Miley Cyrus' "Bangerz" tour kicked off in Vancouver on Valentine's Day and, on April 2, Cyrus finally made her way down to TD Garden in Boston. The controversial singer's fourth tour has generally received praise and approval — and her Boston show certainly did not disappoint.
Singer-songwriter Sky Ferreira kicked off the concert. Though her tunes are not as well-known as Cyrus' music, the crowd seemed to enjoy Ferreira's slow crooning and got moving with a few of her rock ballads. Following Ferriera was the peppy and significantly more recognizable Icona Pop, who delivered a noticeable change of pace. Of the two openers, Icona Pop had a significantly stronger fan base, as the crowd jumped and shook to every song, from "All Night" (2013) to the Top 40 hit "I Don't Care" (2012). Although Icona Pop didn't exactly blow the crowd away, the duo seemed to be a good fit for the atmosphere and was a great segue into the main event.
Surprisingly enough, the audience was not forced to wait hours in between the second opener and Cyrus's act. Entering in her trademark fashion — with her tongue stuck out — Cyrus fittingly started off the show with the tour's title track, "Bangerz" (2013). The singer, who was minimally clad in a red-sequined leotard, performed in front of interesting and arguably unflattering graphics of herself, which were displayed on a big screen in the background. Maybe these images enhanced the concert experience for those with nosebleed seats, but, overall, they were rather distracting.
After her opening number, Cyrus jumped into "4x4" (2013) crooning sweetly over the country beat. She also addressed the crowd quite a few times throughout the course of the evening, discussing the recent death of her dog, Floyd. She asked the audience to express their energy and enthusiasm, in order to help her get through the show, and despite mentioning Floyd's passing several times, her performance was only minimally affected by the sad subject. At one point during the concert, an enormous replica of the late canine graced the stage — its first appearance on the tour itself. During a rendition of "Can't Be Tamed" (2010), Cyrus, wearing custom-designed Roberto Cavalli black and white fur pants, caressed the dog's leg and broke down in tears, resulting in a slightly awkward moment for concertgoers. Luckily, the singer quickly composed herself, and managed to skillfully continue with the rest of the set.
During some of her slower songs, Cyrus sat on a satellite stage at the back of the auditorium. It was here that she struggled the most, clearly sobbing as she made her way through renditions of Lana Del Rey's "Summertime Sadness" (2012) and Dolly Parton's "Jolene" (2004). Though Cyrus's vocals were stellar on both of these numbers, a bit more variety could have been incorporated into this segment, as Cyrus has frequently performed these two covers since her opening date.
Cyrus first left the stage on a giant hot dog, but after minutes of the crowd chanting her name she returned to sing her anthemic "Party in the USA" (2009) and "We Can't Stop" (2013) for the encore. Her vocals were well showcased throughout the set. Indeed, it was obvious Cyrus was actually singing live. Although her show tends to be a bit repetitive, it seems that Cyrus is adopting an "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" attitude on this tour. This is working in her favor, because it seems that the young pop princess' career has nowhere to go but up.
