This is without a doubt the hardest Her Campus article I’ve had to write. It seems impossible to put into words the intense joy I felt deep within my soul during the Miley Cyrus Bangerz concert. It was the single greatest night of my life. I’ll be seriously surprised if my wedding day is as fulfilling as this concert.
Let’s start at the very beginning. Miley announces her Bangerz tour, and I don’t think I’ve ever been more excited in my twenty years on earth. It’s October, and me and three of my closest Miley fans/friends bought the best tickets we could find during the presale. We pledged that we would twerk every day until Miley came to Boston on April 2nd. Fast forward to December, my mother, bless her compassionate soul, purchased two tickets to see Pitbull, Flo-Rida, Robin Thicke, Miley and more perform at Kiss 108’s Jingle Ball. Miley was scheduled to perform last, but due to an intense winter storm she was unable to make it to Boston that night. It was out of her control, and I felt deep sorrow for the Miley fans at Jingle Ball who were unable to see her. Miley tweeted “Cheers to BOSTON imma make it back to you April 2nd I PROMISE!!!!!” And I knew we were in for a fantastic surprise. Weeks go by, and I received an email that would change my life forever. Because my wonderful, giving mother had purchased two tickets to Jingle Ball to which Miley did not perform at, she had received two complimentary tickets to Miley’s soundcheck before her April 2nd concert. Not only was I going to the Bangerz concert, I was going to be at the intimate and personal pre show sound check. To be honest I didn’t know if I could handle it all. Bets were placed on how many times I would faint. Who would have thought that a concert would have health risks involved?
April arrives, and I stop sleeping. Our outfits are planned, our train tickets are bought, and Bangerz is on repeat 24/7. Everything was going perfectly, until we checked Miley’s twitter to find out that her favorite dog Floyd had passed the day before. We were worried for her sanity and if she would be able to perform that night. It was apparent how upset she was, she was expressing her sorrows on twitter, saying “I’m sorry in advance if I am not myself Boston, I will try my best to be my best” and “Love in our life is just too valuable to feel for even a second without it. But life without death is just impossible.” Although she was clearly distraught and extremely upset, she did not cancel the sound check or the concert. My fellow smiler Jill and I boarded the train to Boston, put our buns in, and I’m not exaggerating when I say we sprinted through North Station to get to the sound check on time. We took our seats close to the main stage. There were multicolored balloons hanging everywhere, and we could see a smaller stage near the back of the arena. What happened next is a bit of a blur, but I’ll do my best to explain what happened. After some time waiting we heard the primal screams of teenage girls which could only mean one thing; Miley was in the building. Jill and I see a brilliant blonde head of hair walking towards the back stage, and my primal instincts kick in. I channeled my inner linebacker as I pushed my way through the entire crowd in order to get to the back of the arena. Multiple seven year olds may or may not have hit the ground in order for me to get closer to that stage. We could see from our seats that she had been crying. She was wiping her tears, sniffling, and admitted to us that she wasn’t feeling herself tonight. She explained what happened with Floyd, and expressed to us we had a special job as fans tonight. She told us that we were responsible for lifting up her spirits, and that if it wasn’t for us here tonight she would have been feeling much worse. I could hear her speaking out of her heart. Whenever I could I yelled “We love you Miley” and I kid you not we made eye contact, she waved at me and I froze completely. She continued with her sound check and it was the most beautiful performance I have ever heard. She opened up with her cover of Bob Dylan’s “You’re Gonna Make me Lonesome When You Go” and she had to stop multiple times to wipe the tears from her eyes. I wanted to run up on stage and give her a hug. After she sang her cover of Lana Del Rey’s “Summertime Sadness” (beautiful, just beautiful listen to it whenever you get a chance) her younger sister, Noah came up to the stage to console her. Side note, these sisters are fierce. They both had these beanies on that I couldn’t pull of if my life depended on it. Miley was wearing this leather legging and white sweater duo that was flawless. After Summertime Sadness she sang another cover, this time it was Coldplay’s “The Scientist.” Just typing that sentence gives me the chills. Those three and a half minutes of her singing was the most moving, beautiful experience I have ever had. Do yourself a favor and listen to it, your life will be better from it. After The Scientist was Jolene, followed by a touching tribute to her dog. She ended with Fleetwood Mac’s Landslide, and before I knew it there were tears in my eyes. The set ended, and I didn’t think it was humanly possible but I was even more excited for the concert.
When we came back to the Garden for the concert, the atmosphere was empowering. Miley’s different personalities were represented everywhere I looked. I saw girls wearing her Michael Jordan uniform from 23, I saw leotards with bear faces on them, and it was comforting to not be the only person in the room wearing a tan leotard with high buns. I was with my people. No one’s tongue was inside their mouth and it was inspiring. Icona Pop opened the concert, and they were a damn good time. They were high energy and a lot of fun.
The lights go off, the crowd goes wild, and Miley’s face ascends onto the back screen of the stage. It’s large enough to take up the whole screen. The title track “Bangerz” starts playing, but Miley is nowhere to be seen. Her face on the screen transforms into an open mouthed smile, and then the jaw opened wide enough for a giant tongue to come out. We see Miley for the first time, and she slides down the tongue and onto the stage. There are dancers in bear costumes, old school track suits, and Amazon Ashley, Miley’s private twerking instructor, is strutting her stuff across the stage. I knew at that moment I was about to have the greatest night of my life.
The outfits:
When Miley first came out she was wearing a red and white plaid leotard piece, with red and white feathers attached to her shoulders. It was revealing but in a tasteful way. Her next outfit was my personal favorite. For the hit track “Love Money Party” she came out on top of a gold tank, wearing the most fabulous leotard/ one piece I have ever seen. It was long sleeve, thong cut, and covered in bright green and sparkly weed leaves. For the strong independent woman in all of us, “FU” was everything we needed and more. For this song she came out in a red dress, high cut a la Angelina Jolie. She was accompanied by a Dr. Suess looking puppet, and together they performed the hell out of that track. The red dress was ripped off to reveal yet another leotard, this one also red and only describable by the letter V. Most of the outfits didn’t cover much more than it had to; yet all the essentials were taken care of. Another great costume change was a tight, luminescent full body leotard that sparkled and shined with every move she made. Every outfit complimented the song in an unconventional, yet appropriate way.
Can’t Be Tamed:
If you know me, you know that Can’t Be Tamed is very special song for me. I have always identified with the untamable persona, whether it’s referring to relationships, jobs, behavior etc. The stage opens up and a large balloon shaped like a dog comes out. It is evident that this set was created with her dog Floyd in mind. We were all unsure of what would happen next. Can’t Be Tamed starts playing, and we could hear Miley singing but she was nowhere to be found. I look to the back corner of the stage and I could see Miley collapsed onto the floor, holding onto the balloon tribute of her now deceased dog. She was heartbroken, yelled into the microphone “that’s my f***ing dog!”, and through it all was able to finish the song to the best of her ability. I can’t even imagine what she was going through in that moment. We collectively felt for her, and did our best to raise her spirits during what I’m sure was a heartbreaking experience for her.
Twerking:
Yes, obviously she twerked throughout the concert. When she did, it was during appropriate times and during songs that called for it. It was evident that she is about more than just twerking. She did what people expected her to do. Her twerking and sticking her tongue out is what sold out the concert, she knows that. The fact that people talk about her outrageous outfits, her tongue, and her hair is just feeding the frenzy that Miley created for herself. Everything she does is with a purpose and is carefully planned.
Party in the USA:
Party in the USA was a touching tribute to our founding fathers. There was a walking Mount Rushmore, a dancer dressed as my favorite president Abraham Lincoln, and I could see a liberty bell costume somewhere on the stage. This was the last performance of the night, and to call it a party is not doing it justice. You could tell everyone on stage was having a good time throughout the entire song, and so was the whole audience. The last image we were left with was Miley on top of a medal structure that resembled the empire state building, wearing an American Flag leotard with a blonde wig. Red white and blue confetti filled the room, she moved her hips like yeah for the last time, party in the USA ended then she left the stage for good. The lights turned on, the seats emptied, and I stood at my seat and took it all in. When she left the stage she took my heart with her. Ever since leaving the Garden I have felt a sense of inner peace and happiness. I find myself smiling all the time. I’m not sure when I’ll come down from this high.
Through all the theatrics and all of the outfit changes, there was a deeper message that I took home from the concert. She admitted to us that she doesn’t usually let herself be human, but for tonight she had no other choice. I realized that as tough as I may pretend to be, and as put together as we may all seem, no one is perfect. Admittedly, I had arrived at the Garden that night believing that Miley was this flawless being who could do no wrong. I left identifying with her on a more personal level, and my fan status was transformed into a deeper respect and admiration. I have grown up with Miley, when she was Hannah Montana, so was I. When she struggled with maturity and trying to identify who she was as an adult, so did I. I’ve seen our lives parallel each other’s, and I hope to continue on this crazy journey of life with her by my side. Whether it’s singing along to her songs in the car or shaving my hair to look like her (I’m only half kidding), I know that Miley will always be there for me. Anything can happen when you least expect it to, we just have to take the good with the bad and learn from our life’s experiences. She reminded us that life is too short to feel anything but love in your life.