Femme Fetale - Britney Spears & Nicki Minaj Show Review

 The Femme Fetale tour hit Nashville on July 18, just this past Monday night.

Britney Spears - Bridgestone Arena - July 18, 2011

Jessie and the Toy Boys opened the show. What could be the love child of Britney Spears and Lady Gaga, she puts on a pretty great show. Fantastic dancer, catchy songs, and a great little show overall. 

Nicki Minaj took the stage like only a star could. The arena suddenly turned into a live club as everyone danced to the beat and hands were up all over the huge venue. I wasn't particularly into the "plot line" of the show, as I found it unnecessary and a little cheesy.

Nicki Minaj - Bridgestone Arena - July 18, 2011

Nicki owned the stage. She shined on her hits like "Moment for Life" (even if she was missing Drake) and "Superbass." Next year, I wouldn't be surprised if Nicki wasn't headlining her own arena tour. My only complaint? Her set seemed really short, which may have just been a sign of how great it was.

With a 45 minute delay between Nicki and Britney, my friend and I took the time to walk around the arena for a few to observe the crowd. Lots of "Baby...One More Time" school girl outfits, tons of pink hair wigs, and lots of street corner outfits that perhaps were an interpretation of the sexiness Britney conveys. They all represented one thing-- Britney was still the princess of pop.

She promptly took the stage at 9:15, and I was shocked to see how...well...great she looked. It was almost like rewinding in time to see the Britney where the lights were all on and she could dance again. It was almost as though the crazy shaved head girl never existed. And the crowd seemed to agree.

The production was incredible. There was a plot line (yet again, kind of hard to follow and pointless), acrobats, dancing everywhere, boats, cars, motorcycles, Egyptian pyramids, Britney with angel wings flying....the whole nine yards.

Britney Spears with Kenny Britt

She pulled up Tennessee Titan Kenny Britt (who's in a bit of his own trouble these days) and gave him the lap dance of a lifetime. That was kind of comical.

Brit Brit's still got it, whatever that "it" is. She embodies a seasoned entertainer who the crowd still loves.

Long live the queen.

Check out more pictures from the show here:

Femme Fatale Tour - Nashville - July 18, 2011

Spotify: Changing the Music Industry One Song at a Time

Spotify.

This music service is set to change everything here in the US. It's like Limewire or Napster (in the olden days) but....legal.

And free.

Wait, free? Yep.

Unlimited streaming of a music catalogue that appears to have only left out the usuals: the Beatles, AC/DC, etc. It's available by invite only currently in the US for the free streaming but they are offering their $4.99 subscription/per month for unlimited music openly. The premiere subscription leaves out the ads, which you get about once every 25 minutes (think 5-6 songs) when streaming with the free edition. It's barely noticeable, and certainly doesn't bother me enough to make me pay to leave out a few harmless seconds of advertising.

It's revolutionary. It's like having everything available on iTunes....but for free. All the time.

What's the catch? There isn't one. All the major record labels have signed on. They're getting paid. The artists are getting paid. Everyone leaves happy at the end of the day. (Well, maybe not happy, but that's the nature of the beast.)

Get your free invite here (Coca-Cola has started a brilliant partnership with them): http://bit.ly/GetYaSpotifyGrooveOn

Taylor Swift Help Now, Speak Now Dress Rehearsal

When Taylor Swift announced her Speak Now, Help Now dress rehearsal open to the public to benefit the tornado victims in Alabama, I knew I had to go. All the profits from the tickets were benefiting those affected by the storms, so it was a great cause. And getting to see my beloved Miss Swift was most certainly an added bonus.

Say what you will-- and many of you will-- I believe Taylor Swift to be one of the greater entertainers of this generation. Note I didn't say vocalist or powerhouse. Entertainer.


Each great female entertainer from Madonna to Lady Gaga has brought something different to the table. But in those differences from the rest of the musical crowd at that time brought similarities between each of the greats. Mostly rooted in sexual prowess and pushing the limits in such categories, these superstars were born out of talent, edginess, and groundbreaking stances on taboo subjects from sexuality to homosexuality.

This is where Miss Swift distinguishes herself. She has reached the pinnacle of success only seen by a few before her, but she hasn't had to sell anything but songwriting and a dream of princes, princesses, and fairytales to a group of eager young women's ears.

I attended the show in wristband VIP section where I was, to quote "Sparks Fly," "close enough to touch" the country princess. I watched in amazement as fireworks burst during "Dear John," acrobats swung from the ceiling, breezing across the stage in ease, dancers popped out of the stage into the air, and finally, Taylor ascended upon her flock of admirers in a flying thing-a-madooie.

I felt like an 8 year old at the circus as I watched wide-eyed at all the amazing attractions going on. The show is extensive with so much careful planning gone into it, and yet it goes so seamlessly, with Miss Swift leading her army to victory each night of the tour.

My only complaint? You can barely hear Swift over the overzealous crowd singing each and every word to her songs. Perhaps it was a faulty sound situation on this particular night, but at times I struggled to hear her over the many voices that filled Bridgestone Arena.

I'm not usually overly impressed by arena shows, as they just feel too large to be intimate with the artist. I prefer smaller venues to see my favorite artists. But in this case, Bridgestone almost seemed too small to house the show that was bigger than its body. She made everyone feel welcome and appreciated and yet somehow managed to keep that star power lit brightly that sets her so far apart from the audience. It's a balance Swift has learned to perfect, and that balance has proven to be a big selling point for her fans.

Taylor Swift at Bridgestone Arena on May 21, 2011

 

 

 

This show was one of the highlights of the summer, and I highly recommend seeing it if you have any interest in Swift at all. Great show. Excellent performance. Visually a dream.

Katy Isn't the Only Talented Perry

The Band Perry have been rising in their acclaim here in Music City over the past year, but I hadn't really had the chance to hear them live until CMA Fest at the nightly LP Field show. They played the same night as heavyweights Blake Shelton, Miranda Lambert, and Taylor Swift. You would think amidst all that star power, the freshman band would get lost in the shuffle.

Not even close.

Kimberly Perry, the rambunctious and beautiful blonde that steers this Perry ship to stardom, owned the stage as though she and her band of brothers were the main attraction. 

"As I Die Young," proved to be a crowd favorite over the evening, as the football stadium of people sang it sweetly with the young crooner. An eruption of excitement took over as they broke into their latest hit, "You Lie."

Not a believer before this night, I was impressed. I thought they were some gimmick band that Big Machine had thrown on the roster to be a cookie cutter act. But here they were, with a totally different sound from anything I had ever heard with her vocals piercing through the night.

So I did what any potential convert would do. I decided to investigate further before crossing over to the dark side. I bought the album to paint the bigger picture the very next day.

And that's when my like shifted to love.

The Band Perry's debut album brings a freshness to the genre I personally haven't encountered in a long time. Their sound is completely unique, just as every great star before them has been. Miss Perry floats through the songs with a country voice that has just the right warmth to it. The lyrics are distinctly stylistic of someone who hasn't been told what to write or what general pattern works. They sound genuine and moving.

"Postcard from Paris" is an absolute album gem, comparing her pining over a man and anything other than him being "a postcard from Paris when I've seen the real thing." Other stand outs (besides the obvious first 3 hit singles) on the album include "Double Heart," "Walk Me Down the Middle," and "Miss You Being Gone."

And moving 52K copies the first week of release, I'm guessing I'm not alone in my love for this new band. Within four months of the release, it was certified gold and was the best selling debut album from a new country act last year.

If you like country music or just good music in general....check out these new kids on the block.

NKOTBSB Nashville Show Review

A record label marketing guru once said jokingly, "You can always tell the music industry folks at any concert. They are the ones not clapping along with the performers or singing aloud proudly. They don't dress up because they're not under the impression they're going home with the lead singer cause they're wearing a cute sundress. They're the ones judging the sound, the instruments used, and the overall aesthetics of the show."

And three years ago when I first got to this town, I couldn't have been further from this description. But nowadays, it's pretty dead on. The longer I work in music, the more I care about the music. I'm no longer a fan of a band; I'm a fan of the music. I don't want to make out with the sweaty lead singer- I want to discuss his vocal training with him.

 Now throw all that out the window for the NKOTBSB show in Nashville at the Bridgestone Arena on June 21, 2011.

My inner Jr. High self woke up that morning to find some front row seats having just been released on Ticketmaster. So, naturally, I scooped up a couple of tickets. (Cost? A little high, but FRONT ROW? At a Backstreet Boys show? C'mon, I couldn't deny my 13-yr-old self that.)

Ashlyne Huff, a Nashville native, opened up the show with incredible vocal power and energy. Admittedly, I was impressed. She looked like a pop star version of Gisele Bundchen. So naturally, I expected her to be lip synching her way through her performance. Not even close. Girl has pipes that had my eyebrows raised to the ceiling.  After doing a little research, I realized she was Dan Huff's-- THE producer Dan Huff (think Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey)-- child. Talk about music running in the family. Follow Ashlyne on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ashlynehuff

Next, Jordin Sparks came out. She was good....but I couldn't understand why the opener to the opener could manage to sing in spite of dancing like Britney circa '99....yet Jordin proudly lip synched her way through much of her performance. I was disappointed. A mad good vocalist like Sparks good certainly have brought more to the table. Her stage presence was demanding, and you dared not take an eye off her for fear she might take her "I Am Woman" self and tell you how it is.

Finally, NKOTBSB......


As they took the stage, the entire arena erupted in screams that I'm certain could be measured sonically all the way to Houston. And as Nick Carter came to my side of the stage (oh yes, my) and sang directly to me, I became a fan again for the first time in years.

And there it was....all wrapped up into 10 thrusting and dancing men, singing romantic songs, and making eye contact with virtually all million of us screaming girls....my childhood innocence surfacing. I remember listening to those songs as a preteen and teenager, daydreaming about my first kiss, finding a boy that believed so fiercely in love like the Backstreet Boys, and hoping someday I would be a girl they would sing about.

Music isn't necessarily about one thing for anyone. I can listen to every genre and find things I like. I can listen to modern pop and want to throw it out the window most days. But music can bring you back to a place and time. It transcends all of life's troubles and can be like a mini-vacation. And that's precisely what the NKOTBSB concert was.

Between the dancing, the screaming, the obnoxiously loud singing....all the women in there were reliving the fantasy of the boy band.

And while bubblegum pop might be disposable to most, it was a night that was magical to all of us. Talking to another friend of mine that attended the show, she said (with stars in her eyes): "It was like a musical high. It was the best concert experience of my life."

Whether you loved the music or not, the pyrotechnics and the show itself were beyond impressive. It was an arena show not to be missed. I had never so much as heard a NKOTB song, but I admired their energy and Donnie Walhberg's abs for sure.

Overall Show Rating: A+