‘ ‘ ‘ Britney is back, bitches ‘mdash; and she brought the whole damn circus with her. ‘ ‘ ‘ … ‘ ‘ ‘ Britney is back, bitches ‘mdash; and she brought the whole damn circus with her. ‘ ‘ ‘ On Spears’ 14th stop on her 2009 tour, she proved that despite what the tabloids say, she can still put on one crazy concert. ‘ ‘ ‘ After the Pussycat Dolls’ opening strip number/set (poles included) got the audience ready for the main attraction, acrobats, clowns, midgets and samurai took over the two side-stages of the stage, set up to look like a three-ringed circus, as the audience waited for Spears. ‘ ‘ ‘ The crowd filling Mellon Arena consisted of an odd mixture of drunken college students, scantily clad women, 8-year-olds and uncomfortable-looking boyfriends dragged to the show all wondering what was to come from the tabloid-frequenting star. ‘ ‘ ‘ But the set that followed eliminated all doubt that Britney Spears is anything but a professional entertainer.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ Though it seemed like Spears was not singing throughout the majority of her set, it didn’t matter. The spectacle around her made up for it. Every song had elaborate lights, effects, props and dancing that oozed sex. Explosions, rings of fire and Britney Spears hanging 60 feet above the stage perched on two interlinked acrobats hanging from cables made up for any lack of live vocals that no one in the audience really expected anyway. ‘ ‘ ‘ Spears’ set was full of the songs that she does best, catchy numbers with tons of dancing and elaborate costumes, including a Bollywood segment for the song ‘Me Against the Music.’ Spears slowed down the show for a bit with the song ‘Everytime’ while sitting on the handle of a giant umbrella hanging from the ceiling of the Mellon Arena. ‘ ‘ ‘ Spears closed the concert with a well-received bit of nostalgia for the primarily college audience with ‘Hit Me Baby One More Time,’ then coming back onstage wearing a skanky cop outfit for a spectacular encore of ‘Womanizer.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ Overall, the concert was exciting, interesting and got the entire audience on their feet, and it far exceeded the expectations of many skeptics. Spears isn’t trying to be taken seriously or trying to restart her career as a reputable songwriter. She’s doing what she does best: being a pop star and churning out danceable fun songs while putting on a great show.