Intimate MJ Concert?

aqwsz

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He really should have done this. Forget the big stadium shows. Just get a tight backing band to play live and sing live on a small stage, no pyrotechnics, no intro's, no big dance routines. Just singing and having fun.
He would get tons more respect from a wider audience if he had ditched the over the top stadium theatrics. It would have been some comeback.

He also should have be more versatile in his setlist. Every tour is basically the same, with very few changes. Why not sing " who is it" or "I can't help it"?
I really got tired of the same old Motown medley with the exact same intro talk or the intro for "smooth criminal". I didn't like to when he tried to recreate his videosclips on stage.

Just look at those snippets of MJ when he joins James Brown or Diana Ross on stage. That's performing! Sorry to say but his tours after Bad were dreadful and repetitive, awful sound, playback and more show than style.
I'd give serious money for good quality copies of a variety of J5 concerts on dvd. Just look on youtube when he sings "music and me" or "one day in your life" live, it's awesome! The triumph and Destiny tours should be the holy grail of things MJ fans want.
 
Re: Intimiate MJ concert?

The HBO special was supposed to be a more intimate show. Too bad it didn't happen.
 
Re: Intimiate MJ concert?

What HBO show was that and when?

I don't think MJ was really interested in doing that, he saw things too big and he thought the fans would only want to see him do his big dance routines.
Now I can't speak for everyone but I was tired of those same old concert routines. I think the this is it tour would have been a disaster. I really didn't like his way of thinking that he wanted to recreate the album sounds in concert. I remember him on "this is it" how he kept hammering on that "the way you make me feel" didn't sound quite right.
Just see how Stevie Wonder performs that song, it's pure joy.
It's the only downside I see on MJ as an artist. He was capable of much more.
 
Re: Intimiate MJ concert?

Late 95. One night only show. Collasped during rehearsals ended up in hospital for a good while. It was never rescheduled. I guess L.N is pay back!

Mtv unplugged style concert was always a dream
 
aqwsz;4241897 said:
He also should have be more versatile in his setlist. Every tour is basically the same, with very few changes. Why not sing " who is it" or "I can't help it"?

Because he knew that his fans wanted to see his classic hits being performed on stage.

aqwsz;4242052 said:
What HBO show was that and when?

I don't think MJ was really interested in doing that, he saw things too big and he thought the fans would only want to see him do his big dance routines.

Available evidence disproves your claim that MJ was not interested in doing the 1995 HBO Special.

MJ put a lot of effort for that show to the point of exhaustion.

Another example is that while he was talking to Marcel Marceau on the phone during the period of the preparations of that show, MJ used to sing some of the ‘Childhood’ lines to him through the phone.

‘Childhood’ was meant to be performed by both of them on stage, & MJ was really looking forward to performing that song in particular.

Also, MJ became very upset when the HBO Special had to be cancelled eventually.

He knew that this minimalist, intimate concept of the HBO show was a perfect opportunity for him to get closer to his American fans at that particular time.
 
He really should have done this. Forget the big stadium shows. Just get a tight backing band to play live and sing live on a small stage, no pyrotechnics, no intro's, no big dance routines. Just singing and having fun.
He would get tons more respect from a wider audience if he had ditched the over the top stadium theatrics. It would have been some comeback.

He also should have be more versatile in his setlist. Every tour is basically the same, with very few changes. Why not sing " who is it" or "I can't help it"?
I really got tired of the same old Motown medley with the exact same intro talk or the intro for "smooth criminal". I didn't like to when he tried to recreate his videosclips on stage.

Just look at those snippets of MJ when he joins James Brown or Diana Ross on stage. That's performing! Sorry to say but his tours after Bad were dreadful and repetitive, awful sound, playback and more show than style.
I'd give serious money for good quality copies of a variety of J5 concerts on dvd. Just look on youtube when he sings "music and me" or "one day in your life" live, it's awesome! The triumph and Destiny tours should be the holy grail of things MJ fans want.


Have you actually seen him live, in any concerts from BAD through to HIStory?? Because I have and I really don't agree with your post at all. Michael was a megastar and way too big to do smaller, unplugged, intimate shows. That is for when an artist's star is waning, not when it is burning bright. He developed the blueprint for the big production concerts that we see today, from all of the major solo superstars and the big bands. It started with the J5 concert tours and just continued to build and grow and develop from there. "This Is It" would have been amazing, cutting edge and unforgettable. It is still such an incredible shame it never happened.

I also don't think "tons more respect from a wider audience" is linked, in any way to "ditching over-the-top stadium theatrics". Michael Jackson already had (and still has) respect from a very wide audience, in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, culture, creed and age. That was due to his incredible music, his dance and his talents as a visionary showman and entertainer. Not all of Michael's shows were stadium shows either - many were arena shows - the fifty TII shows, for example, would have been arena shows (20000 per night).....so reasonably "small" in comparison to the 90000/100000 of a venue such as Wembley.

Michael did not see his concert productions as unnecessary theatrics and neither do I - they were escapism and they were genius, visual representations of music that spoke directly from Michael's soul, to his audience. Regardless of the setlist, every single audience witnessed something different and something amazing every night.

Michael didn't even want to tour after the Victory tour (now THAT was a disaster in terms of sound!) I personally think we should ALL be grateful that he did tour....that he gave us all of himself in the BAD, Dangerous and HIStory concerts, in difficult circumstances at times and that he was going to do it all over again for us, in TII.
 
I've seen 2 history concerts. I also had this tape I don't know how I got it from a Destiny tour concert. The latter was way more fun than the HIStory concerts.
Main difference is that he was singing live I can't stress enough how important that is when doing a show...
 
It’s clear from the live vocals we did get on the History tour that his voice was not in touring condition and singing the entire shows live just simply wasn’t an option.
IMO enough of the Dangerous tour was sung live that it didn’t make it a “playback” tour, although a large number of songs were admittedly lip sync’d.

I really don’t see how you can say you think This is it would have been a disaster?? It was record breaking before it even happened, from the film we can see he was going to be singing live. Michaels productions have never been so over the top that they distract from him as a performer.
Do you really think the majority of fans both hard core and casual after waiting so long for a comeback wouldn’t want to see his hits and iconic choreography?
 
AG5050;4242136 said:
It’s clear from the live vocals we did get on the History tour that his voice was not in touring condition and singing the entire shows live just simply wasn’t an option.
IMO enough of the Dangerous tour was sung live that it didn’t make it a “playback” tour, although a large number of songs were admittedly lip sync’d.

I really don’t see how you can say you think This is it would have been a disaster?? It was record breaking before it even happened, from the film we can see he was going to be singing live. Michaels productions have never been so over the top that they distract from him as a performer.
Do you really think the majority of fans both hard core and casual after waiting so long for a comeback wouldn’t want to see his hits and iconic choreography?

For "this is it" he also would have lip sync'd the songs or at least a majority of it. Just like he did in the MSG concerts. I also think he wasn't that good of a dancer anymore due to older age. His moves on MSG concerts were sloppy and too slow, the energy, the ferocity was gone. Stagewise his peak was in the 80s. That's why I think it would have been a disaster. Don't forget that it were 50!!! shows... He couldn't have puled it off, there were several reports of people who claim he was not mentally healthy anymore and I believe them.
I mean when you can't even sing slow songs like stranger in moscou or heal the world live it means you really are not up for touring or you're finished.
This is it would have tarnished his legacy as an artist.
 
MJ had perfect balance of large grand show and intimate just the talent - think Stranger in Moscow or Human Nature, Billie Jean too
 
When it comes to live vocals, my guess is that This Is It would have been closer to the Dangerous Tour than the HIStory Tour, and his voice was in much better shape for TII than what it was during the HWT. And when it comes to his age he was 50, not 150. And the doctor who did his autopsy said that he was healthier than most people his age. There were problems, but nothing that would have caused death.

MSG 2001 was not a good concert, but like what elusive moonwalker said before, he was high during that concert. He was more focused for TII than what he was during MSG.
 
Well imo. Some the choices MJ made in regards to his show, tours etc is what made him such a big entertainer and superstar. He wasnt about being mediocore or just like everybody else. He was a pioneer and not by accident. He set himself the goal to be the BIGGEST and he actually achieved that. Not saying that doing intimate shows will make you mediocre but the same people doing those shows would do Late Night Talkshows. Theres a reason MJ never did those or presented any awards cuz he would be on the same level as all the others. He would be concidered ordinary. His tours were (at the time and still maybe) out of this world with groundbreaking tech. Sure there were others back in the days doing one off stadiums but not worldwide. And I mean worldwide. Not just the West.

I sure would like to see him have done that, and I think most fans can agree but thats because weve never seen him do that. And weve seen his tours a thousand times.

Im glad he did what he did. And that Jam entrance on Dangerous Tour i can watch a million times.
 
Well imo. Some the choices MJ made in regards to his show, tours etc is what made him such a big entertainer and superstar.

It's debatable. He first shook the world with his voice. The totally unique dance moves and videos comes later. You know the press, they would have said he "reinvented" himself had he gotten back to the roots of music and performing. Anyway I sure would have loved seeing him sing "the lady in my life" live just to name one killer track.
Now I understand especially with his post bad tracks that it would be tough to perform them live because of all the multi layered vocal tracks it probably wouldn't be the same. Perhaps he should have performed them with his brothers on stage. They are great backup singers.
 
aqwsz;4242145 said:
For "this is it" he also would have lip sync'd the songs or at least a majority of it. Just like he did in the MSG concerts. I also think he wasn't that good of a dancer anymore due to older age. His moves on MSG concerts were sloppy and too slow, the energy, the ferocity was gone. Stagewise his peak was in the 80s. That's why I think it would have been a disaster. Don't forget that it were 50!!! shows... He couldn't have puled it off, there were several reports of people who claim he was not mentally healthy anymore and I believe them.
I mean when you can't even sing slow songs like stranger in moscou or heal the world live it means you really are not up for touring or you're finished.
This is it would have tarnished his legacy as an artist.
He was singing live in rehearsal so no reason to believe he wouldn’t have sung live for the actual shows. Can’t sing slow songs live anymore? Did you even watch This is It. His vocals were great. I get the impression you don’t know an awful lot about singing and vocals. The two songs you’ve mentioned aren’t the easiest of songs to sing. A slow song doesn’t equal easy.

Agree 50 shows would have been too many. I don’t think he’d have completed them all and he obviously wasn’t in a good place. But you’re unfairly questioning his ability to sing and perform at all at that time.
 
AG5050;4242246 said:
He was singing live in rehearsal so no reason to believe he wouldn’t have sung live for the actual shows. Can’t sing slow songs live anymore? Did you even watch This is It. His vocals were great. I get the impression you don’t know an awful lot about singing and vocals. The two songs you’ve mentioned aren’t the easiest of songs to sing. A slow song doesn’t equal easy.

Agree 50 shows would have been too many. I don’t think he’d have completed them all and he obviously wasn’t in a good place. But you’re unfairly questioning his ability to sing and perform at all at that time.

Offcourse he was singing life in rehearsals, he was hardly dancing there. A real show is way more intense.
I don't know nothing about singing that's true but I meant that in slow songs he isn't required to dance so he could have sung them life. He hasn't done anything else since he was 6, an artist of MJ's profile should sing live, there is no excuse really.
 
The 50 shows for TII were spaced out with about a 2-3 day break inbetween each show, and then there was going to be about a 2-3 month break before he started the second half of those shows. He wasn't going to perform all 50 shows in a row. And he was staying in one place, so he didn't have to worry about dealing with jet lag and different time zones. And it looked like TII was going to have a lot of interludes during the show, so Michael had a chance to take a rest.

This Is It would have been the easiest ''tour'' Michael ever did
 
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The 50 shows for TII were spaced out with about a 2-3 day break inbetween each show, and then there was going to be about a 2-3 month break before he started the second half of those shows. He wasn't going to perform all 50 shows in a row. And he was staying in one place, so he didn't have to worry about dealing with jet lag and different time zones. And it looked like TII was going to have a lot of interludes during the show, so Michael had a chance to take a rest.

This Is It would have been the easiest ''tour'' Michael ever did

Hmm good point.
 
AG5050;4242246 said:
Agree 50 shows would have been too many. I don’t think he’d have completed them all and he obviously wasn’t in a good place.

Even 1 show would have been too many.

Remember that MJ could not even rehearse properly due to his physical pain, so he had to be injected with painkiller substances in order for him to just rehearse.

analogue;4242255 said:
The 50 shows for TII were spaced out with about a 2-3 day break inbetween each show, and then there was going to be about a 2-3 month break before he started the second half of those shows. He wasn't going to perform all 50 shows in a row. And he was staying in one place, so he didn't have to worry about dealing with jet lag and different time zones. And it looked like TII was going to have a lot of interludes during the show, so Michael had a chance to take a rest.

This Is It would have been the easiest ''tour'' Michael ever did

What about his chronic insomnia which got worse at that time?

You seem to ignore that very important factor which would not have allowed him to perform even with that spaced out & convenient schedule.

People who miss just one or two nights of adequate sleep cannot function on a basic intellectual level.

Now imagine what happens when a man lacks many nights of proper sleep & you will reconsider what you wrote about ‘This Is It’ being the easiest “tour" for him.
 
Wasn't Michael suffering with insomnia long before This Is It ever happened? I think it goes as far back as the HIStory Tour or maybe even before that. So if he was suffering with insomnia before This Is It while having to deal with traveling and different time zones, then yes This Is It would have been the easiest ''tour'' he ever did.

And I never said This Is It would have been easy. I just said it would have been his easiest ''tour'' compared to what he had to go through on his previous tours. And things obviously weren't all sunshine and roses during the lead up to TII, but I don't think MJ was so frail that he could barely stand
 
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I don't know why but I can't picture Michael performing an intimate concert, he was just too big for that. I don't mean his fame I mean his on stage presence.
It would have been a fascinating watch admittedly, like anything involving Michael. If the HBO special in 1995 would have been successful, who knows, it could have catapulted him back to the top of the US charts and given him another era of his pre 1993 fame in the US

Just a random little shout out, for anyone who wonders what This Is It or a intimate special could have sounded like, there's a fantastic channel on YouTube MJJVarious. I'm hooked on their vids lately they're amazing and really give you a great live experience.
 
aqwsz;4242247 said:
Offcourse he was singing life in rehearsals, he was hardly dancing there. A real show is way more intense.
I don't know nothing about singing that's true but I meant that in slow songs he isn't required to dance so he could have sung them life. He hasn't done anything else since he was 6, an artist of MJ's profile should sing live, there is no excuse really.
If he was going to be using playback they would rehearse with that as they would need to get everything practiced and right for the real thing. For example TDCAU is playback in rehearsals for TII because he wasn’t going to sing that song live.
Michael also talks a lot in This is It about not pushing his vocals too much in rehearsal so as to save his voice for real show so he obviously wasn’t going to use playback. Again, I have to ask if you even watched it?
 
Playback was never used in any of MJ's non dressed rehearsals. And the playback that was used in TII was was dubbed in by the film makers. Like how they used demo vocals for Earth Song or parts of the Billie Jean demo for Billie Jean.

And it's understable why some vocals had to be dubbed in, because a lot of times in rehearsals Michael would barely sing and just mumble the words. Like in this video for example. And he also does hardly any dancing here, and this was for the BAD Tour
 
AG5050;4242350 said:
If he was going to be using playback they would rehearse with that as they would need to get everything practiced and right for the real thing. For example TDCAU is playback in rehearsals for TII because he wasn’t going to sing that song live.
Michael also talks a lot in This is It about not pushing his vocals too much in rehearsal so as to save his voice for real show so he obviously wasn’t going to use playback. Again, I have to ask if you even watched it?

I watched it, there are also reports where people on the HIStory tour claim he sung live which is totally false. There is nothing to believe he would sing live. Dangerous tour was 50/50 live, HIStory tour 95/5. You can't convince me that he was up for it neither physically nor mentally and in the end it shouldn't even be a debate as he died during rehearsals. Besides that his live vocals on the dangerous tour were simply bad and he should have been at his peak then.

It's simple for me you either create a bombastic spectacle or a real live show. MJ chose the first option and for me it was not a good idea. He had such a pretty versatile unique voice. That should have been the selling point!
 
asking Michael Jackson not to dance is like asking sonic the hedgehog not to run! :eek: he didn't do 'concerts', he put on shows. there's more than one way to entertain, and Michael created a lane for himself that became the standard that others still try to live up to.

even when he would perform ballads such as 'music and me' and 'one day in your life', he moved around constantly; still spinning and throwing his arms around (lol). he couldn't help it. it was in his blood. as far back as the j5 Motown audition, dance has always played a major role. I think he was able to balance it with the singing better for the first half of his career, which is one reason i believe 'thriller' to be his peak :clap:. doing both at the same time is difficult in itself, but sounding good while doing it is almost impossible. something had to give..

I know i'm in the minority, but I have no issue with miming whatsoever. most times I even prefer it :fear:. at least he was miming to his own voice (though it would have been better if he used pre-recorded vocals different to the studio ones that we've all heard). he wouldn't have to mime at all if it wasn't for the touring that he didn't even like doing :fear:. which brings me to my next point..

i don't think doing more television would have lessened his impact or cheapened him as an artist (i'm speaking of performances not presenting or interviews). on the contrary, some of his most memorable and iconic moments were through this medium. it allows viewers all over the world to witness the totality of a performance. unlike a packed stadium where the sound is unclear, and you're only able to see from your vantage point. pouring energy into a one-off performance keeps things fresh, as opposed to travelling with a set routine for years until eventually burning out. there are a variety of ways to present yourself without it being 'casual' - which Michael could never be. to film is to capture and preserve a moment in time forever.

i always felt as though the illusions complimented Michael, and added to the overall expression. he was like the maestro in control of it all. he didn't need them, but they were nice decoration and cutting edge for their time. the magic came from him.

Michael was an innovator. to normalise him and compare him to others takes away from what made him special in the first place. i honestly wouldn't be a fan if he spent his entire career on a stool singing..
 
Well I don't agree but that's ok

I'm just here to reply to the concert things you mention. At the History tour concerts I attended I had binoculars with me and a folding chair so I could stand on it to have a better look lol. I always opted to stand on the side somewhere where it was less crowded so I wouldn't have screaming women in my ears. I was in the area where medics had their tent. Loads of fainted people were brought in there.
 
Wasn't Michael suffering with insomnia long before This Is It ever happened? I think it goes as far back as the HIStory Tour or maybe even before that. So if he was suffering with insomnia before This Is It while having to deal with traveling and different time zones, then yes This Is It would have been the easiest ''tour'' he ever did.

And I never said This Is It would have been easy. I just said it would have been his easiest ''tour'' compared to what he had to go through on his previous tours. And things obviously weren't all sunshine and roses during the lead up to TII, but I don't think MJ was so frail that he could barely stand

Yes, he has some sleeping problems even during the HIStory Tour.

As MJ explained, it was because of the high levels of adrenaline right after each concert that can disrupt sleep, a situation that more or less affects all the artists who travel & perform in front of large audiences.

But he could easily sleep the nights while touring in 1996-97 because he was taking sedatives (like most artists) that enabled him to sleep properly.

Vast difference between that & his sleeping problems in his final months.
 
i'm glad the james brown concert appearance in '83 was mentioned in one of the earlier posts :) I consider that to be one of his most magical moments. i'm not sure if I would class it as a 'performance' as such, but it was all it needed to be and nothing more. Michael doing what he did best. it was literally lightning in a bottle with that tremendous speed! had it not be captured, it would have been lost to the world :O not only can we re-watch it until our hearts are content (and then some more!), but we can slow it down to see what his actual movements were. for example; it's only recently I learned that Michael took his glasses off before dancing and put them back on after he finished. I always thought they magically remained on him all throughout, ha!

to understand Michael as a performer, we must look beyond the limits of the tours.
 
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