Review: Spice Girls' Coliseum show a nostalgic good time

BY GLENN GAMBOA | glenn.gamboa@newsday.com

February 7, 2008

The Spice Girls, From Left, Victoria Beckham (Posh Spice), Melanie Brown (Scary Spice), Melanie Chisholm (Sporty Spice), Emma Bunton (Baby Spice), , Geri Halliwell (Ginger Spice) and their dancers (Photo by Wayne Herrschaft, Newsday / February 7, 2008)

In the spirit of Girl Power, let's bust a few Spice Girls myths.

First, they really do sing live. (Powerhouse vocals from Mel B and Mel C, as well as the group's off-key harmonies in "Celebration" couldn't have been on tape.) Next, they don't hate each other. (There was too much inappropriate touching for people who didn't get along. There was also more onstage bottom-patting than at the Super Bowl.) And finally, yes, Victoria Beckham does smile, though she does work hard at not looking like she's having fun.

But really, how could she not?

The Spice Girls' 100-minute extravaganza at Nassau Coliseum was nothing if not a good time. After all, aside from the new single "Headlines," which was kind of a downer, it was an evening of nothing but hits and near-hits from the Girls' late-1990s heyday, performed as if they had been untouched by time.

Of course, none of that really matters on this tour. The Spice Girls' reunion is built on late '90s nostalgia - that happier, wealthier time before the dot-com crash and the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Sure, it takes a special kind of act to drum up this much excitement for their own nostalgia, but the Girls' tour payday of $20-million-plus apiece may help with that.

And Beckham (Posh), Melanie Brown (Scary), Emma Bunton (Baby), Geri Halliwell (Ginger) and Melanie Chisholm (Sporty) all certainly played their parts well, impeccably dressed in their numerous Roberto Cavalli-designed outfits. Whether it was the Latin-flavored "Spice Up Your Life," the lush R&B of "2 Become 1" or the giddy pop of "Wannabe," the Spice Girls sold it with smiles on their faces, swagger in their steps and a large chunk of their infectious humor.

The sensory overload was even more effective on this tour than their last one in 1998, with all five Spices running off in various directions, shuttled around by 10 dancers.

Since the Spice Girls announced last week that the reunion tour would end this month in Toronto instead of continuing around the world, rumors of unrest in the group have begun swirling. There was no sign of that, though they definitely are more a gathering of individuals now than a united Girl Power front.

Each took a solo turn during the concert, with only Beckham declining to use the time to sing, walking the stage like it was a catwalk to Madonna's "Like a Virgin" instead. Though Mel B's "Are You Gonna Go My Way" was designed to be outrageous, it was Mel C's dance classic "I Turn To You" that was the most accomplished.

All the Spice Girls look ready to move on individually, knowing that they will likely never be as Girl Powerful as they were walking hand in hand together, united. Maybe that's why they seemed to enjoy themselves so much last night.

SPICE GIRLS. Giving the crowd what they want, what they really, really want. At Nassau Coliseum on Wednesday and Thursday. Seen Wednesday.