Ciara
With DJ Skribble
Finnegan's on the River
July 16, 2011
Better Than: Any other night at any other Finnegan's.
Remind me to hit up every Malibu-sponsored event for the rest of my life. Watching Ciara for free was already a sweet deal. But free booze, t-shirts, and guac and chips felt like My Super Sweet 16 birthday party.
And in case at any point in the night you couldn't recall what the spike in your "Liquid Sunshine" was (a coco-orange rum delight), the Malibu-branded beach balls, pillows, headphones, straw holders, or USB thumb-drives (seriously) would trigger your memory.
A photo stand let rum-giddy showgoers take pictures with quirky props like oversized sunglasses, hula skirts, and the feathered carnival headpieces that the Malibu babes were wearing. There was even a DJ Scratch Academy booth where you could walk up and pretend to be a real DJ by making those scratchy-scratchy noises on the decks.
Ciara strutted on stage radiating that sexiest-bitch-on-the-planet energy. She wore a Michael-Jackson-meets-ice-princess kind of getup: tight white pleather, rhinestone-studded combat boots, and a furry white fox tail hooked on to her pocket.
Dancing behind her were four bad mofos -- two chicks and two dudes with some mean moves. Seriously, the dancing was insane, from the sporadic Jackson crotch grab to one of the most impressive moves of the entire show when one of the dancers jumped and landed in a split on the floor, rebounded, and actually continued to bounce.
Of course, Ciara's signature seductive hip and body rolls were plentiful. They're even more powerful live than in her music videos. She took it to the floor on several occasions, getting whoops and hollers from the crowd. The butt-popping in her hit "Ride" was enough to make the girlfriends in the crowd uncomfortable. And "Lose Control," "Goodies," and "Oh" and were a few of the best songs of her set.
Oh, and Ciara even gave not one, but two shout outs to Miami during the show. Apparently she loves us. But then again, who doesn't?
Critic's Notebook
The Crowd: Ciara fans. Malibu fans.
Random Detail: There was lifeguard on duty incase one of the two guys who actually made it into the pool faced some sort of emergency.
Ciara's Setlist:
-"Get Up"
-"Goodies"
-"Oh"
-"Like A Boy"
-"Lose Control"
-"Start Something" (Michael Jackson cover)
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