

Rebecca Droke, Post-Gazette photos

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Christina Aguilera's first real show here as a star was on a makeshift stage with just a mike and a few dancers behind the hill of the Star Lake Amphitheatre during the Lilith Fair in 1999.
When she called the tour that stopped at the Mellon Arena last night "Back to Basics," that was not the back to basics she was talking about. This Back to Basics had more to do with the old days of the Cotton Club, the glitter of Broadway and the three rings of the circus.
There was a fleet of semis carrying a lot of flash onto that stage Saturday night. Aguilera, widely known as the young pop diva who can actually sing, placed herself in the heart of a major arena spectacle with 20 people on the stage and a video-type concept for every song.
The suspense built into the evening was how she would appear on stage next and what she would be wearing. She came by moving staircase, carousel horse, couch rising from the floor and, most dramatically, on one of those circus wheels that doubles as a target for the knife thrower. Costumes ranged from classy white suit and top hat for the opening, "Ain't No Other Man," to your basic French bordello wear on most of the other songs.
The music had a Jazz-Era feel that not only served the vampish tunes on her new album, "Back to Basics," but also was applied, not always effectively, to old hits like "Come On Over" and the almost unrecognizable "What a Girl Wants." The genie was left in the bottle.
The voice? What else -- big and full of gutsy bravado. She must have done some variation of "whoa" a hundred times. And yet, this might not have been Aguilera at her best. She was excited to be back in her hometown, she said, but did make a brief mention of feeling under the weather and needing the audience to "lift her spirits." It may have affected the more subtle tones in her lower register on songs like "Makes Me Wanna Pray" and "Oh Mother," which came with a loving tribute to her mom in attendance and a video of a woman being abused that didn't leave much to the imagination.
Oddly enough, Aguilera didn't seem to have to do that much singing. She had three backup singers who helped her carry the songs and a brassy, bassy band that competed with the vocals. Aguilera broke through it best with all those high-pitched wails.
As a performer, she lights up a stage with a mess of blonde hair, bright red lipstick and sexy dance moves. There was certainly more flash to this show than intimacy, but that's OK, she has a long career ahead of her and a few things more to learn about putting on a complete show.
Part of that, though, is the audience. With songs like "Candyman," "Back in the Day" and even "Lady Marmalade," Aguilera is presenting a style that would appeal to a much older crowd. And yet, it has to be pumped-up and glitzed-out for her young following. Maybe that's why even though she seemed to have a versatile and talented band, they had little room to play. The songs were not much longer than album versions and there wasn't a solo or piece of musicianship the whole night that stood out.
Aguilera slowed the action down for just a few ballads, the best of which was "Beautiful," a lovely and powerful encore that allowed her to wail, but also show a delicate side to her voice. As Otis Redding said, "try a little tenderness."
Opening the show were a pair of girl groups of widely varying quality. Danity Kane came off as something you might stumble upon in the courtyard of the mall, while the much slicker Pussycat Dolls had the makings of a premier Vegas act. The six Dolls, who headlined the arena in December, were a triple threat, with strong voices, exotic moves and looks to kill.
It's only a matter of time before their dark and dangerous leader, Nicole Scherzinger, ends up as a Bond girl or a Catwoman. Although, judging by her stunning vocal on "Stickwitu," she's a solo star in the making.



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First Published: April 15, 2007, 5:00 a.m.