THE MUSIC NATION
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CONCERT REVIEWS
JANET'S GREATEST HITS TOUR
Janet Jackson has had a lot of hits. And she wants to make sure the fans hear every single one of them - even it it is just a a quick snippet of each one. Janet's "Unbreakable World Tour" rolled into Tampa at the end of September. Janet took the stage pretty early, coming out at around 830 (and saving the audience from one of the most annoying opening DJ acts ever witnessed). The show opened with a new track featuring Missy Elliot called "BurnItUp." It was a darker opening with a black and white video of birds flying to accompany the song.
Janet then launched into two separate melodies of some of her biggest hits - so many in fact that one began to wonder if she was going to plow through all of them in a matter of minutes. It was a puzzling moment early in the show. For the long-time Janet fans, it was quite frustrating because obvious favorites were given 1-2 minutes at best.
The rest of the show was just as oddly paced. Janet threw some more new tracks from her new album including lead single "No Sleeep" and "Shoulda Known Better" (a show highlight). There was the "I am going to showcase my singing abilities" section where Janet performed all of her slower temp songs including "Let's Wait Awhile," "Come Back To Me," "Again," and "Any Time. Any Place.' For the third (and final) act, Janet picked up the tempo and busted all of infamous choreographed moves including "If." A special treat was actually Janet and crew performing "Throb" in its entirety. After the danceathon, Janet introduced her band and dancers and the show was over.
For a legendary artist and entertainer such as Janet, the show lacked a theme and overall direction. It came across as sloppy and haphazard often leaving the viewer feeling a little bewildered. Janet has left a long trail of big hits in her wake but pairing those down to make a more cohesive show would make for a significantly more enjoyable concert experience.
