SPICE GIRLS TOUR 2008 - O2 Arena

When Phoenix FM asked me to report on the Spice Girls World tour I was more than happy to do so!  I took my 9 year old daughter along to see the gig at The O2 - the first time either of us had been to the venue.

I can see why the O2 is fast becoming THE venue to see live bands, it is superb.  We had seats way up, but still had a fantastic view.

The Spice Girls opened with "Spice Up Your Life" and it was a joy to see them all on stage together. All the tabloid reports of in-fighting and upset within the group seems a load of headline grabbing nonsense when you see the girls live.  They are obviously enjoying themselves.  There are lots of 'in' jokes and mikey taking comments!  Plenty of hugs & holding hands!  If they really hate each other they are putting on a very good act of loving each other!  And let’s face it, the girls can't act - I saw Spice World the Movie!!!

Not only did they perform their early hits, but we had hits post-Geri!  "Holler" was excellent with just the 4 girls.  Then Geri came out and treated us to "It's Raining Men"

Mel C proved that she is the REAL singer of the group. Time and again, it was her vocals that pinged out over the rest, and Mel's solo "I Turn To You" was an incredible performance.

Having said that, ALL the girls showed off their vocals, yet again, silencing their critics.  Every time Victoria sang the crowd went wild, the lady next to me saying "You've gotta love her".

The set was fairly simple - lots of trap doors in the floor with the girls & dancers going up & down.  Big screens at back, some revolving stages, and even a little dressing room scene where the girls 'got changed' behind heart shaped doors.

The dancers were phenomenal and really added to the spectacular feel of the performance.  In "Viva Forever" they were dressed as bull fighters as the song took on a Spanish theme. Towards the end of the set, the dancers all partied to a medley of covers including "Celebration" and "We Are Family".

To summarise, The Spice Girls CAN sing.  They can dance.  They love performing together.  The costumes were wonderful, the vocals superb, a high octane performance throughout.

Don't knock it, until you've seen it.  GIRL POWER - I LOVED IT!

Article by Xanthe Bearman, 10 Jan 2008
Posted in Bear At Lunchtime

Current UK time is 03.39 AM
Phoenix FM website (c) 1996-2008