Concert Review: Janet Jackson
Janet Jackson was in superstar form for Calgary's All For You concert. In fact, she has never looked better. In the '80s Janet was the talented baby-faced sister of a superstar, the '90s were all ringlets and glamour, but Janet Jackson in 2001 leaves you in awe of her body as much as her performance—this is one ripped icon—her album is no different, a current heavyweight on the charts, flexing its melodic muscles.
You expect a Jackson concert to be a spectacle. Good dancing, good tunes, and, thinking long term, good memories. The youngest Jackson didn't disappoint.
The All For You stage was impressive. Janet had a posse of nimble dancers, a tight band, enough pyrotechnics to make the WWF jealous, and so many gadgets (she and her dancers descended to the stage upon chrome pedestals from the rafters) that most fans didn't stop cheering until Janet took a break four songs in, and said something like, "Thank you so much, I love you," which caused everyone in the place to give her a standing ovation. This ovation continued for four minutes and by the end Janet was actually shedding tears. Wow. (If I find out that Janet does this kind of thing at every concert then I'll be angry, but her tears appeared to be genuine emotion).
Then Janet came alive, relentlessly dancing away the hits; All For You, Someone To Call My Lover, What Have You Done For Me Lately, Rhythm Nation, Miss You Much, Escapade, That's The Way Love Goes, until she made sure that we knew we had a superstar in our midst.
Despite being the most normal of the Jacksons, Janet seems to obsess about sex, and this tour confirms that, indeed, she is giving it 'all for us.' She even pulled some guy out of the audience, strapped him into a bondage chair, and almost gave it all to him while writhing above him in a skintight black leather outfit during one sultry number. Yeesh, I was sweating in my seat just watching that performance, as was everyone else in the building.
The All For You concert tour reminded me of a musical without the storyline. Every two songs would involve a costume change; the lights would go out, the dancers would disappear and then reappear in interesting apparel surrounded by a reconfigured stage. From gothic, dark sets to whimsical fantasy along the lines of a Lewis Carroll story, Janet interpreted her songs through visual art, making the experience a full assault on your five senses. I loved it.
Was there lip-synching? Possibly, but her wafer-thin voice was prominent and reassuringly live amongst the dance moves. Janet's back-up band made up for any vocal questioning, it was a real pleasure just to watch them play their instruments behind all the dancing hoopla.
A concert that had everything, cool music, great dancing, superb props, check out Janet Jackson's All For You tour if you can, it's pop magic.
