Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Bieber show delivers perfectly packaged puffery

That illness tween girls all over the area woke up with this morning is the lasting effect of Bieber Fever. Parents felt the other lasting effect — eardrums pummeled by screams.

That’s right, pop sensation Justin Bieber made his St. Louis debut Monday night, bringing a laser-filled spectacle to Scottrade Center for a packed concert in which the Canadian superstar could presumably do no wrong, at least in his young fans’ eyes.

That’s not to imply boy-next-door Bieber and what he brings to the table is a backpack full of misbegotten ills.

On the contrary, Bieber with his whipped hairdo, questionable appeal, etc., is an inoffensive and clean piece of pop puffery, perfectly suited for his target audience. Sure, he got too hot too fast, he’s not boasting an especially strong set of pipes and he doesn’t have the most commanding presence.

You can go on and on with what this Usher discovery is missing, but then you’re forced to revert to his lyric “all the haters I swear they look so small from up here” from “Bigger,” sung from the top of the pop landscape.

Instead, just plop Beiber inside a well-produced track or a frills-filled show and watch him work it for a totally disposable good time.

Bieber’s heavily choreographed 90-minute production, not unlike a mini-Usher or Justin Timberlake concert, came with all the trappings one would expect.

After an on-screen 15-minute countdown and an Xbox commercial masquerading as a backstage peek, a white denim-clad Bieber, accompanied by an ethnic lineup of backing singers, dancers and full band, emerged from beneath the smoky stage.

He rose up into a metallic ball structure that opened and unleashed him to perform “Love Me,” “Bigger” and “U Smile.”

“What’s up St. Louis? Welcome to my world,” he said, plugging his albums “My World” and “My World 2.0.” in the process. “We’re going to have a lot of fun tonight. Are you ready?”

Oh, was this crowd ready, embracing each selection as if it was golden, and some of them were.

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