Janet Jackson
Staples Center, Los Angeles
September 17th

If your idea of ultimate entertainment is syncro-dance flashy productions ad nauseam with loads of costume changes with lots of bits of hits rather than mostly complete songs, then you would have loved Janet Jackson’s Rock Witchu tour appearance at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles (Wednesday, September 17th).

But one thing’s for sure — the two-hour show wasn’t art, as the performance mantra was glitz over gutsy. Was it entertainment?  Sure, for a while. And yes, the audience — or most of it — loved everything, from the posing and preening Janet with her phalanx of dancers (which did include one impressive could-spin-on-his-head fellow), to Janet alone for a little while, actually smiling for real during the most human, connecting part of the concert, after halfway in, during the playful “When I Think of You,” as she bounced up and down at the end of an extended catwalk that curved from one side of the arena floor to the center and back to the stage.  With some house lights up, the crowd bounced back.  But every time she did get that close to the audience, their hands outstretched for a touch, not once did she reach out to anyone. Germ phobia?  No Purell sanitizer backstage?  She’ll give you a show, but don’t ask her to really reveal too much about herself.

Most of the time, it was bad sci-fi outfits or Vegas-time sailor suits, or regal prom-at-the-castle dresses. She seemed to sing for real, but it was hard to tell. It didn’t help that a band was nowhere in sight on the transforming stage, but you could hear what sounded like a live band, along with plenty of backing singers to fill out the vocals.

Let’s get to the truth: Jackson has never been a superior vocalist. Cute at times, yes. Sexy at times? Sure. But also girlish-annoying for most ballads (and she elected to perform a string of them one after another — ugh). 

What really made Jackson appealing during her peak years of the mid-’80s through the early ’90s was that breaking-out-of-constraints attitude combined with some actual warmth and joy. How strange is it that she came off the least mechanical when performing songs from her teenage years in the early ’80s, before she took, uh, “control,” while the stuff that made her famous and sold a gazillion records came off as the most going-through-the-motions of playing all the hits (well, snippets of ‘em). 

When it came to those hits - “What Have You Done For Me Lately,” “Nasty,” ‘Love Will Never Do Without You,” “Rhythm Nation,” and more — she tried to cram so many in various medleys, it was too much tease and not enough payoff.   Of her new material from her apparently successful “comeback” Discipline, the songs lacked the character of the older numbers, failing to sound much different than the Beyonces and such out there today. 

Oh yes, it was a giant spectacle — explosions, pillars of smoke/fog, a stage with moving parts, showbiz bondage with an audience member, and guest stars on a video that was lazy rather than creative.  Why not have a backing vocalist/rapper handle the Q-Tip or Nelly parts, and why not have the band’s actual guitarist take the lead in “Black Cat,” rather then a pre-recorded Dave Navarro?  Or maybe there never was a band, just a super pro-tools audio set-up. I’m really not sure.

It was not a truly giving performance for the “fans,” no matter what she said on stage during the few times she spoke.  Audiences are lazy themselves and too accepting of calculation over true creativity. The final verdict?  Well, some people actually think the crapola Gossip Girl is good TV too, so you fill in those blanks.

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