One, two, three: It was Britney Spears appearing live at her show in Las Vegas at Planet Hollywood's Axis Theater about three days a week. Her residency is not a Broadway show, as one might think, with the standard eight shows a week. Her workload consists of a just a few dates a week and a flexible schedule, so plan ahead when heading out to her extravaganza. Judging from the crowd, gays and girls traveled from all over the world just for a glimpse at the pop princess in person. For the hefty price of $2,5000 they can even take a picture with her, plus tax and fees of course. Fans keep spending and Spears says, "Gimme More."
Britney is a brand and don't you forget it. She's marketed everywhere in Vegas right now and is the talk of the town. Spears' mug was on every building and elevator, and just imagine an explosion of her in the merchandise store outside the venue and down the strip. There was plenty to spend hard-earned money on, even down to the souvenir glass in the bar costing $24 ( drink included ).
The festivities began with "Work Bitch," and the crowd went wild when she appeared. People had waited since early in the evening to get up close and personal in the general admission pit and they were in a frenzy.
There was a perfume commercial montage and she flew in the air as an angel for "Everytime" that seemed perfect for a Victoria's Secret ad. Spears was about spectacle and fit in well with the larger-than-life Sin City surroundings.
She was lithe and thinner than ever as she moved around the stage with a tan, possibly from the outside desert sun. I imagine her villa upstairs at Caesars has a sun deck.
There was not as much dancing as one would hope since the vocals were piped in, but things ran smoothly. There were tons of security, with guards in every corner ready to protect the spunky singer. Fireworks shot out during her rendition of ..."Baby One More Time," brightening the place. "Oops! ... I Did It Again!" contained ominous black crows and shirtless men in dresses. Her backup dancers were strong on support but seemed to not want to overshadow her. She even had them running on hamster wheels to keep them in shape.
State-of-the-art video screens curved up the walls, showing a montage of past music videos before "Me Against the Music," where a hint of real vocals could be heard.
Brit Brit delved deep into her back catalogue with not as much focus on the latest album. It was a smart set list that had people out of their seats almost the entire evening, some dancing in the aisles.
"Slave 4 U" had her sitting on a snake-sculpted head. She addressed the elephant in the room and joked about ex-boyfriends. ( She's "Stronger" than yesterday, obviously. ) Her "Circus" was as colorful as expected even including a hunky strongman.
With whips and chains, "Freakshow" she brought up a lucky audience member. "Toxic" took a rumble in the jungle with an expensive lush set.
The Axis is part nightclub and part theater, with 4,600 seats. There were seven costume changes and she donned a few wigs.
This endeavor is a tribute to her fans and more about the past than the future, but she keeps things modern.
Should Chicagoans flock down to see her this year or next? The answer is many have already. She flies in on a private jet to be at the show so why shouldn't we? Just to say you have seen her in this historic town is answer enough to that question.
The night contains some heavy price tags if one wants the whole Britney Jean experience and for the right price you can take a "piece of her" home.
Plans are for her to run this residency through 2015 but she may extend, with an offering of $12 million through 2016. For a cool million a month, Spears is expected back for more.
Visit www.planethollywoodresort.com to learn more about schedule and tickets for Britney Piece of Me.
