LIVE: Spice Girls Overload The Senses
Monday February 04, 2008 @ 12:00 PM
By: ChartAttack.com Staff

The Spice Girls Photo by Richard Beland

February 3, 2008
Air Canada Centre
Toronto, ON
By Bryan Borzykowski

Forget the Super Bowl. If you wanted superhuman feats of athleticism, slick moves and a glittery, over-the-top show then you should have been at the Spice Girls first of four Toronto performances on Sunday.

In a few words, this superstar reunion show was epic, entertaining and wildly ridiculous. Right from the start when Scary, Baby, Ginger, Sporty and Robot… sorry, Posh Spice, launched into "Spice Up Your Life," the largely female audience went absolutely nuts. Picture the excitement level of a bunch of long-haired, rock radio-loving dudes at a Led Zeppelin reunion, or maybe the New York Giants players after beating the Patriots in the final football game of the year, and you'll only just begin to understand how much energy there was in the bursting-at-the-seams Air Canada Centre.

All those who shelled out the big bucks for the show weren't be disappointed. This was a spectacle that really had to be seen. Sure, everything was choreographed down to the second. Multiple large TV screens, moving platforms, a bevy of male dancers, mechanical things rotating in every conceivable direction — this was the definition of sensory overload. It's shocking no one had a seizure.

But as good as the stage show was everyone was there to see how the girls looked after breaking up in 2001. Needless to say, they looked damn good from their first, second… right down to their fourth set of costume changes. Vocally, they were pitch-perfect as well, with Scary and Sporty really blowing the rest of the gals away.

After so many years off the airwaves, it's amazing that their huge hits still stand up. They played all their notable songs, including "Stop," "Say You'll Be There," "Headlines," "2 Become 1" and everyone's favourite, "Wannabe." Each and every song was as infectious as the next.

Clearly, this show is a must-see for every Spice Girls fan, or really, anyone who wants to see a mind-blowing, Vegas-meets-Broadway-style performance. But it wasn't all perfect.

First of all, Victoria Beckham is totally useless. She barely sung anything other than a chorus. Her synthetic body was hard to watch and all that personality she had on her reality show was missing. Throw in some weak dance moves and she becomes as relevant to the Spice Girls as Paris Hilton is to society. Still, thanks to her tabloid life, she managed to score some of the biggest screams.

Secondly, as big as the Spice Girls were in their heyday, they really only have one album worth of great songs. Playing your 10 biggest hits doesn't suit a nearly two hour show, so they had to throw in some unfortunate covers like Kool And The Gang's "Celebration," Sister Sledge's "We Are Family" and Lenny Kravitz's "Are You Gonna Go My Way?"

Of course, a Spice Girls show can't be a Spice Girls show without some unabashed sexuality. And this wasn't just innuendoes or barely-there outfits, which there were plenty of, this was full-out simulated sexing. During Scary Spice's solo of "Are You Gonna Go My Way?" the buxom brunette pulled out a whip while a male audience member was fastened into an odd S&M contraption. Not only did she give the guy a mini-lap dance, complete with pelvic thrusts in his face, but it looked like she was giving him a blowjob at the end of the song.

Other moments, like when Scary grabbed Posh's fake boob, and Sporty rubbed Scary's ass, or when the girls changed from their showgirl outfits to corsets and mini-skirts in front of the audience (granted, they were in makeshift change rooms, but they asked the audience if they could see the girls naked), proved that they weren't just selling friendship and good times.

With skin-tight outfits, the suggestive dancing, frenetic set changes and the blast of confetti at the end of the show, the whole thing just got crazier and crazier by the minute. Whether you like this type of performance or not, you had to laugh when the girls were "walking" their male dancers like dogs, when the gaggle of guys did an impressive breakdancing routine or when Posh's "solo" moment consisted of nothing more than her walking down the catwalk like a model.

It may have felt like the gig was one big joke or a bizarre Saturday Night Live sketch at times, but that's precisely why this will likely be the best show of 2008. The Spice Girls never took themselves too seriously back in the day and, thankfully, they still don't. For them, and their fans, it's about solid tunes, great dancing and two hours of in-your-face girl power.