Jonathan Currinn
If you read my previous Fuzzable blog post, last month, then you would know that in August, I went to see Britney Spears perform live, twice. The first time was at Brighton Pride, and the second time was at her Piece of Me concert at Birmingham’s Genting Arena.
I know what you’re thinking – why do you want to see someone who doesn’t sing live? – but Britney Spears has always been a part of my life and I’ve followed her career ever since that debut single “…Baby One More Time”. Not only that, but I’ve seen plenty of artists live, some who have lip-synced all through their sets without any stage performance to others who throw everything into their dancing that their voice is all over the place and breathy. What I can’t fault Britney Spears on is her ability to work the stage and bring it during every performance – even with neck strain as she had in Birmingham.
The earliest memory I have of music as a whole is watching music videos on the TV in 1998, with “…Baby One More Time” being embedded in my memory with Billie Piper’s music video for “Because We Want To” following straight after. It was that day that led me to buy the CD Singles of both of those songs and I’ve been a fan of Britney Spears and Billie Piper ever since, although the latter has distanced herself, completely, away from the music industry, launching as an actress in films and television series’ as well as theatre productions.
Since I have been a Britney Spears fan from the very start, it’s no wonder that it’s always been a childhood dream of mine to see her perform live; however, I never thought I’d ever get to share the experience with someone I am in love with. The memory that my partner and I have of Brighton Pride and of seeing Britney Spears’ Piece Of Me Tour in Birmingham is truly unforgettable and will be two memories, of plenty, that we will treasure for the rest of our lives.
Brighton Pride
Brighton Pride was epic in every single way – apart from waiting for hours to get the bus back to our hotel, which is a memory we constantly laugh about now. We caught Pixie Lott on stage and although she was good, it was clear that many people were here to see Britney Spears and so it didn’t feel like there was much of a hyper atmosphere around Pixie Lott. She worked the stage and gave a great performance but it didn’t keep our attention. We would definitely like to see her at her own concert to see how the atmosphere changes her performance.
Louise was on next, who we weren’t so interested in seeing perform so we queued up for the massively long queues for the bar and finally got some drinks after half an hour or so wait – I’m pretty small, so I’m pretty good at sidling through other people and ending up at the bar quicker than the person who joined the queue next to me – it’s a technique that served me well at university.
After our drinks, with Louise playing in the background, we explored Brighton Pride, as this was our first time being at Brighton Pride and we enjoyed our exploring, but there wasn’t anything that piqued our fancy and we ended up back at the main stage, waiting for Britney Spears to come on – yeah, we missed Ella Eyre, which we didn’t mind.
The wait was so worth it because Britney Spears stormed on stage with amazing energy and she really nailed every single performance of her songs. The atmosphere was completely buzzing, with a lot of people singing along to the tracks apart from the album-tracks that only hardcore Britney Army fans knew all the words too. It was complete fire, and I would totally see her live again – which explains why I saw her when the tour came to Birmingham, three weeks or so later.
Birmingham Tour Date
Seeing Britney Spears at the Genting Arena in Birmingham (my hometown) was a totally different experience and just shows how two exactly the same sets (apart from support acts) in two different venues with different atmospheres, can truly change the whole production.
We had decided to book a hotel for a few nights around Britney Spears’ concert as Birmingham International isn’t near to where I live, and we didn’t want to have to deal with trains, and so we stayed at The Arden Hotel & Leisure Club which was a 20 minute or so trek from the venue but was so worth it as it had an old-fashioned posh air about the rooms and the lobby. We totally loved staying there and completely recommend it.
When we arrived at the venue for the concert, there was a whole crowd of people trying to get in. Inside, we were treated to the smell of Britney Spears’ unisex perform named “Prerogative”, which we first sampled at Brighton Pride via a wristband, which they were also giving out at this concert, hence the amazing smell upon entering – expect a review in the near future, as I just had to buy the fragrance, and my partner did too, and plenty of people have complimented us on the fragrance. We headed to the merchandise store which was a lot more sparse than we expected, but we still got some incredible pieces. Then we queued at the bar before heading to our seats.
As we sat down, Pitbull was on stage giving it his all. Now, I am not a fan of Pitbull and wasn’t too excited about him supporting Britney Spears, and yet I was interested in seeing him due to his high-profile status, and gosh did he bring it. If I had the opportunity to see him again, I would take it with both hands because Pitbull was beyond amazing and he sure did lift the excitement of the venue for Britney Spears. He was also passionate and emotional, with parts between songs where he chatted to the audience which really pulled at my heart and led to me totally respecting him.
Britney Spears came on stage after Pitbull finished and she was even better than she was at Brighton Pride. She gave it her all and we loved every single second of it. She was donning a white neck support band which conflicted with her first few outfits but she soon swapped it for a shiny diamond-like band – she probably had a lot of neck strain during her world tour. We saw every single move from our incredible seats and she really gave us a performance we absolutely adored. I just know that I won’t want to miss her when she next tours in the UK.
Overall
Okay, so we all know that Britney Spears doesn’t sing live at her concerts, but that really doesn’t matter considering she gives us a full-on performance. How many times have we watched The X Factor and seen acts perform live whilst working the stage completely – and then they’re totally warned out after one song. I’d rather watch Britney Spears bring energy like no other star can than stand there with a mic singing, and until she does an album of ballads, we’re unlikely to see her blow us away with a live vocal delivery. So, putting the non-live vocals aside, Britney Spears is a true talent and I absolutely loved watching her perform both at Brighton Pride and at Birmingham’s Genting Arena, and I would totally revisit those two moments in my life, if I could – not only because I saw one of my favourite artists of all time, but more so because I experienced that moment with my long-distance partner who I love very much. Seeing my boyfriend beam with happiness seeing Britney Spears live filled me with more admiration for this amazing guy that is in my life.
We totally have to see Britney Spears again and again and again.
