ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Section B • Page 2 • tacomaweekly.com • Friday, February 21, 2014
WILD, WEIRD AND CRASS Miley Cyrus brings freaky Bangerz tour to the Dome
By Ernest A. Jasmin ejasmin@tacomaweekly.com
I
f you were an unescorted 15-year-old girl, braving blustery conditions in a teddy bear unitard or glittery hot pants on Sunday, the best case scenario was that you were headed to the Tacoma Dome. That’s where America’s twerkiest pop star, Miley Cyrus, was unleashing her new “Bangerz Tour “on the United States, two days after launching north of the border in Vancouver, B.C. For those of you who’ve been in a coma, Cyrus has gone to great lengths to shed the wholesome image she had last time she headlined the Dome in 2009. Back then, she was best known for Disney’s “Hannah Montana.â€? Fresh in everyone’s memory now, though, is Miley dry humping her way through MTV’s Video Music Awards with a foam finger, an army of dancing “furriesâ€? and that guy who says he didn’t rip off Marvin Gaye. Cyrus set a high bar for being gaudy and ridiculous with that TV appearance, yet it paled in comparison to the insanity fans witnessed at the Dome. Her set was a relentless barrage on the senses that was mostly entertaining and often laughout-loud funny. At worst, though, her shtick felt incoherent, cynical and overly sexual for her youngish fan-base. It was like watching a Lady Gaga performance, stripped of arty pretense, mashed up with “Yo Gabba Gabbaâ€? and “Showgirls,â€? and viewed on magic mushrooms. Head ‌ spinning. So much to process. Huh? Was that a giant butt plug on the big screen? Swedish duo Icona Pop got things warmed up with technopop anthems from last year’s “This is ‌ Icona Popâ€? album. It wouldn’t be surprising if they headlined next year based on how enthusiastically fans sang and pogo-hopped through their walk-off performance of radio hit, “I Love It.â€? Half an hour later it was Miley’s turn, and she wasn’t exactly going for subtlety. The pop star made her entrance sliding down a giant tongue that snaked out of a projection of her face. She got the party started with “SMS (Bangerz),â€? joined by a posse that included dancers in plushy costumes, a little person in latex and an amazon whose main role seemed to be displaying her jiggly booty. (The way Cyrus presented her dancers as freaky props and worse – caricatures of hypersexualized black women – was sometimes cringe-worthy. Then again, she’s kind of a caricature herself.) Backed by a seven-piece band, the pop star followed her opener with “4 X 4,â€?which featured a checkered square dance
motif. From there, her set got exponentially weirder. A bboy bobble head joined her for “Love, Money, Party,� as she spun down the catwalk on the hood of a gold lowrider. She serenaded a giant puppet, kind of a cross between Snuffleupagus and an emu, that followed her during “FU.� And a 30foot, inflatable husky towered over the stage for “Can’t Be Tamed,� one of the few cuts that didn’t originate from Miley’s “Bangerz� album. For one of her best tricks, though, Cyrus turned into Justin Bieber. No, really, she bore a striking resemblance to her embattled peer, sporting an oversized T-shirt and glittery, backward baseball cap as she and her band showed up on a secondary stage midway through the show. Thankfully, she lifted her shirt for a couple of crotch shots, in case anyone was confused. “I’m too early in my tour to take my panties off now,� she teased after “Rooting for My Baby.� You know, because it’s all about the art with her. That was during the semi-unplugged part of the set, which actually included a couple of decent covers: a pedal-steel infused riff on Outkast’s “Hey Ya� and a run at her godmother, Dolly Parton’s, “Jolene.� Miley seemed to be singing without the aid of a vocal track, unlike many of her pop peers, and the latter was a bold choice. But she pulled it off, and later soared on her own ballads. She took a bow with “Someone Else,� or rather she floated off stage straddling a big hot dog. (Get it?) Soon she returned for the first of two encores, which kicked off with hit single “We Can’t Stop.� (Mindless party anthem or cautionary tale? You decide.) Up next was her dramatic karaoke classic in the making, “Wrecking Ball.� But a blast from the not-so-distant past served as the finale. She and her dancers wrapped up with “Party in the U.S.A.� in presidential-themed costumes. The Abe Lincoln stilt walker and the Mount Rushmore costume were cool, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the giant kitten dancing on the big screen. Awwww. The whole show was at turns fun, hilarious, crass and corny; probably not your cup of tea if you’re a dude and over 25. Also, you might want to reconsider sending your preteen daughter next time Miley is in town. Overheard from a grumpy dad after the show: “That was the best concert I’ve ever seen – except for every other concert I’ve ever seen. I think Credence was kind of like that.� Visit the online version of this story at www.tacomaweekly.com and the web site of freelancer Bill Bungard, www. billbungard.com, for more images from the show.
PHOTOS BY BILL BUNGARD
Tacoma, WA 98465.
LOVE YOUR w ;C B1>E0-E ">5/1? ;: 1C '?10 A>:5@A>1 1/;> w >;9 ;01>: @; 8-??5/ %11 A88 :B1:@;>E -@ !$ !$ &
ĹŠ;>0-.81 185B1>E B-58-.81
w A031@ >51:08E 1?53: -:0 ">;<1>@E %@-35:3 %1>B5/1?
SMILE GRAND OPENING SPECIAL DR. THOMAS GESSEL
$350 OFF %# % %
"-/7-31 585@->E 5?/;A:@?
&$% # % $ ( " % %$ & %# % % ! ) !% ! ( % !% # ! #$
>11 1?53: 0B5/1
(5?5@ !2@1: ':5=A1 ??;>@91:@ 4-:31? )1178E
ZUUZ "-/5Ĺ&#x2039;/ CE VV 521 w ;: >5 VV-9 W<9 %-@ VU-9 [<9
% ( VUĹ&#x; &! + 571 A? -@ 2-/1.;;7 /;9N E ;>1 1/;>
GESSEL
! " % #) ! $& % % !
ORTHODONTICS
$&# "% ! !( ) % # $ ' $ 1628 South Mildred Suite 201 | Tacoma, WA 98465 | (253) 503-1023