Review of Janet Jackson at The Grand Canal Theatre on July 5th 2011
Review: Aisling O’Brien
Photos: Aidan McCarthy
Janet Jackson brought her Number 1s: Up Close & Personal tour to the Grand Canal Theatre on Tuesday night. Prior to the show she dedicated ‘Lets Wait Awhile’ to ‘the beautiful people of Dublin’, who incidentally have been waiting awhile for Ms Jackson to perform on these shores.
The band all in white, took their places as excitable fans shrieked at the thought of their icon being merely minutes away. As Janet appeared on stage, looking more like 25 than 45 in a simple black vest and skinny jeans, the crowd took to their feet as she launched in to hits including ‘Principle of Pleasure’, ‘Control’, ‘What Have You Done For Me Lately’, ‘Feedback’ and ‘Nasty’. The choreography definitely a highlight of the show, with each dancer in perfect time, all the while interacting with her adoring fans in the front row.
When she left the stage for a well deserved breather, clips from her various TV and film appearances were played to the bemused crowd. Possibly shown to display Janet’s vast career yet I feel it just left a lot of the crowd scratching their heads. The next set was a complete contrast to the first, as Janet slowed the pace down with her sugary candle-lit ballad section including ‘Nothing’, ‘Let’s Wait A While’ and ‘Again’.
We were treated to another video montage, this time of various scantily clad pics of Janet. Picking up the pace with the likes of ‘Doesn’t Really Matter’ and ‘All For You’ Janet proves it’s not just intimate venues that this tour is called Up Close & Personal for, as she has a cheeky grope here and there of her male dancers. ‘Scream’ gets the crowd going wild as it is accompanied with the video starring Michael, followed by the infamous ‘Rhythm Nation’.
As Together Again begins there isn’t a bum left on a seat, it has a tinge of bitter sweetness as family photos of Michael and Janet are shown on the screen. Thanking the audience for their support and acknowledging that Ireland was one of MJ’s favourite places, she seems genuinely touched by the audiences reaction.
Although there was a lack of pyrotechnics, costume changes or outrageous staging, I don’t think anyone was left unimpressed with the show.