I scribbled a bunch of notes on my phone and then forgot about it until a couple days ago when I found these notes.
Since I have never been to Western Springs, or the front section of an outdoor concert before, I planned out an itinerary.
I arrived early (around 2:30?). There was little to do apart from wait in line. There were security covering the ticket lanes, but only one for every two lanes so it took longer. It was made worse by having the same two ZM adverts play over and over ad Infinitium.
I had to wait because the ticket scanner lady only had wristbands, not lanyards.
Once through, I headed to the merch table and bought a shirt. The girls behind me bought one of everything that was available.
With the shirt slung over my shoulder, I went to get food. This ended up being the most difficult part of the event - I bought a hot dog on a stick, some chips and two drinks (sprite & water). Because of event rules they took the caps off the bottles.
I spent five minutes trying to balance all this while walking slowly to the entrance - I scarfed the food and finished the drinks while waiting in line to go into diamond section.
The kid behind me debated his mum about whether bullets can go through trees. He thought a sniper was a bullet.
Once in the front section I made it to stand in front of centre stage behind the people standing at the barrier.
Onto the performers!
Despite a short slot, J-Kwon sold his set like the star of the show. His wife/assistant/manager(?) recorded his set on her phone from the side.
The one odd detail was that he played Nelly’s ‘Hot in Herre’ - I thought he might have had a guest verse on the song or a remix, but he just hyped the crowd to sing along. I guess he liked it?
I have to say the performers with the shortest runtimes seemed to have the best understanding of the setting and how to make the most of it.
The two local acts on the bill were Savage and Scribe. Savage really got the audience going - I wish he had a longer set (a sentiment that solidified after watching some of the later performances).
Scribe came out firing. I only remember him from his Crusader days so it was a real surprise to see him now. He looked good, and at the end of his set he stated that he was 6 months sober, and this was his first show.
Watching Scribe really brought me into the overall mood of the crowd. In my area, they were mostly my age and were reacting to all of the familiar songs. Aside from a couple songs, I recognised almost every song and they were mostly from the turn of the millennium. It is not a period I remember with much fondness, but being in this event made me enjoy the music more. It felt like it was being stripped of my personal memories 1999-2002.
Speaking of nostalgia, Keri Hilson was another surprise. I remember Hilson for making hi-energy music. At the concert, her approach was almost the exact opposite (at least at first).
Hilson sauntered onstage wearing a t-shrit with plaid and short-shorts. She said she had just arrived in the country and was running on an hour's sleep. She also said she had to do her own makeup. I liked the candour, and -while she has never been to New Zealand before - the stripped down aesthetic felt like an unintentional evocation of the 'she'll be right' attitude.
Sisqo was really good - his set felt longer than the ones either side of him, and he really filled up the space. I am not familiar with a lot of his work outside of the 'Thong Song'. He kept taking off his hat to show his blonde hair, which was pretty funny. His dancers helped give him more scope onstage.
Brandy's set fell victim to technical issues, which was a real bummer. You do not go to see Brandy to see choreography or visuals. You go for the voice - so of course her mike cut out. She looked offstage in shock.
Once it was fixed (kinda), Brandy sang great - until the mike played up again, only this time it blew out everyone's ears with feedback.
Over and above these issues, of all the acts she really felt out of place in this context. I could see her at the Aotea Centre or even the Power Station, but this event felt way too big.
I'll be honest, I know Jason Derulo was at this concert, but I cannot remember anything about his set. Every time I do, I just end up getting flashbacks to his role in Cats.
According to my notes on the night:
'Songs were familiar' and 'He is a beautiful man - women were screaming'.
50 Cent's intro was hilarious. He included a few clips from music videos, but most of it was taken up with snippets and movie posters of him acting with heavyweights like DeNiro in DTV movies I’ve never heard of. It felt a bit weird at a music show, but I guess he wants to portray himself as a renaissance man?
He threw his coat into the crowd - it looked like a life preserver w stripes of duct tape in a criss-cross pattern.
The bad audio continued with this set - somebody must have been fired for this because I could barely make out what Jackson was saying.
This was the one set of the night that felt baggy. There was a 10-15 minute bit where he stopped his set to smoke a blunt seated with another MC while Bob Marley’s ‘Is This Love?’ played. His band were not playing along - it was just a track.
It seemed to be some kind of comedy bit that did not really come off.
Thank god for Black-Eyed Peas. At this point in the evening (around 8pm) I had been on my feet in the same spot for about 5 hours and I was done.
But then they bounded out onstage and whoever was in charge of the audio had been fired/ritually sacrificed because there were no technical snafus during the rest of the night.
Their set was packed with hits, and unlike their predecessor onstage, they managed to work in talking to the audience between songs (including introducing new member J Rey Soul), without losing the energy of the crowd.
But while they were good, they were just setting the stage for the reason I was there.
Janet Jackson was great.
By this point my ears were powder from the speakers feet away, but the moment she appeared at the top of the stage, it was like a bolt of electricity ran through the crowd (at least in my area; appaarently there was a mass walk-out during her set).
Most of my favorite musicians are dead so getting to see her live was amazing.
Compared even with the Black-Eyed Peas, Janet's set was all killer. Even though the Peas ran long so she finished bang on 10pm.
The most interesting thought I had during the show was how much it felt like there was a distinct disparity between Janet and the other acts - not just in terms of era.
It just feels like the music that the others represented - even Derulo - feels of the immediate past - the blend of dance pop and RnB that has defined the past decade has given way to hip hop that is more melody-infused, and RnB has moved toward the darker, slower music of the Weeknd, SZA et al - music that (it has been argued) has been heavily influenced by Janet. This tie-back would have been more obvious if she had leaned into the slower ballads (ala ‘Funny How Time Flies’). While the Weeknd is the biggest act of this shift I wonder if her act would have been better received if she had veered from the bangers and leaned into the softer, darker parts of her discography.
The show was not perfect. The sound quality was variable, the MCs 'funny' video skits were bad and 50 Cent was on for way too long. I was way too close to the speakers, and it was hard to stay in the same place in the crowd. I think if I went again I would rope in a couple more people so that we have strength in numbers.
Overall, I had a really good time.
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