04-21-07 All State Arena

What’s hotter than the Pussycat Dolls performing at All State Arena? The Pussycat Dolls and Christina Aguilera sharing the same stage! And though the Pussycat Dolls were Aguilera’s supporting act, the crowd (of mostly 15-20 year old girls) gave them as much applause and heart as the sexy headliner.

From the moment the Pussycat Dolls were shown one by one on the big screen, just prior to their stage entrance, screams ignited the stadium from beginning to end, especially for fan favorite, Nicole. In the midst of the relentless adoration, the six Dolls pranced and danced their way across the stage, shakin’ it and crawling around on jumbo-sized monkey bars. But most of the time the Dolls were spread from one end of the stage to the other with Carmit anchoring one side and Melody the other, as they carried out synchronized moves with a blend of their own original dance progressions to songs such as “Don’t Cha” and “I Don’t Need a Man”. Their voices and harmonies were nearly album perfect as they showed the crowd they were the anti-Spice Girls thanks to their raunchiness and supra sex appeal.

As if the fans did not get their fill from the Pussycat Dolls, Christina Aguilera’s “Back to Basics” show was nothing short of a spectacular climax to the evening’s event. Christina entered with class standing atop a lighted stairwell, dressed in white, before being joined by a host of talented dancers that escorted her to the below stage.

As most fans know, Christina’s latest release is a tribute to singing greats including Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday, thus going...“Back to Basics”. Ironically, most fans in attendance probably didn’t have a clue as to whom she was saluting but seemed to really enjoy her renditions nonetheless. Christina did a great job trying to educate the masses on these popular icons of old during the song “Back to Basics” in which images of Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, James Brown, Miles Davis, and John Coltrane amongst others were displayed.

Christina’s 90-plus minute song and dance parade included a fantastic 9-piece band, a perfect blend of her later hits as well as numbers from her newest album, aerobics, sexy costume changes and, of course, her own angelic vocals marinated in emotion and precision.

It was a highly visual and ear-pleasing party from the get go and one nobody wanted to leave.