Live Review: Miley Cyrus

Before the Miley Cyrus concert even begins, a group of Christians gather outside Rod Laver Arena, holding signs that read, ‘Judgment day is coming’ and shouting through a megaphone, ‘there’s no twerking in heaven’.

It should be a sign of what's to come, because Cyrus does not hold back in taking us to very her own version of heaven during her first Australian show of the Bangerz World Tour in Melbourne.

Performing a gang-bang on stage with her dancers, girl-on-girl kissing and even some fellatio on a blow-up doll thrown to her by a member of the audience, it is clear that Cyrus knows it’s her party and she’s going to do whatever the hell she wants to.

Her adoring fans gravitate towards her, throwing gifts of stuffed toy animals, mullet wigs, and Dame Edna-style glasses up on stage. Cyrus eats it up, literally, chewing on gummy bears, lollipops and even a puffing on a cigarette thrown her way.

She then takes swigs of water and spits (not swallows), it out into the open mouths of her adoring fans.

Cyrus performs many of her radio hits early on in the set including a crowd favourite, Adore You, which gets the fans on their feet. But when Cyrus then proceeds to spend the next 30 minutes performing covers of her favourite songs, including The Beatles’ Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds, Jeff Buckley’s Lilac Wine, Coldplay’s The Scientist, Etta James’ I’ll Take Care of You, and Dolly Parton’s Jolene, it is clear the young audience has never heard of them, and it is as though the sold-out concert sits down in unison.

Although Cyrus starts the concert right on time, she keeps the audience waiting, as it isn’t until after the encore that we get to party with the Miley we all came to see.

“I think people should enjoy their lives when they’re fucking young,” she says.

Although the show is completely over-the-top, when she performs We Can’t Stop and Wrecking Ball, it is undeniable that Cyrus truly has a voice that rivals all her contemporaries. She concludes her set with Party in the USA, setting off fireworks, streamers and confetti inside the arena. Cyrus waves goodbye to her adoring fans while fitted out with a set of false teeth, and thanks us all for ‘cumming’.

It is completely outrageous, and perhaps even a little bonkers, but the young fans go wild for it.

Bangerz is everything you’d expect from a Miley Cyrus concert – plenty of tongues, tits, twerking and teeny boppers – but one thing you don’t expect is to feel that this 21-year-old knows exactly where she’s going and she’s taking us all along for the ride.