the last of the jacksons

you never listen to music like how you used to listen to music when you were a kid. fascination, adulation, obsession are some of the spectrum of emotions i feel whenever i try and think about some of my childhood music idols – madonna, michael jackson, kylie minogue, janet jackson and mariah carey.

when michael jackson passed away, i was devastated. it was like a confirmation that my childhood had ended and i had to say goodbye to a good chapter of my life. michael was the reason. his songs offered me so much more than entertainment. he had sparked my imagination. he made me want to dance like him. he made me want to attempt crazy gravity defying moves. when i was a child, i did not understand racial implications. michael jackson to me was just one of the most special people in the world.

when we found out hong kong was one of the selected cities for janet jackson’s number 1s world tour – there was no way i was going to miss that. it is rather possible that i will not see another jackson perform. even if someday – paris, blanket or prince michael become stars in their own right, i would have been too old to enjoy it. so ” this is it” it really was.

i didn’t dare have too much expectation of janet because she is already 45 years old and throughout the years – her weight had roller -coasted and personal issues i am sure had worn her down.

the concert had some “moments” especially when she performed her earlier hits like miss you much, rhythm nation, if, someone to call my lover, together again. that relived so many good memories i had of her songs. i didn’t think it was possible but i remembered most of the lyrics to her songs – i suppose it was always in my subconscious waiting for a trigger to come along.

perhaps this was no fault of janet’s but i was pretty disappointed with the way the organizer handled her costume breaks. at one point, they had like close to a 10 minute montage of the films she had done. it was so unnecessary and disjointed. the flow of the concert was overall bad.

and this is the issue with international artists that come to asia. i am not sure if it is because we have such substandard concert venues but it doesn’t look as though they try hard enough. again, i suppose right now everybody looks at asia as the money tree but think we that we are still relatively unsophisticated and passive. it’s very frustrating because ticket prices are very expensive in asia. whatever we seem to paying for isn’t reflected in whatever we get.

after all said and done, i am glad to have seen one of my favorite artists alive!! well i hope lady gaga would come soon. can’t think of many great entertainers currently and gaga’s one of the rare ones.

thank you agi for letting me use your photos!!