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Hannah Montana Rocks Tampa

Miley Cyrus performs as herself during the Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus “Best of Both Worlds” Tour at the St. Pete Times Forum on Monday. The show featured confetti, streamers, flashing lights, mild pyrotechnics — and lots of shrieking fans.

Tribune photo by KELVIN MA

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By SARAH HOYE and CURTIS ROSS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 20, 2007

Video: Oustide The Show | Video: Price Gouging? | Share Photos
You Review The Concert

TAMPA - From the sound of the shrieks, Christmas will no doubt pale in comparison to Monday's Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus concert for many of the youngsters in attendance.

Considering what some parents paid for tickets, it's practically a given.

Elementary-school age children, mostly girls, dominated in the sold-out Forum crowd that came to see the "Best of Both Worlds" tour starring Disney TV actress Miley Cyrus, performing as herself and as her TV character, Hannah Montana.

(See, Miley plays a girl named Miley who has a secret identity as Hannah and ... confused yet?)

You could say it was a child's idea of a rock concert, but actually it was similar to any number of tightly choreographed shows that have played the Forum - just without the cursing and drum solos. Confetti, streamers, flashing lights and mild pyrotechnics punctuated the numbers, just like at the grown-up shows.

Cyrus opened her set as Hannah, then came back to close as herself. In between was opening acts The Jonas Brothers - a trio of teens who drew plenty of shrieks themselves.

The Jonas Brothers opened with a set of energetic guitar pop that would have been called "bubblegum" in a simpler day and time.

Cyrus, as Montana, stuck to a similar musical format - simple, catchy riffs with choruses made for sing-alongs. And sing along they did: Most of the youngsters seemed to know every word to every song.

The Miley Cyrus portion featured a tad more musical variety - some Spanish guitar in one song, some dance beats, an acoustic ballad to close the show - more costume changes and more elaborate set pieces for the dancers.

Not surprisingly for a Disney product, the show was brisk and slick, designed to entertain and nothing more. To judge the concert on anything other than its own terms would be churlish, and also would incur the wrath of every 8-year-old in West Central Florida.

So we won't.

At roughly 80 minutes, the show might have seemed brief, what with the second mortgages and drained 401(k)s it took to score tickets.

But in kid time that's a full evening; more than enough for some, who finished the show asleep on a parent's shoulder.

Prior to the show, the plaza around the Forum was packed with screaming - and several crying - children, checking out "The Ultimate Miley Party" before the doors opened. The party included a raffle giving away concert tickets and Miley's clothes from the show, a game wheel where contestants could win her CD, and karaoke.

Friends Linda Gomez and Anne Milo traveled by limousine with their third-grade daughters from Melbourne. Donning matching blond Hannah Montana wigs, Sveta Gomez and Anne Milo, twirled about their mothers to the sounds of the area's own Keely Marshall, and jumped with excitement.

"It's well worth the whole paycheck just to see their faces," said Milo, 43, Leena's mother. "They would have never been able to experience something like this."

Tickets for the Tampa stop of the Disney Channel star went on sale Aug. 10 and sold out in 18 minutes, according to Holly Brown, a Forum spokeswoman. Although ticket prices ranged from $30 to $70, some parents have shelled out thousands to ticket brokers to get their children are in the arena.

Last Monday, an additional 2,000 tickets went on sale and were gone in four minutes.

Oscar D'Souza of Palm Harbor hopped online and worked the phones to score a pair of tickets for his 12-year-old daughter, Caitlyn, and her friend Carley Jensen.

"I love her songs, they relate to all ages," Jensen said.

"And her show is super funny," D'Souza added.

Tony Rey chatted with his 9-year-old daughter, Aryanna, who traveled from Orlando to catch the show. They waited in a seemingly never-ending line to take a picture with Miley's grandmother, Loretta "Mammie" Finley, next to a cardboard cutout of the superstar in front of a pink tour bus plastered with the singer's face. Rey purchased the tickets in September and kept them a secret until Monday.

"It was my idea," said the 29-year-old music producer, who tugged at his daughter's ponytail. "I told her I had a surprise for her if she made good grades."

"I love him and he's cool," said Aryanna, giving her father a hug. "I like Hannah's singing, and I love the show."

Patrick Kelley made himself comfortable in the parents' waiting room, which was stocked with beverages and snacks, and had cable TV. He made the four-hour drive from Kingsland, Ga., with his wife, Kathleen, and 9-year-old daughter, Shannon.

"This is awesome. I'm watching ESPN, eating peanuts and drinking a free drink; I couldn't ask for more," he said, and added he kept the tickets a secret from their daughter. "We didn't want her running around telling her friends ... but this has been a great experience."

Reporter Sarah Hoye can be reached at (813) 259-7832 or shoye@tampatrib.com.

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