Hartford, US

On Friday Night, The Spice Girls Played at the XL Center in Hartford, US. Here is a review from that show, and as you can imagine, it was as good as the other US and UK Shows.

Courtesy of http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-spicegirlsrev.artfeb23,0,6774711.story

It was never just about the music.

Sure, the Spice Girls had hits, and catchy ones at that. But the songs were a vehicle for a look, an attitude, a message — namely, Girl Power, in all its flirty, self-confident glory.

The same held true Friday in Hartford, where the British quintet played the last U.S. show of its reunion tour, which the Girls have said will be their last outing together. Accordingly, the show had a valedictory feel as the Spice Girls celebrated their mid-90s heyday.

On a huge stage festooned with lights, backup dancers, video screens and a long runway into the crowd, the songs were almost incidental. It was the spectacle that mattered: the big smiles, the flashy outfits, the all-for-one show of solidarity and some light bondage. Girl Power indeed.

Aside from a surprising number of '70s disco covers, including "It's Raining Men" and a medley at the end featuring "Celebration," "That's the Way I Like It" and "We Are Family," the songs were just what you'd expect. The flawless band of backing musicians ebbed and flowed through juiced-up numbers like opener "Spice Up Your Life" and slow jams about love and/or friendship, such as "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)" and "Too Much."

The five members danced and traded verses on the group numbers, and split into smaller teams, too.

Geri "Ginger Spice" Halliwell sang "It's Raining Men," Melanie "Scary Spice" Brown sang a cover of Lenny Kravitz's "Are You Gonna Go My Way" and Emma "Baby Spice" Bunton sang "Maybe," sporting a short black-and-white mod dress with a geometric pattern.

It was one of a blur of outfits. The Girls changed costumes every few songs, and along with their trademark looks — sparkly Union Jack dress for Ginger, leopard print unitard for Scary, purple track suit for Melanie "Sporty Spice" Chisholm — they donned dark, formal-style dresses and preened stylishly with the band on a moving platform for the big band-ish "The Lady Is a Vamp," and worked one routine around dressing room stalls, framed by translucent heart-shaped doors covering just enough to give the illusion of something naughty.

They wore various configurations of leather bustiers for the playfully S&M-themed "Holler" (though Ginger sat out that song, which the Spice Girls recorded after she left the band in 1998) and returned for the encore covered by hooded boxer's robes.

No Spice Girls concert would be complete without "Wannabe," the group's biggest hit, and the fivesome saved the best for last.

"We've only got one song left," Scary announced in the encore. "Do you want to hear it?"

The resounding roar from the mostly female audience demonstrated that, for one more night at least, Girl Power reigned supreme in America.

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