Janet Jackson kept her place in the one-name diva line with a fast-paced, electric show Thursday night at American Airlines Center.
Case in point: When other performers have to gesture for help, Jackson just basked as fans hijacked "Again," their only provocation being the opening notes of the always-pretty ballad.
Then it hits you: At this point, her show is negligible.
It's about her presence.
Janet Jackson has been in pop culture so long as to descend into the stuff of myth. Who knows what's true any more? Furthermore, who cares?
What is true, though, is she's remained an entertainer. Of course. It's all she's ever known as part of the Jackson entertainment dynasty that includes Michael, Jermaine and the Jackson 5.
This night, early in her tour and only months after having a baby, Janet is doing what she does: entertaining. (And inspiring: Janet Jackson lookalikes from every facet of her career roamed the outside of AAC, from Poetic Justice-braids Janet foward.)
Sure, the sound was up and down. But Jackson's every move, her every sound, was greeted by cheers. And she looks as good as she ever has. Some of her iconic music videos played as accompaniment allowed comparison: "Love Will Never Do (Without You)" and "Again," a sweet ballad made even sweeter because of the visual. The wolf whistles and catcalls from the crowd didn't hurt, either.
This is a performer who has already gotten the VH1 and BET legends and icon treatment. This is the woman who turned the Super Bowl on its head, rightly or wrongly. All that to say, well, she's back. She talks softly and carries big hits.
She's, wait for it, iconic, and emblematic of an era in pop music.
Hair, makeup, concerts, costumes ... hair.
Except Thursday night, back in a venue which she helped open as one of its first acts, she downsized. The songs moved seamlessly from one to the next. The show was like a house party at which the DJ had an affinity for Jackson's music (with a dance break to Cardi B's "Bodak Yellow" thrown in the middle of the insistent refrain of "What Have You Done For Me Lately?").
She didn't change costumes, she got comfortable: She went from military-style long trench to almost a cat suit to plaid and sweat pants to jeans and a shirt. She even sang a few songs while seated, "Twenty Foreplay" and a Michael Jackson-sounding "Where Are You Now" among them.
Her clothes and hair, down and blowing in the wind for a while and up in a bun after, followed suit.
"What About," which ended with her crying, was one of the only set pieces and oddly, probably intentionally felt out of place. It seemed as if a community theater production broke out in the middle of a pop show, though the message wasn't lost about domestic abuse. Especially with a bloody- and bruised-faced Jackson peering from the large video screens to begin the song.
"Pleasure Principle" provided the look at her dancing, which hasn't changed since she was a young girl, that everyone was waiting to cheer. For every portion of a hit she sang, there were many she left on the cutting room floor. But, from"The Knowledge" to "Rhythm Nation" to an encore that included "I Get Lonely," she provided all facets of Janet Jackson.
One could tell by the songs that were cheered the loudest that this all-ages, diverse crowd came for "Miss Jackson if you're nasty."
Through tears at the end of "What About," she had declared, "This is me." And, for less than two hours, fans received a 30-year retrospective that lived up to her word.
