Catch 22 of course, because otherwise I'd be complaining about not including some songs I loved the medley format, but sometimes I wish she would have performed more of certain songs. Every expectation I had was exceeded and then some. My friend got last minute tickets to her final Chicago show last night. But it’s even better to have the Janet who makes the kind of albums she did at the original Flyte Tyme Studios back, too. It’s great to have her back in Minneapolis, sure. Unbreakable marks a return to form for the singer, and while most of the tour focuses on triumphs of the past, there’s the unspoken sense that the Janet we’re seeing on stage has gained some form of relaxed older sister wisdom and clarity in her seven-year absence. But it also contextualizes the entire nature of the night’s homecoming vibe - Janet finally has something to say again. It’s a tough lyric to hear declaring itself in its quiet acceptance that the idealized vision of societal change of her youth actually bore no fruit. While images of refugees and victims of war fill the screens, dancers are dressed in black hoodies, bringing to mind images of Trayvon Martin and recent victims of police brutality. The encore is new track, “Shoulda Known Better” which directly references the naiveté of her early work, ending on the line “I had this great epiphany / And Rhythm Nation was the dream / I guess I shoulda known better.” It would have been a perfect, triumphant moment to end on, but Unbreakable finds Janet returning to her socially conscious setting after more than a decade spent toiling in increasingly icky sex jams.
She chose a few choice ballads (“Again,” “Let’s Wait Awhile,” “Come Back to Me,” among others) before ratcheting up the tension with the night’s dizzying climax of “If,” “Scream,” and “Rhythm Nation,” the latter of which still inspires audience chants that rival the song’s famously militaristic choreography in their precision. The second portion of the evening allowed Janet - dressed in a demure, skin-covering black leather and chiffon outfit that she rather disappointingly never changes out of - to slow things down. There’s time to reminisce, but you better not get stuck. “Nasty” bleeds into “Feedback,” quickly morphing into “Miss You Much” before combusting with the new jack swing ferocity of “Alright.” You’d be forgiven for complaining of whiplash, but Janet weaves these career touchstones together seamlessly, always keeping the audience on their toes with the promise of more hits and iconic dance routines to come. Nearly every single got its just due (with 1995’s “Runaway,” so fondly remembered with that globe-trotting music video, being the one glaring omission), creating an embarrassment of riches that was practically weaponized in its own efficiency. The amount of ground covered in less than two hours was, in a word, breathless. In fact, Janet’s clearly present sense of nostalgia was what informed the whole evening, especially with a set list that essentially took the form of “Ms. Minneapolis, why don’t we brag about this more?Įven if others don’t, Janet knows the importance of her geography, making sure that cry of “Minneapolis!” in “Escapade” carried to the nosebleeds. All four albums were produced right here. The wide-eyed Rhythm Nation followed, then greeted by the budding sensuality of Janet and the complex existentialism of The Velvet Rope. It also laid the brickwork for a career every bit as formidable and influential as her older brother’s. After all, it was right here in Minneapolis that the baby of the Jackson clan found the strength and tools in her partnership with Jam and Lewis to create 1986's Control, the sweeping declarative statement of an album that birthed a stunning string of singles. “It’s so good to be home,” Janet said during one of the few moments she took a break from her relentless onslaught of hits to speak to her adoring crowd directly. On the title track of her new album, Unbreakable, Janet Jackson sings, “Truth is, I couldn’t be here without the love that I stand on.” On Sunday at Target Center, an evening that found the singer surprised and humbled by Mayor Betsy Hodges and sneak-attack guests Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis officially declaring November 1 Janet Jackson Day in Minneapolis, it was a sentiment that ended up being far more literal than originally intended.
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