Where's that sweet Taylor Swift gal when we need her, or even Hannah Montana for that matter?

It was Miley Cyrus, with her achy breaky voice and stripper pole flirtations, who packed them in at Scottrade Center Wednesday night, making good after her Oct. 4 concert was postponed because of her publicized case of strep throat.

"I'm glad to finally be here," said the singer, who also doubles as Hannah Montana but not on this particular tour. "Better late than never."

Cyrus' 75-minute concert, which included her "Kicking and Screaming" out of the box among other early songs while she was wearing what looked like vinyl hot pants and matching tank top, reminded us she's not so much of a talent in the singing department.

But in concert she knows to surround herself with big set pieces and scenic bells and whistles designed to make her young female fans' eyes pop.

And pop they did. How often do they get to see someone fly over their heads on a motorcycle while singing Joan Jett's "I Love Rock and Roll," a song choice that must've been an ode to the many parents accompanying their children.

Another big scene came during the climax of "Simple Song," which ended anything but simply as an elevated Cyrus ripped a page from the "Wicked" stage production.

Nearly every song, including "Bottom of the Ocean," "Hoedown Throwdown" and "Fly on the Wall," with its nod to Michael Jackson's "Thriller" at the end, were their own showy production numbers, and confetti, pyro and flashy visuals were no strangers to the set.

And that's a good thing. Without it, there's wasn't much there but lots of hair and an array of hot-pants ensembles.

Cyrus, who made headlines for playing around with a stripper pole during a performance at the Teen Choice Awards over the summer, toyed with that during "Girls Night Out." Pole-like props dangled from above, and she and her dancers momentarily approached them teasingly.

More aggressive were the booty shakes that accompanied lyrics such as "Movin' my hips like 'Yeah!'" in the not-bad "Party in the USA."

She huddled at the front of the stage with her musicians for an acoustic number, "These Four Walls," further underscoring the cliché that musicians must huddle at the front of the stage for acoustic segments.

Cyrus showed fans the trailer to her upcoming movie, "The Last Song," then performed the song from the trailer while seated at the piano.

Her brother Trace Cyrus of Metro Station joined her on "Hovering," keeping it all in the family. Metro Station opened the concert and performed songs from its self-titled CD, including the hit "Shake It."

Cyrus' concert was one of the first in the area to experiment with paperless tickets, a new system implemented to thwart scalpers from swooping in and nabbing tickets. The operation seemed to move smoothly.