means I blow up like a friggin puffer fish from water retention. I'll share some with you, but I won't be happy about it, lol. But you'll just have to trust me that I am NOT....I repeat....NOT as huge as these pictures make me look. *sigh*
Are you ready? Tomorrow night is the big night! Britney Spears' Circus at the Verizon Center in Washington D.C. And I'm ready to slave away and bring you live coverage from the show!
Bad news this evening, though. Nicole, the lead singer of The Pussycat Dolls, is very sick and the PCDs had to cancel their show in New York tonight.
I will be SO upset if they can't perform Tuesday. I've been looking forward to seeing them almost as much as Britney and was planning to give you all the juicy details of their opening performance. Let's hope I still can.
Something cool that happened to a Brit fan at the Nassau Coliseum in New York (he's the one on the couch):
For those who want to follow along with my live Tweeting from Britney's concert tomorrow night, just click here. I'll be sending in pics and tweets during the concert.
The show starts at 8 p.m. EST, but I plan on getting there early. Our seats are way in the back so Amanda and I are hoping we can flirt our way to the front. ;)
I'll have a post up after the concert with highlights and videos so stay tuned for that as well.
This is my first venture into event blogging and I'm hoping to make it a regular deal. I actually was *this* close to obtaining press passes to Brit's concert but when I told them I already had tickets, they asked that I just do my review from where I'm sitting because the number of review tickets/press passes are so limited. Makes total sense.
Sooo, lesson learned. But I have a HUGE surprise in store for you that I'll announce after I finish covering Britney's show. (and those who heard me say it on Twitter or Facebook? Shhhhh!)
I did indeed get press passes to a concert that is going to blow you away and I cannot wait to cover it for you!!! I'll give you one hint as to who it is: She's very much a "lady." And that's all I'm saying. :)
Okay, really bad hair and face night tonight but I took a few pics of the costume. I still need to fix the boot covers so once I have those ready, I'll take some more (and I'll include the hat and whip).
For now, here ya go!
Oh, by the way....as soon as I took off the costume, I changed into my comfy Victoria's Secret flannel p.j's. I'm entering Britney's Naughty and Nice contest with one of the pics above and this one:
Thanks to all who entered and to Annette for sponsoring the giveaway, taking the time to write such a wonderful guest post and for answering all of the great questions!
(Once again, I'm behind on responding to comments....will do so soon! Thx!)
Note: I don't usually post this much in one day so be sure you don't miss the two posts below this one, especially Lisa's. There's important information on how you can help her family, online memorials, etc. Thank you.
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20 days until the Britney Spears Circus Tour hits the Verizon Center in DC! :)
And "Break the Ice" from Blackout is only a video presentation. (I would've loved to have seen "Gimme More" and "Toy Soldier" from Blackout on the set list as well).
The intro to "Break the Ice" would've been a perfect opener for the concert, IMO...."It's been awhile. I know I shouldn't have kept you waiting. But I'm here now."
I've heard rumors that she surprised the audience by including "Break the Ice" in the encore, but I don't know if that's true yet. But even without some of my faves in there, it's still going to be beyond incredible.
She did perform "Everytime" which was NOT on the set list so who knows what surprises she'll have in store for the other tour stops. Have you watched that video by the way? Click here to see it. So powerful and so symbolic of what she's been through. I can't imagine that song is easy for her to perform.
There's talk that Madonna may pop in on one of the shows like Britney did for her, especially since "Me Against the Music" is on the set list. I doubt DC would be the place for that to happen but I can dream. :)
~Rumor before the show was that this video was the one that would be played in the "Break the Ice" interlude. Turned out to be true. Here it is (*chills*):
~Here's a peek at the rehearsals:
~Excellent Twitter play-by-play of the NO show from @britneylive.
~A few pics from the show from @britneylive's TwitPics (click the name to see all of them):
~And finally, I've ordered the costume and it's on its way:
Be prepared for an onslaught of pics/video from Amanda and me on the 24th!
IMPORTANT UPDATE: There will be a virtual memorial for Lisa this Saturday, hosted by Karl. Click here for the details.
I have no idea how to transition into regular blogging again, but I'm going to try after this post. It just feels weird. But Lisa was a blogger, and a good one at that. So as I dive back into regular posting, I want to do it in honor of her.
For a wonderful list of memorial posts for Lisa compiled by NYC WatchDog, click here.
