Justin Timberlake brought his tour to Nashville, and we went to see him. My wife saw him because she thinks he is one of the greatest humans on the planet. I saw him because my wife thinks he is one of the greatest humans on the planet. I also saw him because he is one of those people who I think a concert addict should see.
The arena was packed, and no one was disappointed. Justin Timberlake is an extraordinary entertainer who can sing, dance and make the crowd feel like they are part of the show. Everything about his band was great. Horns. Backup singers. Dancers. Everyone on stage was top-notch. It was an event more than it was a concert. It was one of those shows that brings out the Who’s Who of the Nashville music industry.
I did not know many of the songs and was lost when he asked the crowd to sing along, but even an old AC/DC fan like me got caught up in the excitement.
With all of that being written, I came away from the concert with a few observations.
1. The 15th row is a great place to sit. When I made up my mind to get tickets, I wanted them to be good and ended up getting them through a package. We had to pick up the tickets at the door and had no idea where they would be. They ended up being in the middle of all the action. We were surrounded by lights and sound.
2. Most of the women dressed as if Justin Timberlake could see them from the stage and, if they look good enough, get invited to leave the arena with him. They must have forgotten that there is a woman named Jessica Biel.
3. On the subject of being seen from the stage, there was a woman in front of us who kept holding up a sign. There were several fancy signs that people had spent a great deal of time making. They lit up. They said cool things. They were close to the stage where he could see them.
The woman in front of us made the sign after she got to the show. On the back of a white poster, she wrote “Grizzlies” with a pen. Justin Timberlake is one of the owners of the Memphis Grizzlies. It was not a sign that he was going to notice, but she was determined to hold it up.
Her friend, realizing that it was blocking the view of others, asked her to take it down. When she refused, the friend forced her to take it down. The woman who made the sign sat down and did not stand up for the rest of the show.
The sign lady was obviously inebriated, and that brings a question to my mind. If someone is blasted at a concert, then have they really been to the concert? People have told me that concerts and other moments in life are better experienced in an altered state. To those people, I say you are full of crap. I will experience concerts and other moments in life with my senses running at their naturally sharp state.
4. Justin Timberlake kept saying how happy he was to be in Tennessee and how it is his favorite state. Every performer says that wherever they are. However, I think he really meant it. After all, he is a native Tennessean, and his band is called the Tennessee Kids. We can excuse the fact that he is from Memphis.
5. He also talked about how great it was to be in the Country Music Capital of the World and fell into the trap that a lot of performers find themselves in. He invited a country artist to the stage. I cannot count all of the concerts I have attended where some local artist joined in on a song. Sometimes, it works. Sometimes, it does not. The greatest sacrilege was when Vince Gill played guitar alongside Eric Clapton.
Anyway, Justin Timberlake was joined by Garth Brooks. Granted, Garth was a superstar of the last century, but he looked like some bum who walked in off the street. Carrie Underwood was at the concert. I think she would have fit in better with the style of the show.
6. At one point, Justin Timberlake made his way to the center of the arena in one of the coolest ways possible. Half of the stage lifted him up and carried him there. That is when he offered up a few tributes to fallen stars. First, he sang an Elvis Presley song and asked everyone to remember his greatness. Then, he sang a Michael Jackson song and asked everyone to remember him.
On the surface, this made sense. He, like Elvis, is from Memphis and was probably influenced by the presence of his memory. Also, he has probably been influenced by Michael Jackson’s style of performing. He dances. He sings. He is a complete performer.
However, I had the feeling that something else was going on. Elvis was the King of Rock and Roll. Michael was the King of Pop. It could be that Justin wants to be considered the King of whatever today’s music is called. It is a lofty goal but one that I feel he cannot reach.
Elvis was a groundbreaking performer who brought something new to the eyes and ears of the masses. Michael was doing things that his contemporaries could not compete with. Although Justin is an awesome performer, I get the feeling that other performers can put on just as great a show.
None of this is to disparage the show. Justin Timberlake performed one of the best concerts I have ever seen. He is an awesome performer, and I am glad that we got to see him. There are a few people I would see more than once, and he is one of them.
SBI: A Thinning Crowd 