Last night Spears began the North American leg of her concert run with a performance at the Power Balance Pavilion in Sacramento, with Rolling Stone going on to declare it "possibly her flashiest, fastest moving, and most entertaining production yet."
The magazine's highlights from the setlist (which was revealed last week) include a cover of Madonna’s 'Burning Up', which featured Britney "straddling a giant glittering guitar 10 or so feet high and twice as long" and 'Piece of Me', where she "flew over the stage until [backing dancers dressed as] cops ripped off their shirts to reveal S&M bondage harnesses." The usual understated stuff.
Although the overall verdict is positive, Britney does come under fire for her vocals, and in particular her decision to sing her older ballad 'Don’t Let Me Be the Last to Know' 100% live. "The results confirmed why Spears typically relies on prerecorded vocals," commented the mag.
In the end, Rolling Stone admit that "Britney [has] managed to prove that she's still progressing as a showgirl" and "not only that, she's doing it better than even diehard defenders would’ve predicted".