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Press reviews of Michael live in concert.

TehHolySpir1t

TehHolySpir1t

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I was wondering what the world press thought of Michael's concert tours when they saw him perform. What did they think of Michael dangling out of his cherrypicker? Did they criticize him for using playback during the HIStory tour, or did they not notice at all? Did the crowd like Beat It or Black or White the most?

Please share reviews from your country, even if they aren't English. I'll update this post every now and then with the links you submit! Both positive and negative.

Note that this is a live show-review thread only, no DVD/TV-shenanigans.

I'll start with three written reviews from Norway. They are all, unfortuneately, written in Norwegian. Hopefully the MJJ Community can provide us with some English ones. However, every language is accepted.

HIStory World Tour:

Prague 07.09.1996 (English, very negative. Tabloid junk)

Oslo 19.08.1997 (Norwegian, some cool pictures)

Oslo 19.08.1997 (Norwegian, covers both Dangerous and HIStory)

Oslo 19.08.1997 (Norwegian, both Dangerous and HIStory, positive)

Helsinki 26.08.1997 (Finnish, not impressed)

Dangerous World Tour:

Oslo 16.07.1992 (Norwegian, covers both Dangerous and HIStory)

Oslo 16.07.1992 (Norwegian, covers Dangerous and HIStory, reviewer in awe)

Bad World Tour:

Kansas City 23.02.1988 (English, The New York Times)

New York City 03.03.1988 (English, The New York Times)

New York City 03.03.1988 (English, The New York Times, article on MJ's dance)

Wembley Stadium 17.07.1988 (English, very positive)

Victory Tour:

Vancouver, British Columbia 16/17/18.11.1984 (English, great photos and great read)

30th Anniversary Concerts:

New York City 07.09.01 (English, The New York Times)
 
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Translation of this norwegian review (Dangerous World Tour).

Please forgive my grammar. I will go over it later to reduce the amount of flaws.

UNPARALELLED MAGIC

Michael Jackson presented a stadiumshow no one has been close to in Norway at Valle Hovin yesterday. The nearly two-hour show proved his title "king of pop" well deserved. By the way, he the king of rock and soul as well!

It was time to stop talking about toys, amusement parks, facelifts and skincolor. We got to see what Michael Jackson does for a living. Despite the excessive sunlight - where the most expensive lighting rig was unnecessary - we got to see a performance that put Bruce Springsteen, Prince and every other artist to guest Valle Hovin to shame. Even if they played after the sun had set.

However, it didn't start all that well. Michael was shot on stage like a projectile, and remained frozen, recieving screams and applause. For a full minute. The band went on to play "Jam", with fire and bombs going off. The calm was clearly over, but it didn't sound all that well.

The continuation, "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'", was not good either. The band sounded mechanical, and the voice was not warmed up yet. After a pause mid-song, they presented us with the good old "Soul Makossa", which gave the song some life. Just some though.

They went on to play a ugly version of the originally beautiful ballad "Human Nature". Things did not look good.

Finally, the nonsense was done. With "Smooth Criminal", the show took off and never looked back. All of the sudden, Michael sang so well that it might as well have been fake. Michael wore his gangster attire from the song's video, and everything was just spot on. We also got to see some dancemoves that contradicted the laws of physics. The party had started.

Michael sang "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" in a wonderful duet with Siedah Garret - the writer of this song. He ever felt her up, and grabbed his crotch afterwards. That wasn't the last time he grabbed it. He sang the line "and if I stop" and stopped. The crowd finished the line, but it appeared the grown man was crying.

During "She's Out Of My Life", a young girl was brought on stage - and her tears looked real, let me tell you. After the girl left the stage, he squatted, and it appeared to cry even more.

He recovered remarkably fast, and it was all set for the Jackson 5 medley, with "I Want You Back", "The Love You Save" and another timeless ballad, "I'll Be There". Then he stopped and verily, he cried againg.
- Jackie, Jermaine, Marlon, Tito and Randy - and Diana Ross - I love you, said Michael. From the "VIP-section", Diana Ross waved back.

To be continued...
 
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Great idea and a great thread! Thank you for these reviews, im sorry but i have nothing to share:( I will try to do som research and see what i find;D
 
Yeah, thanks. Very interesting to read from the perspective of those years.
 
newstarter11 said:
was the review of july 16? if it is- WOW. THE FAMOUS/INFAMOUS WEMBLEY CONCERT. THAT ONE DAY COULD BE RELEASED ON DVD! :eek:
Click to expand...

I believe so. I wouldn't mind a Blu-Ray either...

*Imagining Bad Tour Blu-Ray*

Why is there water in my mouth?


OT, it clearly was an amazing concert. Let's hope it exists on film, and not on tape.
 
That 30th Anniversary review was stupid. They made MJ sound like an arrogant snob as if he didn't deserve any of that praise. Besides wasn't it his friend Uri or somebody who decided all the acts? MJ didn't even rehearse. And no he didn't look like a stalker in the TWYMMF performance with Britney. Any awkwardness was probably due to the fact that again they didn't rehearse. Any person with eyes could see MJ was not well for one reason or another. Dumb review, seriously.

Good idea for a thread. I cringe at the thought of reading HIStory tour reviews though. IMO MJ deserves all the critic for lip-synching. He wasn't sick for all HIStory concerts so I think fans deserved some more singing than just the Jackson 5 Medley and some ad-libs. Did MJ ever give a plausible reason for ALL his lip-synching on that tour?

Cool to hear about the legendary Wembley concert.
 
TehHolySpir1t said:
I believe so. I wouldn't mind a Blu-Ray either...

*Imagining Bad Tour Blu-Ray*

Why is there water in my mouth?


OT, it clearly was an amazing concert. Let's hope it exists on film, and not on tape.
Click to expand...

They should show it in movie theaters all around the world first. Then to dvd and blu-ray.
 
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