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SUNDAY, MARCH 8 — THE CIRCUS STARING BRITNEY SPEARS, ST. PETE TIMES FORUM, TAMPA

The ritual is about to commence. We have gathered, donned in our ceremonial garb of revealing tops with denim and high heels. We have imbibed holy spirits, and taken our seats in the temple. As the lights go dim, the high priestess takes the stage, dressed in knee-high stiletto boots, and a bright red ringmaster’s jacket.

It’s Britney, bitch. And the crowd goes wild.

Ms. Spears kicks off her set tonight with her hit “Circus” and the performance definitely lives up to its title. Aside from the artist herself there are a slew of backup dancers and acrobats and a giant cage in addition to the flashing lights and a video screen projecting sexy images of the lady. Brit tackles hit after hit (“Piece of Me,” “Radar,” “Boys”) while looking fierce in various combinations of sparkly pants and bras and high, high heels.

Every three songs or so we are treated to a new distraction to give Ms. Spears a breather and time for a costume change: These breaks include a martial arts-style dance performance, a music video of Brit set to Marilyn Manson’s “Sweet Dreams” (super hot), and another set showcasing each of her backup dancers breakin’ it down. These are some of the best parts of the show, and that’s saying a lot considering the stuff that Brit is about to bust into.

When she returns to the stage to perform a couple In the Zone-era tunes (“Breathe on Me” and “Touch of My Hand”), things get super steamy. Britney writhes on a settee in a bustier until two boys in bondage gear join her and pull her into the air for more acrobatics. The performance of the song alone is worth the price of admission. But there are more hits to come.

Brit switches back into pop-tart mode and knocks out “Toxic” and “I’m a Slave 4 U” before playing “…Baby One More Time” (how could she not?). Most of the songs she performs tonight are drawn, surprisingly, from Blackout, her least successful album, with a couple tunes thrown in from each of her other discs. While Brit’s always been known for her dancing, her main moves now are the full-on stripper-style hair toss, and simply strutting across the stage. She does both quite well, of course, but we expected perhaps a little bit more from the onetime Princess of Pop.

And that’s my only complaint with the show. That fire that she used to have seems to be missing. It’s almost like a Britney-robot has taken the stage in her place and we are not observant enough to know the difference. But don’t get me wrong. The Brit-Tron 8000 puts on an amazing show the likes of which cannot be seen anywhere else. Don’t forget. It’s still Britney, bitch.

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