Andrew Wallace/Toronto Star

Friendships never end, as the song goes, but underperforming cash-in reunion tours have a rather more mortal aspect. Last week, after three months on the road, the Spice Girls cancelled the remaining dates on their world tour, citing "family and personal commitments." Why such a sudden split? Perhaps lower-than-expected ticket sales in Asia and South America were to blame. Perhaps there were renewed tensions within the band. Or perhaps it was all just an elaborate ruse to wind up Perez Hilton.

Either way, Toronto — not formerly a city of great concern to the Spice Girls, although I can just imagine Geri Halliwell pinching David Miller on the arse – will end up on hosting, on Feb. 26, what may be the final ever Spice Girls show. It's not exactly on The Beatles on the rooftop at Savile Row, but you take what you're given. And if that concert ends up being as half as spectacular as last night's performance at the Air Canada Centre, it'll be a more than worthwhile send-off.

Garish, tacky, and far too frequently exposed — but that's enough about David Beckham's tattoos. Yesterday's gig was a riot from the get-go, with the five Spices (looking remarkably unchanged since their '90s heyday) first rising from underneath the stage to perform "Spice Up Your Life" decked out in so many sequins. (The girls at the Indonesian garment sweatshop must've been working overtime.)

The Spice Girls' musical oeuvre might be thinner than [insert Posh Spice joke here], but the few hits they have sound just as vigorous today as they did in the John Major era. Unlike this decade's producer-reliant pop, country and R&B, where the singers are often more-or-less interchangeable — would you notice the difference if Rihanna sung an Amerie song? — the Spice Girls' best singles rely on the performances and personalities of the band members' themselves, rather than on their backing tracks. "Say You'll Be There" sounds positively vaudevillian next to the state-of-the-art likes of "Toxic" or "Umbrella," but the Spices' simple presence provides the song with as much gumption and sass as a well-chosen breakbeat or sample.

Because, while they might be naffer than a night out on Blackpool pier, the Spice Girls are quintessential pop professionals, underappreciated even by their own fans. Over the course of a 20-plus song set — involving multiple costume changes, dance routines, and a set of dangerous-looking, Rude Goldberg-ish moving stage platforms — their  energy never flags. Backed by a crack set of musos, and a delightful troupe of washboard-abbed dancers, the Spices don't disappoint, even when the songs themselves fall flat. (Hello there, Mel C's solo performance of "I Turn To You.")

So all the hits are there — for what else would there be? The terrific, Motown-themed "Stop" is a welcome rediscovery, "Viva Forever" still has that melting chord change in the chorus, and I'm one of the only people in the audience old enough to get the Kula Shaker joke in "Lady is a Vamp." At times, the performance seems more efficient than enervating: "Goodbye" and "Mama" are still expertly yawnsome, and new number "Headlines" doesn't need to explain why it was the worst-selling Spice Girls single in the band's history.

The dance routines, while allowing the Girls plenty of opportunities to shake and strut their stuff — I particularly enjoyed Mel B's cordless microphone, which doubled as a whip — didn't permit the backing dancers to do much more than perform backflips and look pretty without their shirts on (although I suppose there are worse things). The show could've used more moments like Geri Halliwell's solo take on "It's Raining Men" — oddly enough, the highlight of the entire evening, thanks to a some witty choreography and pounding, Gabba-esque instrumentation.

But more or less, the evening satisfies in a big way. Other performances this past Sunday night might have offered more jaw-dropping surprises, but the Spice Girls remain second to none. Catch them while you still can.

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