Crítica «FutureSex/LoveShow»: Miami

Celebridades presentes: Pharrell Williams, Timbaland, 50 Cent

Justin Timberlake eyes pop crown
Justin Timberlake brings spectacle, musicality to Miami Saturday night and brings SexyBack tonight in Sunrise.

Justin Timberlake has never been shy about his plans to dominate pop in the way Michael Jackson once did.

Like prime Jackson, he works with the hottest producers and he’s got pop culture cred (even former Vice President Al Gore was quoting from Timberlake’s single SexyBack last year). Unlike Jackson, he seems well adjusted, he’s not popping in and out of rehab like too many of his peers and, at age 26, he has transcended his early music.

What he doesn’t quite have is full industry respect. He lost the Best Pop Album Grammy to bland John Mayer. His hot-selling FutureSex/LoveShow Tour should catapult Timberlake to the top.

During the first of two South Florida concerts Saturday night at Miami’s AmericanAirlines Arena (a second show is at Sunrise’s BankAtlantic Center tonight) Timberlake certainly didn’t skimp on Jackson-sized spectacle. Unless you had GPS set to Timberlake’s lanky suit- and tie-attired frame, it might have been hard to spot him under his cocked fedora amid the hellzapoppin’ set he’s playing on. The in-the-round stage crammed a dozen choreographed dancers, diaphanous curtains doubling as video screens, and enough laser hardware during Rock Your Body and LoveStoned to film a space battle scene for a Star Wars movie. If Timberlake amounted to a special effect in his own show at least no expense was spared. If you lose sight of him tonight, listen for the screams. Women loved him and let him know it.

Pop/rocker Pink opened but muddy, overloud sound rendered most of the music undecipherable. It would have been better had Timberlake employed ex-girlfriend Britney Spears to be his opening act. Would have given her something constructive to do and fueled FutureTicket Sales.

Nevertheless, for 2 ½ hours, interrupted by a pointless 25-minute DJ set from Timbaland, Timberlake performed the bulk of his current FutureSex/LoveSounds R&B CD, hits from the predecessor Justified, and a tease, Gone, from his disposable ‘N Sync period. Though the musical accompaniment was oversized, bass heavy to literally apply Sensurround rumbling under the seats, Timberlake managed to get in some of the musical chops he generally keeps hidden on record. Timberlake extended songs like the layered epics What Goes Around . . . and Cry Me a River, building tension and treating them more like ’70s rock/funk jams. While his prowess on guitar and piano won’t have Prince envious, Timberlake isn’t using them as props. He can play. And, throughout this endlessly entertaining show Timberlake’s hyper-masculine dancing proved more creative than Jackson’s androgynous moonwalking. Beat that.

Crítica de nuna23:

I just got to ATL from Miami a few hours ago. I went to the show. It was amazing as I knew it would be! Few highlights:

I had VIP and Pharrell and 50 cent were in VIP. 50 cent had to leave because people kept bugging him.

Trace and Johnny sat in my section of VIP, girls kept coming up to Trace all night and throwing themselves on him. I thought that was funny. He was with a few friends. They didn’t watch the show really. Trace was texting people half the show and then him and his friends started dancing with these girls in VIP for the other half.

Arena security said no cameras and told us they’d take them,but Justin’s bodyguards didn’t care. We asked Johnny about the no cameras and he told us it wasn’t there policy but the arena’s, which I know is complete BS since I have a friend that works at Phillips Arena and she saw the instructions from Justin’s tour staff. Anyways he was cool and actually told security to let us take pictures and so then we didn’t have a problem for the rest of the night! So if you run into a problem find Johnny and confront him about it.

Word of warning. Ticketmaster screwed up this show soooo bad. They had VIP tix up for GA prices and even though I had my receipt for them wouldn’t give me the VIP tix at Will call and gave me floor. I fought like crazy and called a manager and nothing so that put a major damper on the evening. Apparently Will Call said that it had happened to a lot more people as well. I had bought one at the reg VIP price when they fixed the price two days before the show for a friend, so they let me have that VIP and they sat GA. So I got seperated from them.

Then when they were giving out our wrist bands the arena people were only reading the top part of the ticket which on my real VIP just said floor and they tried giving me a ga wrist band. I raised hell and luckily one of Justin’s people came over and looked at it and was like «I can’t believe how bad ticket master has screwed this up. This is definitely VIP even though it doesn’t say it on the top» and he gave me my orange wrist band. So looks like they know how disorganized the ticket process has been.

Overall had a a good time, but I’m glad I’m going to ATL on Tuesday I missed so much of the show because to much was going on and I kept getting distarcted by Trace and his crew behind me.

Miami crowd wasn’t that in to it. So that kind of took away from the show. I know my ATL crowd will take care of that though. Its always one of his loudest shows.

I liked the show but not as much as I thought I would. (ducks from everyone) I think I got too spoiled at the club tours because I enjoyed that way more, that or I’m hoping it was just because of the whole ticketmaster mess. I’m going to go to ATL and then see how I feel.

I’ll post pics soon. I still can’t believe I drove down from ATL to Miami for Justin. Man the things we do for him.

MiamiHerald.com