"If you wanna be my lover..."

As a poor journalist, shelling out $100 for anything makes me grimace...but dropping $105 to see the Spice Girls in Philadelphia last night was anything but silly and completely worth it to fulfill all my wildest 1997 dreams.

The concert "started" at 7:30, but the British fivesome didn't come on until 8:30 and there was no opening act. Had we planned on the delay a little better, my friends and I might have gotten some brews at the McFadden's inside the Wachovia Center, but as we climbed and climbed and climbed to our seats, it was clear we weren't going anywhere until the show was over. Yes, that's right--very last row.

Here's the view from our seats, with and without zoom:

The crowd was without a doubt fired up before the show even began, with tons of glitter-clad teenage girls and 20 somethings dancing and singing to the "warm up" music, but when the lights came down and five podiums arose from below the stage, it was complete pandemonium.
"La, la, la, lalala, la, la, laaaa... When you're feeling sad and low, we will take you where you wanna go."

The concert kicked off with the high energy "Spice Up Your Life." Watch this video and tell me this doesn't look like insanity. (And PS. ignore the singing around me. I forgot to inform my friends that I would be taping, haha.)

During their first dialogue, the Spice Girls announced that they were getting "Silly in Philly," and then broke into my personal favs, "Stop," and "Say You'll Be There." The girls were dressed in coordinating gold, glittery outfits and they all looked phenomenal. The girls slowed it down a bit for their newest song, "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)," which gave the amped up audience a chance to get a breather--and at our altitude, that was tough.

"Lady is a Vamp" was excellent, followed up by the girls in a dressing room-like set to perform a sexed up version of "Too Much." I'm pretty sure this was when all the feathery props came out - bright boas during these numbers, and then giant, white, fluffy things for "2 Become 1," where the girls road an imaginary carousel with candy cane poles--VIDEO BELOW! You can really see how buff Sporty Spice is and how crazy the crowd goes for Posh Becks (though, I don't understand why).

After "Who Do You Think You Are?" the girls each had some solo time out on stage, and Victoria took it upon herself to ditch the singing and strut up and down the runway stage to RuPaul's "Supermodel" - WORK! Work it girl! Yeah. She sucks.

Scary Spice brought one of the six men in the entire venue on stage as she sang a cover of Lenny Kravitz's "Are You Gonna Go My Way?" as she whipped, gyrated and gave the guy a faux BJ--no, not kidding. Were they like this when I was 12??

Baby Spice sang her single--so...apparently she came out with a single. The aesthetics for the song were really cute--very Austin Powers-esque.

The group reunited on stage for a Spanishy rendition of "Viva Forever" and picked it up with their newer song, "Holler," in which they led hunky dancers down the catwalk on leashes. Girl power!

Geri came on stage, and much to my dismay did not sing her single "Look at Me," but she did belt out a pretty fun rendition of "It's Raining Men" (below, left). And then obviously, Sporty Spice sang her single--the most successful of the lot--the techno-inspired "I Turn To You" (below, right).

After slowing the pace down for "Let Love Lead the Way," the girls gathered at the end of the stage and Sporty Spice--in her cockney talk--described her admiration for her four Spice friends who have all popped out some Spice babies in the last few years...which of course launched them into "Mama."

The concert started going down the beaten Bah Mitzvah path as the band pumped out "Celebration," "We Are Family" and such. "Goodbye," which you can see my videdo of by clicking here, ended the set and the girls fled the stage.

After some crowd encouragement, the platoon of male dancers hit the stage again in rainbow wear and break danced to "The Humpty Dance," which I found particularly entertaining. And then it got Spiced-up with the girls reappearing and chanting the chorus to "If U Can't Dance."

And what would a Spice Girls concert be without some "Wannabe"?! By far, the best moment of the concert. VIDEO BELOW.

The concert ended with a funky reprise of "Spice Up Your Life" as glittered blasted the stage (below, right). It was absolutely insane.

Yes, the show was short (about 90 minutes), our seats were bad and the dance moves were a littly crusty. But the Spice Girls sang. They by no means lip synched (as evident by a few off key notes throughout), but Sporty Spice is without a doubt the most talented of the bunch, belting out song after song as the others seemed more like background singers at times. And the Spices looked fan-freaking-tastic. Mel B's and Geri's stomachs looked insane and Mel C's arms were jacked. The girls chatted it up on stage and kept the energy going the whole time. It was well worth the hundred bucks.

I went to a Spice Girls concert 12 years after their prime, and it was incredible.

[PLEASE CLICK HERE TO VIEW
THE ENTIRE ALBUM FROM THE SPICE GIRLS CONCERT!]

Slam it to the left--

I must inform all Jerc Store readers: I will be attending the Spice Girls concert tonight in Philadelphia. It will without a doubt be one of the most fantastic moments of my life and I will be writing up a review as soon as the adrenaline in my veins allows me to function again.

And in honor of the concert, here's a short blurb about the Spice Girls (indirectly) helping to fight crime!

BURTON, Mich. (AP) — The driver of a tour bus for the Spice Girls has helped police in Michigan arrest a man suspected in a carjacking. Police say the bus driver called 911 to report a possible drunk driver weaving in and out of traffic on Interstate 75 in the Detroit area on Saturday. The Spice Girls were performing that night at The Palace of Auburn Hills northwest of Detroit.

Police said they arrested a motorist and turned him over to police in the town of Burton in connection with a carjacking at a gas station.

The motorist was being held in the Genesee County Jail awaiting arraignment.

Police did not immediately identify the Spice Girls' bus driver or the man who was arrested.

Catch ya tomorrow!

No holds barred for Hannah

I bet my parents are glad that Hannah Montana did not exist during my childhood. Kids across the nation are begging, kicking and screaming to get their hands on HM tickets these days, and seriously, who wants to disappoint their kids?

But at the same time, spineless parents who will stop at nothing to get these tickets to please their kiddies (and probably brag around the water cooler) are ruining it for everyone.

Priscilla Ceballos, a woman from Garland, Texas, recently submitted an essay on behalf of her daughter, which began with the line, "My daddy died in Iraq this year," for a Hannah Montana Rock Your Holidays Essay Contest. Prizes included tickets to Hannah Montana's sold-out concert in Albany, New York in January, airfare and accommodations to the show and a Hannah Montana gift bag.

Her essay won the contest... only one problem: it was one big, fat lie.

The woman told contest officials that the girl's father, Sgt. Jonathon Menjivar, died April 17 in a roadside bombing in Iraq, but the Department of Defense has no record of anyone with that name dying in Iraq.

Ceballos admitted to the deception, according to a spokeswoman for Club Libby Lu, the store holding the contest. The company is considering taking away the tickets.

"We did the essay and that's what we did to win. We did whatever we could do to win." --Priscilla Ceballos, in an interview with Dallas TV station KDFW.

Ruthless, but hey, if a good friend of mine hadn't gotten me tickets to the upcoming Spice Girls concert, maybe I'd consider doing the same.