Janet Burns It Up

There are rock stars who take the stage, but this was one show where the stage took the audience. After what seemed like a long wait accompanied by Janet Jackson’s DJ, spinning mainly Jackson songs and asking the audience if they were ready to “party with Janet Jackson” (they were). A crew rolled the DJ’s table backstage and one curtain rose uncovering a scrim soon covered with projected birds, giving way to a gigantic crow, which turned into a mechanical giant as the intro to the Unbreakable CD with Missy Elliott grumbling ecstatically. The lights lit the live Janet Jackson lifesize behind two scrims and a projected version of her much larger self appeared on the outside of the screen. And suddenly the audience was no longer ready but actually partying with her.

It wasn’t just electronic dazzle — some later moments like Jackson in a strobing box and still later with three levels of bird images while she sang “After You Fall” were psychedelic. But Jackson, her band, dancers and backup singers began roaring with a six-song set that melded one into the other beginning with “BURNITUP,” then gliding into “Nasty” (the crowd’s clear favorite of the night), “Miss You Much,” “Alright,” and “You Want This.” It was rapid fire and then Jackson stood crossed-armed, pose-struck breathing like an athlete for obvious reasons. The night’s motif of black, white and grey colors changed abruptly to red with “Control” and Jackson kept up the breakneck partying with “Late Nite (Don’t Stop)” and “Love Will Never Do (Without You).” Fifteen songs and were hers with or without the smoke, animated screen of geometric patterns and lights cutting through the crowds.

After an intermission, Jackson took a chair way out on the edge of the stage and wove a more intimate spell with ballads like “Again” and “Come back to Me.” It was nice but seven songs later, Jackson had the whole Bowl back on its feet with “Throb” and “Black Cat.” She rocketed past that with a stage show extravaganza — more smoke and lights but this time a cadre of dancers too for “Rhythm Nation.”

Shows like this don’t happen enough, though they are far more prevalent at the Bowl since the makeover made all of these accoutrements possible, from giant speakers and video screens to the elaborate curtain projections that made the show magical, and, more to the point, cinematic.

But this never felt like a movie musical. It was, as the DJ promised, a night to party with Janet. More like the greatest nightclub possible than a mere showcase, Jackson’s stuff got strutted, and the stage work took us all the way past any pleasure principles.