...Britney one more time

Rock concerts aren't what they used to be.

Not that that' a bad thing-they're just different.

In the old days, performances were about an intimate experience between artist and audience. The singer or group would come on stage, play out their hearts and earn their listeners respect and devotion.

Now, a concert is not a performance, but a show. It seems the audience no longer wants to concetrate on the artist, but experience multiple impulses simultaneously.

At Wednesday's Britney Spears concert in Greensboro, for instance, Britney herself was of course the main act-but the show also presented plenty of distractions.

For one thing, Britney herself was constantly duplicated on a huge Megatron-not high above the stage as in other concerts, but right behind her. At times, it was hard to see the real Britney because she was literally dwarfed by her own projection.

Then there were the dancers. Why is it that these days every show has to have a chair routine? Being at the beginning of her career, Britney doesn't have too much material yet, so a large part of the 70-minute concert was filled with dancing. When one dancer used N'Sync as his music, the audience went just as wild as when they heard Britney sing.

And finally, during one costume change for Britney, the audience got to choose 'the ultimate heartbreaker' from their own ranks. Four poor schmucks were dragged on to the stage and had to explain to the background singers why they deserved the honor. The choice was made by applause. Joe, the happy winner-on whose lap Britney sat for one song-said he was the ultimate heartbreaker because he was a "playa."