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Estas son las impresiones de una persona que estuvo allí:
Quick impressions of the MJ 30th Anniversary Salute (as it's 5:00 am & I am dead tired).
The show started @8:30pm (nearly an hour late, as start time had been designated as 7:40pm). Samuel Jackson introduced Wanna' Be Startin' Somethin' as performed by "recording stars Usher & Mya, & the One & Only Whitney Houston." WH was the only artist other than MJ to receive special acknowledgment. First Usher came out in a faux caveman outfit, singin' fine, lookin' finer, & movin' finest. Then Mya joined him wearing a seemingly Flinstone-inspired animal print mini-dress; she, too, was in good form all-around. Then came WH, & the energy in the arena *exploded*. Only MJ himself & the brothers reunited received a greater audience response. She looked fabulous, wearing a little black mini-dress w/tassles & matching knee-high boots. She attacked the song w/conviction, & was in obvious great spirits, moving loosely & playfully, kickin' up her heels w/Usher.
Shaggy performed a lively set of "angel" & "It Wasn't Me."
Marlon Brando appeared on stage to speak about charity & to chastise us that children are dying while we are enjoying ourselves. He was petulant, & explicit (w/descriptions of children losing limbs). When he mentioned children getting blown up by land mines for which the US will not take responsibility, many in the restless crowd began to boo. A strange moment which would have been better placed at intermission.
A series of mostly ballad tributes followed: Billy Gilman gave a virtual note-for-note faithful recreation of "Ben;" James Ingram & Gloria Estefan dueted delicately on "I Just Can't Stop Loving You;" Monica, Jill Scott, Tamia, & Al Jarreau (I think, as he was in a Tin Man costume) did a "Wiz" medley (Monica performed "Home" well, but it could only compare unfavorably to WH's brilliant Merv Griffin Show rendition, & Jill Scott's jazzy ScareCrow selection was terrific); Marc Anthony sang "She's Out of My Life" passionately, if a bit histrionically; Ray Charles & Cassandra Wilson partnered on a soulful "Cryin' Time Again" (& on another song that escapes me right now); Deb Cox, 3 other women (amongst those already mentioned) & a female rapper collaborated on "Heal the World;" Liza Minnelli, w/garish make-up that made her look like a drag queen's version of Joan Collins, gave a theatrical, stentorian rendition of "You Are Not Alone" & another song about Never-Never-Land that I did not recognize; & Destiny's Child performed a fun, sassy "Bootylicious," incorporating an effective 30-second segment of "Billie Jean" into the mix.
After a 20 minute break, the Jacksons took the stage w/"Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)" following a few words from Liz Taylor. The highlights for me were "(Stop) The Love You Save (May Be Your Own)" & "I Want You Back" performed w/some of the original dance routines. The 20-minute set had great energy, & the brothers genuinely seemed to be having a blast. 'NSync joined the Jacksons surprisingly briefly to close out the set w/"Dancin' Machine."
The music overall was a bit overamplified, drowning out some of the vocals, esp. on "I'll Be There." MJ's vocals were typically overwrought if solid enough. Through this point, all singing had clearly been live.
The next section of the concert -- introduced by a very funny Chris Tucker, who did sharp imitations of MJ's singing & whispery talking -- showcased MJ's solo hits. Britney Spears strutted & slinked across the stage as the object of MJ's affection in a frisky duet of "The Way You Make Me Feel" replete w/street choreography lifted from the video. MJ employed the tactic of lip-synching (quite conspicuously) for the first 3/4 of each of the next 4 songs (Billie Jean, Black or White, Beat It, & Rock My World), then finishing w/a few live ad-libs & runs. No matter: the focus was on his impeccable showmanship & quicksilver dancing. He moved as fluidly & wondrously as ever, & his fans were putty in his hands (or feet, as it were), but I was admittedly somewhat dismayed that the routines were predominantly reproductions from the videos; I would have hoped for more inventive spontaneity from the self-styled King of Pop.
For the grand finale, all the performers (w/the notable exceptions of WH, BS & Justin Timberlake) plus other guests (incl. Dionne Warwick) came together for "We Are the World."
My greatest disappointment, of course, is that WH did not perform a solo, as advertised, particularly after her fabulous opening. (BB also did not appear).
Too much money for so little. The show lasted 4 hours, but if you condensed the performances, it was likely only 90-100 minutes. VERY poorly paced, w/inexplicable long breaks between acts (neither the set nor the band/orchestra changed, so there was no reason for these extended intervals) that killed any chance of creating momentum. During *some* of these breaks in the action, self-indulgent video montages chronicling MJ's achievements were displayed on 2 huge screens. W/all the *filler* edited out, the performance should transfer better for its TV broadcast.
http://pub4.ezboard.com/fclassicwhitneyclassicwhitneydiscussion.showMessage?topicID=9425.topic
Quick impressions of the MJ 30th Anniversary Salute (as it's 5:00 am & I am dead tired).
The show started @8:30pm (nearly an hour late, as start time had been designated as 7:40pm). Samuel Jackson introduced Wanna' Be Startin' Somethin' as performed by "recording stars Usher & Mya, & the One & Only Whitney Houston." WH was the only artist other than MJ to receive special acknowledgment. First Usher came out in a faux caveman outfit, singin' fine, lookin' finer, & movin' finest. Then Mya joined him wearing a seemingly Flinstone-inspired animal print mini-dress; she, too, was in good form all-around. Then came WH, & the energy in the arena *exploded*. Only MJ himself & the brothers reunited received a greater audience response. She looked fabulous, wearing a little black mini-dress w/tassles & matching knee-high boots. She attacked the song w/conviction, & was in obvious great spirits, moving loosely & playfully, kickin' up her heels w/Usher.
Shaggy performed a lively set of "angel" & "It Wasn't Me."
Marlon Brando appeared on stage to speak about charity & to chastise us that children are dying while we are enjoying ourselves. He was petulant, & explicit (w/descriptions of children losing limbs). When he mentioned children getting blown up by land mines for which the US will not take responsibility, many in the restless crowd began to boo. A strange moment which would have been better placed at intermission.
A series of mostly ballad tributes followed: Billy Gilman gave a virtual note-for-note faithful recreation of "Ben;" James Ingram & Gloria Estefan dueted delicately on "I Just Can't Stop Loving You;" Monica, Jill Scott, Tamia, & Al Jarreau (I think, as he was in a Tin Man costume) did a "Wiz" medley (Monica performed "Home" well, but it could only compare unfavorably to WH's brilliant Merv Griffin Show rendition, & Jill Scott's jazzy ScareCrow selection was terrific); Marc Anthony sang "She's Out of My Life" passionately, if a bit histrionically; Ray Charles & Cassandra Wilson partnered on a soulful "Cryin' Time Again" (& on another song that escapes me right now); Deb Cox, 3 other women (amongst those already mentioned) & a female rapper collaborated on "Heal the World;" Liza Minnelli, w/garish make-up that made her look like a drag queen's version of Joan Collins, gave a theatrical, stentorian rendition of "You Are Not Alone" & another song about Never-Never-Land that I did not recognize; & Destiny's Child performed a fun, sassy "Bootylicious," incorporating an effective 30-second segment of "Billie Jean" into the mix.
After a 20 minute break, the Jacksons took the stage w/"Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)" following a few words from Liz Taylor. The highlights for me were "(Stop) The Love You Save (May Be Your Own)" & "I Want You Back" performed w/some of the original dance routines. The 20-minute set had great energy, & the brothers genuinely seemed to be having a blast. 'NSync joined the Jacksons surprisingly briefly to close out the set w/"Dancin' Machine."
The music overall was a bit overamplified, drowning out some of the vocals, esp. on "I'll Be There." MJ's vocals were typically overwrought if solid enough. Through this point, all singing had clearly been live.
The next section of the concert -- introduced by a very funny Chris Tucker, who did sharp imitations of MJ's singing & whispery talking -- showcased MJ's solo hits. Britney Spears strutted & slinked across the stage as the object of MJ's affection in a frisky duet of "The Way You Make Me Feel" replete w/street choreography lifted from the video. MJ employed the tactic of lip-synching (quite conspicuously) for the first 3/4 of each of the next 4 songs (Billie Jean, Black or White, Beat It, & Rock My World), then finishing w/a few live ad-libs & runs. No matter: the focus was on his impeccable showmanship & quicksilver dancing. He moved as fluidly & wondrously as ever, & his fans were putty in his hands (or feet, as it were), but I was admittedly somewhat dismayed that the routines were predominantly reproductions from the videos; I would have hoped for more inventive spontaneity from the self-styled King of Pop.
For the grand finale, all the performers (w/the notable exceptions of WH, BS & Justin Timberlake) plus other guests (incl. Dionne Warwick) came together for "We Are the World."
My greatest disappointment, of course, is that WH did not perform a solo, as advertised, particularly after her fabulous opening. (BB also did not appear).
Too much money for so little. The show lasted 4 hours, but if you condensed the performances, it was likely only 90-100 minutes. VERY poorly paced, w/inexplicable long breaks between acts (neither the set nor the band/orchestra changed, so there was no reason for these extended intervals) that killed any chance of creating momentum. During *some* of these breaks in the action, self-indulgent video montages chronicling MJ's achievements were displayed on 2 huge screens. W/all the *filler* edited out, the performance should transfer better for its TV broadcast.
http://pub4.ezboard.com/fclassicwhitneyclassicwhitneydiscussion.showMessage?topicID=9425.topic
