Up In Smoke

By now I'm sure you've all heard about the drama that ensued at the Britney Spears concert last night at GM Place in Vancouver.

Brit took the stage, performed three songs, disappeared for a costume change, and didn't return for what seemed like forever. We sat there for ten minutes wondering if she'd hurt herself and hoping that everything was okay. Then a female voice spoke to the crowd, “The building is awfully smoky. It is uncomfortable for everyone on stage, including Ms. Spears. Please extinguish all cigarettes – this is a non-smoking building and the show will resume when the smoke on the stage is cleared.”


The funny thing is, Di and I both commented that the building seemed smoky when we walked in. We joked that they must have been testing out the smoke machines before the show started. It seemed like that kind of smoke- not cigarette smoke. I also have to say, I didn't see anybody physically smoking- weed, or otherwise. I've been to more than my share of concerts in that venue, many of which, a majority of the crowd was smoking something. This is the first time that I've been conscious of the air. I think it must have been some kind of ventilation issue that the building was having, as there certainly wasn't more people smoking last night than there ever is at shows of this nature. I really didn't think that she was being a diva- it seemed to me to be more of a technical issue with the ventilation than anything else.


A little more than half an hour from the time the lights went dark, Britney was back on stage. Had it been any longer, I'm quite sure that a riot would have broken out. The crowd was pissed. At that point, I really didn't think that she'd be able to recover and finish the show well, considering all the negative energy brought about by the extended pause in the show. However, to my surprise, she made it happen. The circus-themed extravaganza, played out across an adventurous three-ring set, featuring clowns, acrobats and jugglers was elaborate. This may not have been the best of the four shows that I've seen Ms. Spears perform over the years, but I still had a blast. Yes, she only actually sang one song ("Everytime,") but with her blonde extensions blowing in the artificial wind and her hips grinding, Britney completely owned the stage. The show was hot. Her dancing was completely on point (even if not quite as tight as it was in her prime)–it definitely was nothing like the lethargic disaster of VMAs 07. Many of Brit’s critics question her choice to lip-sync through almost the entire show. To them I say: do you really want to hear our girl huffing and puffing through “Toxic”? I don’t think so. Britney’s strength was never in her girly pipes, but in her pull as an all-around entertainer.

Britney exited amidst a flurry of sparkly confetti, waving goodnight, telling Vancouver to drive safely, not to smoke weed and to "rock out with [our] cocks out"...then retreating out of the stadium skipping like a little girl. I found myself skipping out of the venue after the show as well, and obviously, I headed home to mimic her dance moves in my apartment.

You can check out the rest of my photos from last night's show here.