For a global pop star with nearly a quarter century of Top 40 hits, Janet Jackson’s Up Close and Personal career retrospective concert Friday night left a lot to be desired.
Playing in front of a sold-out Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica, Jackson raced through her 100-minute set, stringing together hit after hit in medley form. It was an easy way to deliver a lot of songs, but Jackson never seemed to commit fully to the show, coasting through her dance moves and looking a bit road worn from nearly four months on tour.
Opening with a combo of “The Pleasure Principle,” “Control,” “What Have You Done for Me Lately,” and “Feedback,” Jackson sang and danced her way through the night, accompanied by six dancers and an eight-piece band. The rabid die-hard audience full of her fans loved every minute of it, ignoring the fact that Jackson’s voice seemed a bit weak and buoyed by three backing singers.
The concert suffered from pacing too. When Jackson wasn’t smashing together her hits, she was often offstage, taking short breaks every 30 minutes or so while clips of her acting played on a large video screen or a photo montage showed Jackson’s iconic images (sadly though, she neglected to include the nipplegate photo from Super Bowl XXXVIII).
This article appears in Aug 10-16, 2011.
I disagree with this review. I was at the concert, a few rows from the stage. Janet Jackson looked and sounded amazing. She did take breaks but, seriously, she is 45 years old and was singing and dancing up a storm in 80-some degree humid weather. If the lady wants to take a break for a minute every once in awhile, what’s the big deal? My only problem was that the concert started much later than the 8:45 time printed on the ticket. On a side note, the traffic leaving was horrible. People need to do a better job of directing traffic and keeping the flow moving. We sat for 45 minutes before we could even get out of the lot.
100% agree. no costume changes. Medley format was brutal. She did Nasty – and didn’t even get to the “who’s that in that nasty car?!?” breakdown part! she also lip synced quite a bit. the dance moves – while i’ll give her props for being mid-40s – haven’t been updated since 1987, the 6 or 7 dancers weren’t in sync. the video clips of her acting including the shocking “iron scene” from Good Times and the famous “wanna smell my poonani” scene from Poetic Justice (the highlight of the entire show for me and my friends). The “backdrops” consisted of generic computerized imagery that looked similiar to a free screen saver I downloaded back in 1995 when I first discovered “the internet” – and the show pretty much stayed consisted on its theme of “artlessness”. Her artistic director (if there was one) should be fired, and I’m guessing that’s what happened to her costume person, as there were no costumes at all, save for some jeans, suspenders and a tank top. Her weave was rockin’, she looked great – but as far as a “show” – this wasn’t one. Janet Jackson…been a fan since I was a kid back in 1985…and THIS is the best she’s got? Her biggest tour ever, they say. I beg to differ. She knows better and she is capable of doing better. I saw the Detroit show. “The Best Things in Life Are Free” was the theme. At 85 bucks a ticket, I probably should have tried my luck at a slot machine for a bigger bang. Speaking of which – this show was Casino-calibre. At best.