By Hannah ZafutaThe evening of Thursday March 13, 2014 at the Tulsa BOK Center, was an evening I spent unlike any other.The Miley Cyrus Bangerz tour was the cherry on top of the wide arrange of concerts I had seen in early 2014 including Imagine Dragons, The Naked and Famous, JJ Grey& Mofro, Big Gigantic, and Arctic Monkeys. After seeing crazy pictures of her tour, I had been looking forward to seeing the highly publicized performance for a while. 
I've seen Miley’s latest music videos, recognized her tendency to shock people, and went in with realistic expectations. To entertain myself during the drive, I dug up reviews of Miley’s performance online. The eagerness that previously filled me morphed into dread. 
“A toddler’s worse nightmare” I read. “The whole show is like a bad drug trip” another critic said. An article from her show the previous night was titled “Really needs to calm down with the vagina rubbing.” It said that Miley’s crazy, on-the-verge-of-porn show was only to distract from her poor vocals. 
I wondered if I would ever be the same after seeing this spectacle. I had to see for myself. The majority of people there wore as little clothing as possible. There were body parts in the arena that should not have been on display, but I won’t get into that. We were a little late getting there. Doors opened at 6, show was set for 7, and it was 7:30. 
I rushed in to get a glimpse of the opening acts Icona Pop and Sky Ferreira, but the stage was empty. I had just familiarized myself with their music the past two nights and was thoroughly impressed. Fortunately neither was on; I was both relieved and confused. Our floor seats were closer to the stage than I expected. Giddy with anticipation, I watched the strangely dressed humans around me take pictures before the show started. 
At about 8:10, I was visiting with friends in another section -- totally unprepared -- when a projection of Miley’s giant face and wondering eyes crawled up the backdrop. Without warning, her gigantic mouth opened, and out came a tongue. The star herself slid onto stage and jumped right into her hit “Bangerz” complete with dancing back-up stuffed animals, a mini Britney Spears and giant balloons falling and bouncing among the audience.
I was really confused about the opening acts. It said Icona Pop, Sky Ferreira AND Miley Cyrus on my ticket. I wished I would have seen all three perform or at least was offered an explanation, but thankfully Miley went above and beyond to provide what she called “the best party ever” for her audience members. A gold car rolled on and off the stage for “Love Money Party;” dollar bills with Miley’s face were blasted into the audience; and a bobble head Big Sean sang along to his featured part. 
For “FU,” Miley sang away a giant monster-bird while a cartoonized love story of a rabbit and monkey played on the screen. Her videos throughout the show were very intricate. It was tough to decide which to look at -- the backdrop or the stage. She even included a caricature mocking herself. She slowed things down with radio jam “Adore You” involving a kiss cam in the audience. Special guest The Flaming Lips stopped by with a personalized balloon and joined Miley on a back acoustic stage closer to the audience. She wore on oversized T-shirt, interacted with the crowd (particularly when she put on a wiener costume thrown at her from an audience member), Instagrammed a video of herself, and sang “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Roberts” twice while bras rained upon the stage. 
Miley must be the only female performer in history to have as much lady underwear thrown at her. She performed “23,” flew over the audience on a giant hot dog, had a Macy’s Day Parade size blow up dog take stage for “I Can’t Be Tamed,” and the finale “Party in the USA” closed with fireworks, presidents on stilts, and a dancing Mount Rushmore. 
Now I have to ask, what’s scary about this? For goodness sake, mothers need to stop taking their daughters expecting a Disney princess and then blasting Miley when she puts on a real show. It wasn’t exactly kid friendly. She’s clearly not Hannah Montana anymore. The girl had to grow up under the constant eye of public scrutiny. She does not lie or hide anything from the public. She has found a way to celebrate herself by being a no-holds-back person with the ENTIRE WORLD all while stacking millions to her ever growing money-making empire. How many people can say that? 
Our generation is unique. We grew up with Miley. She transitioned from Disney to MTV like every other teenager in America. Unlike the rest of growing teenagers the nation saw her change. The nation did not see Lady Gaga as a chubby faced little girl before she switched to fishnets and pasties, therefore Miley gets the biggest backlash. Cyrus is a phenomenal performer, and she stays true to herself. Will the critics please cut it out with the lying overstatements and making Miley out to be a demon from hell? 
I have to roll my eyes at the obscene pictures posted that look way worse than reality because they are moments caught when she’s moving and dancing. Don’t get me wrong here -- I’m not some biased crazy Miley fan. I thought her "Wrecking Ball" video was a joke and equally cringed at her VMA performance with Robin Thicke, but you have to give her credit. She doesn’t have the widest range of vocals. If that’s what you are looking for, go see Adele. Miley has a good voice, and she sounded great live. She knows how to entertain and it’s what she does best. When it comes to creativity and the amount of time and money that went into the set, this is probably the greatest show I’ve been to. I am so happy I saw Bangerz. 
My perception of Miley has changed from seeing her in person, the way she genuinely cared for the audience, executed an outstanding show and her glow from the roar of the crowd. Critics better get used to seeing her around. I hope to see more of her work in the time that comes. Bangerz gets two thumbs up from me.