An exciting exit from pop past

But last night at the TD , former Mouseketeer and newly refined pop star Christina Aguilera brought along swinging acrobats, fire batons and writhing dancers clad in retro attire to show the audience a good time. A male audience member probably didn rsquo;t sign up to be strapped to a circus wheel and mock tortured by Xtina during ldquo;Nasty Naughty Boy, rdquo; but it rsquo;s a good bet he didn rsquo;t mind. From the DJ Premier-produced opener ldquo;Ain rsquo;t No Other Man rdquo; to the confetti shower during the closing notes of ldquo;Fighter, rdquo; Aguilera put on a show that transcended genres and time periods and shook off the bubblegum pop image she earned during her ldquo;Genie in a Bottle rdquo; days.

Interestingly, that first hit single didn rsquo;t make a single appearance all night, which is probably for the better, as it wouldn rsquo;t have fit with the skin-tight sequined bodices and Fedoras. And though it took audience members a while to warm up to new material such as ldquo;Back in the Day rdquo; and ldquo;Understand, rdquo; which Aguilera relied on heavily during the first half of the set, by the time she donned crotchless lace chaps for new jam, ldquo;Still Dirrty, rdquo; the crowd was primed. Despite the spectacle that went along with high-energy numbers such as ldquo;Lady Marmalade, rdquo; the ldquo;Moulin Rouge rdquo; hit that fit yesterday rsquo;s retro theme, there were subtler moments like ldquo;Beautiful rdquo; and plenty of head whips and fist clenches to go along with them.

Aguilera isn rsquo;t known for her restraint, but onstage that rsquo;s mostly a good thing. It means that when she dropped to her knees during the final notes of ldquo;Hurt, rdquo; one of the few times her voice truly took center stage on last night, you knew she meant it. After an opening set from Diddy proteges Danity Kane, the Pussycat Dolls hip-shook their way through a performance that included ldquo;Buttons rdquo; and ldquo;Don rsquo;t cha.

rdquo; The Vegas burlesque show turned pop sensation had plenty of talent to go along with the bare midriffs and booty shorts, anchored by lead singer Nicole Scherzinger rsquo;s impressive vocals and star power. Considering the Dolls looked like six ghosts of Xtina rsquo;s past, it was a fitting way to start the show. Christina Aguilera, with The Pussycat Dolls and Danity Kane TD Banknorth Garden, last night.