As bespectacled, blonde Anastacia shakes a well- manicured hand in pouty defiance, cheers of admiration pierce the air and this debut UK show turns into one huge hen night.
This is about sisters doing it for themselves, even though on stage it's very much a team thing. Employing that American tactic of not only introducing the backing singers and the band to us, but allowing them each 30 seconds of spotlight, Anastacia stands back, enjoying the groove of Prince's Sexy MF and the party atmosphere it creates.
But despite this caring, sharing side of pop's latest diva, there is only one star of the show and that's the lady herself.
Once the biker jacket comes off -"A girl can only wear leather for so long" - she thrusts an embroidered black bra top into the crowd, the words "Not That Kind" sparkling in the warm orange light. It's a suitable motif for this soul dervish.
Armed with a scary stare and frightening vocal range, Anastacia is a sadly screechy throwback to the glory days and fiesty anthems of Tina Turner and Aretha Franklin. The old-fashioned soul revue feel is enhanced with the inclusion of Play That Funky Music and Respect.
But it's the original material everyone is here for and it's great, with the strut of Not That Kind and the slow-burning Who's Gonna Stop The Rain, a power ballad that plays down sentimentality in favour of attitude. She doesn't portray victims.
"We have to beg JJ to play," she says with a grin, "but most men like that, don't they?" The bass player sinks to his knees before her; she puts her hand on his head and gyrates slowly.
But the sexiness never overshadows the solidarity that leaves the crowd believing they've found a new best friend. Taking a moment to tell us about a fan letter, Anastacia begins to cry when she realises her new pen pal is standing just in front of her. "I've left a message on your answer machine," she soothes, more concerned with the individual than her show.
Despite this show of vulnerability, Anastacia's out for a good time, revealing a good line in self-deprecating humour and a fondness for hairdressers and sugar. Bringing the energy levels up with a storming Saturday Night's All Right For Fighting, and turning I'm Outta Love into a Gloria Gaynor-style anthem, she finally beckons to her singers: "C'mon ladies, it's time to go home."
