Okay, that was teh awesome. Really. Neither Lala nor I had ever been to a show on that scale, let alone a Britney Spears anything. We didn't own a whole album of hers between us in our vast iTunes library.
But it was so exhilarating! We went to In'n'Out for dinner beforehand, and for a moment, when we saw the line, I was worried about timing — would we make it to the show? Then we noticed that the ENTIRE restaurant was full of teenaged girls, some wearing handmade Britney 2009 puff-painted tee-shirts, most sporting gold or silver lame of some type. I tell you, I've never seen In'n'Out like that. The level of excitement almost lifted off the roof and we weren't even at the Coliseum yet.
We took our hamburgers and drove to the BART parking lot, which is just a raised walkway away from the Coliseum. Free parking, yo. We ate our dinner in the car and chased it down with Brooklyns from the flask (there are a few different cocktails named this, but I named our cheap Costco brandy Manhattans this, and I'm sticking to it).
Outside the Coliseum, I almost lost it, cocktail-buzz notwithstanding. We were CRUSHED in a thirty minute wait to get in the doors. So many teenaged girls, all screechy, and their bitchy mothers. Also, lots of lovely gay men, who made it all worth it. (Favorite overheard saying of the night: "Look at all these hot moms! I might go straight for a night! Get a cougar! Yow!")
But inside — amazing.
The noise of thousands and thousands and thousands of screaming little girls is truly painful, but exhilarating. Everyone danced. It was mostly a standing-up show. Britney gave only the slightest pretense of singing at all, but who cared? The dancers were great! She said Oakland and meant Oakland (she has a track record of greeting the wrong city, which I kind of wanted to happen).
And I have to say, she's so COMPLETELY fun. I've spent time listening to Circus recently, in preparation for the show, and I LOVE IT. Really. The other night, when it was 90 in the house, the only thing that made feel better was cranking Mmm Papi, soaking my dress in the sink, and then dancing in front of two fans. (I mean the blowing kind, not Digit and Clara, although they were duly impressed from their heat-flattened positions on the floor.)
I'm so glad we went (thank you, Martha! You are the BEST!).
Laurie says
Gah! I’ll bet you could power a small city for a week with the energy and girl-excitement that was churning in that place!
Christina says
Wait- what? Britney? (does not compute)
Adrienne says
A couple of years ago, I had the rare delight of catching Madonna in Atlanta. Not a huge fan of Ms M — but the show was a rush. The audience was skewed more toward gay men and middle-aged moms, tho there was quite a bit of high-pitched shrieking anyway.
Too bad Britney’s not coming to my neck of the woods. It’s sounds like an awesome time. So glad you and Lala were able to enjoy it.
Plus, you can never go wrong with a good In and Out burger.
indigirl says
You are so much fun.
JudithNYC says
I don’t know Rachel, that cocktail sounds more Staten Island than Brooklyn. hee, hee
Glad you gals enjoyed the concert, screeching girls nothwithstanding.
Dani in NC says
I’m curious: why did you decide to go see Britney if you weren’t already a fan and you don’t usually go to big shows?
Lee Ann says
I never in a million years thought I would like a Britney song until I had to do a hip-hop choreography to one. Dance changes everything. Now I drive my husband batty with the Britney…but hey, you have to practise so as not to fall on your face, non?
Circus is an awesome song for choreography. I’d love to see what they did.
Chloe says
I went to Cher’s concert in Fresno. Wowsers! What a SHOW!!
So it’s made me a fan of the BIG SHOW.
For little shows, it’s still the Fox in Hanford…which is an Amtrak stop. Just sayin’. Not a bad seat in the house and I usually get a backstage pass.
carolyn says
gah. sounds like a BLAST. yay happy girls.