Mind blown.
The feeling anyone would have after stepping out of Miley Cyrus’s 3 hour-long Bangerz concert. Cyrus performed at the PNC Arena in Raleigh, April 8, a night that no one there would ever forget.
When walking into the arena, I saw that giant colorful balloons filled the entire place. Right then, I knew it would be a crazy experience. Icona Pop opened for Cyrus and got the crowd hyped and excited. A little after 8:00, the lights dimmed and Cyrus’s face started to rise up on a giant projector screen, with her eyes rolling. After a giant wink, a slide designed to look like her tongue slowly started to unravel and out slid Cyrus. The crowd went crazy, and the noise was deafening.
Cyrus is known for her wild side, crazy extravaganzas and little clothing, and that is what you saw at Bangerz. During those three hours, the audience saw dancers in giant animal suits, crazy technology and lights, quick costume changes into the craziest outfits, a giant statue of her dog, Floyd, Cyrus riding a hotdog in the air, the F-bomb dropped every other sentence and a screen filled with trippy images of Cyrus and dancing cats.
However, Cyrus’s voice is what stole the show, and she surprised fans by performing on a small stage closer to the audience where she sang songs like “Jolene,” “Summertime Sadness,” and “The Scientist,” singing with acoustic accompaniment. Cyrus has talent and proved it. She was surrounded by hundreds of screaming fans, some of whom threw their personal belongings, like bras and underwear, on the stage.
She can do more than just twerk with teddy bears. Cyrus is a phenomenal entertainer and even those who aren’t the biggest fans would have enjoyed the concert because of the extravagant show she put on. Cyrus included almost every song on her Bangerz album, and she also sang her old hit single “Can’t be Tamed.” She interacted with the audience using a kiss cam and spitting on fans. The entire night was a party, even for those up in the rafters.
While it is understandable that she receives the criticism she does for the way she acts, she is very similar to Madonna and Lady Gaga in their early performing years. There were some shocked faces at the concert, but both her concert and album clearly express the parental advisory “explicit content.”
Cyrus is a 21-year-old entertainer who loves performing and who put on an amazing show. The concert ended with encores of “We Can’t Stop,” “Wrecking Ball”, and “Party in the USA,” with red white and blue confetti floating down for her fans to collect as souvenirs. Bangerz is the best concert I have ever experienced, and I was sad when Cyrus disappeared beneath the stage after the encore.
By Dana Walker
