When Britney Met Bocage
Local Britney hype explained. PLUS a new Capital Region podcast launches, West Ave. Pizza in the spotlight, free chicken dinners return, and more.
“Britney Spears profoundly shaped the millennial generation with her truly identifiable sound and countless cultural moments. She WAS MTV. She WAS TRL. Her unwavering resilience and influence extends beyond entertainment, empowering us to embrace individuality, face adversity, and advocate for mental health. Britney is someone all millennials connected to throughout our lives, and that is exactly what makes this book release so profound. It’s like reconnecting with an old friend.”
—Zac Denham, owner of Bocage Champagne Bar
In case you missed it, Bocage Champagne Bar, the glittery bastion of Saratoga glamour, stopped everything for two hours Tuesday to host a party in honor of…pop princess Britney Spears. More specifically, the release of Britney Spears’ memoir, The Woman in Me. To me, this made perfect sense. (I’m too close; see below.) For others? Not so much. “I find this very curious,” one friend told me. “Bizarre,” said another. From the standpoint of a small business bringing in some dollars on a slow Tuesday afternoon? It eventually made (financial) sense to all.
But still…why was there interest, and why Bocage?
In a word: millennials (of which neither Natalie—your main SLAH correspondent, nor I—the older lady—is a part). Let me set the scene.
Eleven women, clutching their books, sip on their one bright “Britney spritz,” a tequila/prosecco concoction garnished with a hot pink paper flamingo straw. The bar is silent, save for some faint Britney tunes and Palette’s Marcella Hammer reading a crucial chapter about how our pop princess really felt about Justin Timberlake, the NSYNC front man who broke her heart.
As the women take turns reading passages, it is evident that Britney was not holding back in regards to her tortuous, caged life shackled to a persona created for her by her parents when she was but a tween in middle school. The infantilization is stomach-churning, the plight of the child star seen as dollar signs by her country bumpkin of a family disturbing.
Britney’s light, funny writing (yes, a ghost writer was on hand to shape it) somehow made the details of her robotic existence even sadder and more profound. Eventually Bocage’s amazing Sam Pierre, who had baked the cake for the festivities but was otherwise serving as both bartender and Brit cynic, couldn’t take it anymore and blurted out, “Are you sh***ing me? Do I have to buy this book?”
Yes, Sam. You do.
I eventually do an impromptu Q&A to break the heaviness of Britney’s devastating revelations, which even pink flamingo straws could not brighten.
Oh right. Me. In the early-to-late aughts when Britney was at the height of her fame, I was a celebrity reporter and eventual news director for Us Weekly and In Touch, following her every move. I had actually attended the Orlando performing arts high school where Britney and Justin would years later take classes while on The Mickey Mouse Club, where they met—amid other strange connections.
I moved from NYC to Las Vegas during a time when Britney was often there, partying—hard—with Paris Hilton, marrying an old friend in the wee hours of the morning, and performing shows that at times put her struggles on stage for all to see. (She admits in the book that she was, indeed, “sleep-walking” on stage. I personally saw her faint, twice.)
A reporting partner of mine even dated a paparazzo who next dated Britney yet continued to talk to us. (But what to believe?) I interviewed Britney many times on red carpets, often a physical exercise of elbowing my way into the A-list pool of cameras, squatting in high heels under live TV feeds.
Journalists, paparazzi, night club sources, chatty stagehands with insider info…we all knew everybody but were friends with no one.
Now imagine being the celebrity.
Thanks to Britney Spears and her devastating new memoir that lifts the veil on what it’s like to be a child star-turned-mega-star, we no longer have to imagine.
But back to Saratoga.
The Tuesday afternoon Britney bash kicked off with a parade from Palette to Bocage, with a pitstop at Northshire to pick up copies of the book. “Are you guys coming to the Britney party?” Marcella asked a group of businessmen on Broadway. When she was met with blank stares she clarified…sort of: “I don’t know, you looked like fans.”
In the bookstore, the guerrilla marketing continued. “Should we move her to the front?” Palette’s Catherine Hover asked a poor Northshire employee upon seeing the book on a stand near the register. (There was another copy closer to the front of the store we hadn’t noticed on the way in.) “You’re missing the Britney book!” someone exclaimed when another customer walked up to the check-out counter. “I’ll have to keep her in mind,” said the woman, who most certainly will not keep Britney’s book in mind.
After picking up “other Brittany” DeMarco-Furman (dressed, of course, in all denim) on Broadway, the parade continued to Bocage, where Marcella said a toast—”Raise your glasses to Queen Brit Brit. Long may she reign in freedom”—and the aforementioned activities commenced. (“Freedom,” of course, is a reference to the recent end of Britney’s 13-year conservatorship.)
“I wanted to celebrate Britney’s resilience and survival, publicly,” Marcella says. “The world is not a kind place to women and girls, particularly so in the aughts. Women, or rather female children, were expected to answer for the size of their boobs and swear virginity in the media. Britney and so many others were part of the soundtrack for this period in my life, and her perseverance should be recognized by all.
“Maybe it's time we start by protecting each other from the bullsh**, chase the trolls out from under their troll bridges, and set new standards for how we care for each other. Perhaps we start by throwing celebratory book launch parties for strangers!”
After the readings, we blew out the candles on the Britney cake, and the small crowd dispersed. They would all end up finishing the book before I started writing this post.
—Abby
Quote of the Week
“If you’re not going to support Britney, get the f*** off the internet.”
—Marcella Hammer
Tis the Season
With the holidays quickly approaching, Saratoga’s Broadway Deli has announced the return of its chicken dinner program, which provides holiday meals to those in need and has in the past been featured on national television. Those looking for a whole roasted chicken dinner or a chicken dinner for one simply need to call the deli and put in their order, no questions asked.
Pi Hopes
Earlier this week, SoBro founder Tom Denny found an unwelcome message on the sign at the South Broadway plot of land that’s in the process of being turned into a pollinator oasis. “Wondering whether my hip After Hours friend knows whether this bit of graffiti has any street meaning,” he texted me, “aside from its use by nerdy math whizzes.” Alas, I did not, but figured the readers of SLAH might. If you have any information about this act of math destruction or its meaning, please contact us.
Love Our Locals
The Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce’s Love Our Locals campaign is back for its third year. Beginning next week, Saratogians will have the chance to win prizes—just for spending at least $20.23 at locally owned businesses or nonprofits. When you submit your receipt of $20.23 or more online at saratoga.org/love-our-locals, you’ll be entered to win $100 gift cards for businesses across Saratoga County, and will get a voucher for one free car wash at Hoffman Car Wash. Love Our Locals kicks off November 3 and will run through December 31.
Friends of the Pod
The Palette Community’s founder/CEO Catherine Hover has officially launched an engaging podcast, kicking off with two episodes this week starring BARE Blends’ Annie Berdar and Brittany Burnham of A Power House. Seriously Catherine (follow and review!) highlights small business owners and entrepreneurs from all over the Capital Region—plus hot takes on hot topics, and “face palm mom moments.” And guess what? After Hours is a partner, so stay tuned for upcoming episodes with your favorite Saratoga Living ladies. In the meantime, have a listen. The short, fun episodes (produced by local podcast powerhouse Bright Sighted, led by veteran journalist Christine O’Donnell, forge a feeling of connection to some of the dynamic leaders who make the Capital Region tick.
Save the Date
So you think you can spell? On lucky 11/11, Kings Tavern will host its annual Sip & Spell spelling bee event to raise money for C.A.R.E. Committee, an organization that supports the needs of Corinth students and their families by way of a backpack program, food pantry, free back-to-school supplies and more. Want to know what the event entails? Read SLAH’s (embarrassing) Vibe Check of last year’s bee.
The Plate Show
Saratoga’s own West Ave Pizza (you may have had some of their pies or chicken sandwiches at the Saratoga Motorcar Auction VIP tent!) will soon star on an episode of The Empire Plate, a YouTube channel that showcases family-owned restaurants around New York State. The Empire Plate team stopped by the pizzeria this week to film, and left with full bellies. “I want to thank Mario Cardenas for a incredible day of food, pizza, & laughs and just a amazing experience at the restaurant,” The Empire Plate’s Bill Vinci wrote on Facebook. “They served us plenty of food which we really enjoyed everything and i will say one of the best pizzeria’s in NY.”
Drink of the Week
You could go through the trouble of baking an entire apple crisp, or you could just go to Yankee Distillers, located just off Exit 10 of the Northway. There you’ll find The Apple Crisp, a dessert-in-a-cup made with Yankee Distillers’ Eleven Lakes Vodka, local cider and caramel syrup, topped with a cinnamon stick and dehydrated apple slice. The cinnamon sugar rim completes the perfect fall cocktail.
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