Pip in Canada: mixed reviews
I wrote yesterday about a concertgoer’s unsatisfactory experience at the JT concert in Toronto, asking at the end for more feedback.
Pretty much 50/50.
Some of you loved it, some of you thought it was the show of a lifetime, and some of you who went in wanting the show of a lifetime came out pretty disappointed. Not exactly profound or earthshattering – afterall, 100% approval rating is virtually impossible. But fair to say not as reliably entertaining as say…some of the bigger acts in music? Is he really “there” yet???
Some reader unedited reviews below and then some observational gossip:
From Samantha V in Toronto: Great vocals. Impressive showmanship. Amazing energy. What"s not to love about Justin? Seriously. Or maybe you need to see it for yourself to believe it... For me and my friends, we loved every minute of it.
From Steve in Toronto: I didn"t sense any of JT"s so-called arrogance, and contrary to reports on your site from other fans, I did see him touch hands with fans on numerous occasions. Maybe he didn"t touch her hand or hands in that section, but from my vantage point, he was very close with the audience and definitely touching them. One thing I did sense was an anger towards Cameron Diaz. At one point, he put the middle finger up during a "you loved me and left me" kinda song. And he sang other love/break-up songs with an intensity that"s hard to describe.
From Laura G Montreal: OK, I figured the show was staged but not to the point of being scripted. He used the exact same “Don’t try this at home” line at the Montreal show last night and barely acknowledged the audience who kept trying to sing him “Happy Birthday.” Only when Timbaland (whose boring-ass, self-glorifying set killed the party vibe that I will admit JT was rocking in the first half of the show) showed up with a cake did he even admit that it was his birthday and crack an unscripted smile. Overall, an amazing piece of work from a production standpoint (lighting, dancing, staging, singing) but not an ounce of room for spontaneity or connection with the fans. Disappointing on that level, but I guess I never should have expected him to reach out to the people who put him there.
From Nicole B. D. in Toronto (had to laugh at this one): My personal lowlight of the show was when he came onstage for his encore. In all seriousness he said “Really? Really? You want me to play some more? Wow. Toronto, you’re amazing. This is amazing. There’s a one in a billion chance that I would be the person sitting here at this piano, and I want you to know that I seriously love you all.” I nearly Rossumed on my shoes. Particularly since his piano came up through a hole in floor 5 seconds after he left the stage. As you would say Lainey: Bitch, please. We all know that you are coming out for an encore. We are not the teenybopper audience of your N’Sync days. Get over yourself. I went to the concert looking forward to a high energy show with lots of dancing. As Simon Cowell would say – it was distinctly average.
And finally…from Jennifer M in Toronto – surmising on a potential tour hookup, photo of the girl in question attached: towards the end of the show, the brunette came to our side of the stage and frolicked around in her crop-top red and white varsity "JT" jacket acting like a ten year old in hopes of making every girl jealous (which they/we were). And then at the very end, when JT and crew did their big bow...she ran up the stage, right over to Justin so she could stand next to him for this and proceed to whisper in his ear and grab his hand. If you ask me, if he"s banging any of the dancers, she"s for sure the lucky one.
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And it would make sense too. Remember Jenna Dewan?
Thanks to all of you for sending your comments.