Saturday July 2nd 2022,
On Saturday, July 2nd, 2022, I’m heading to Lyon as I sometimes do on weekends. Those who know me also know how much I appreciate this city for many aspects. However, this time I won’t be talking about gastronomy and other “bouchons”, but about a concert. I haven’t been to the « city of lights » for this kind of event for a few years now, so you can imagine how much I appreciate being about to live a musical experience again in this area.
Not that my last concert is so ancient. I went to Strasbourg in May for the Forever 90 show and saw the 3T on stage again. It was a pleasure to see Taj, Taryll and TJ again and to hear Why, I Need You and other hits from the 90s that made the success of Michael Jackson’s nephews. At that time, a few first dates in Paris were announced for TJ Jackson – on June 24th and 26th. My schedule didn’t allow me to make the trip, but when Lyon was finally added among other cities to what was to become the artist’s first solo tour, I saw it as a sign to join the party. Indeed, it is in this city that I saw Michael Jackson for the first time in concert and I can’t help but make the connection.
So here I am at the Hot Club Jazz de Lyon, around 7pm, for the Meet and Greet session. After the interview we did with TJ a few weeks ago for the website, I was kindly invited by his team to participate in this friendly and quality moment with the artist. With these good vibes I entered the jazz club, a place that I did not know until then. Going down the stairs of the superb vaulted cellar, I saw many pictures of musicians who came to play in this room on the stone wall. Sometimes you go to a concert and sometimes this place has a story that deserves your respect and attention to the point of wanting to take a few lines to describe it all to you. Imagining legends like Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, Chet Baker and Miles Davis playing on this stage, transpiring all their heart and soul, legitimizes this trip even more, like an extra soul to this evening. In a small queue, I waited for the meeting with TJ and from the corner of my eye I witnessed his exchanges with fans while also hearing and noticing a gentleman leaning at the bar. A septuagenarian who would make you think of a great uncle who would have so many stories to tell you at a family meal. Just by looking at him, I knew that you could drink in his words like the club’s living encyclopedia. I would get that confirmation when he came to make a short introductory speech to welcome us all before TJ took the stage. I then learnt that the man is Gérard Vidon, the honorary president of the place, and that he managed it for more than 35 years. He told us that the Hot Club de Lyon has been the oldest jazz club in Europe in activity since 1948! All of this commands respect, and I hope that TJ’s fans will forgive me this interlude but it seems necessary to me so that they would perceive more clearly the intimate atmosphere that I will try to describe to you through my lines.
It was now time to focus more on TJ than on Mr. Vidon since it was my turn to spend a few minutes with the artist. It may not be our first meeting, but it’s always a special moment to meet the member of 3T. Naturally, I thanked him for the interview we had recently and I was touched by the fact that he mentioned my implication to pay tribute to his uncle through books and events.
With great kindness he signed a few objects for me. I wanted to show him something unusual with the Victory Tour program page when he was with his brothers and his father Tito playing golf: he was probably not even six years old! With a big smile he told me that this photo session was the worst day of his life not being able to move, in the heat with a heavy outfit to wear. I got my program back, saying that all that was missing was the signature of his brothers and his father, but that I still have plenty of time to do it. I also got his Maxi 45 Insomnia signed that I had just bought at the store, the opportunity to salute all the work done by his team with merchandising. All good things must come to an end: it was time to thank him for his availability and his generosity before joining my place for the concert and applauding him on the stage of the Hot Club de Lyon.
So here I am in the second row, facing the middle of the stage, but in this intimate configuration, any seat in this room would make us feel in harmony with TJ. The instrumental track of the acoustic version of the aptly named “A Night To Remember” is then heard to announce the imminent arrival of TJ. As he walks across the room with dark glasses and right in front of me, I can notice that he is already performing the song even though he has not yet reached the stage and the microphone. It’s only a matter of seconds before he does so and the whole room can already enjoy his voice while cheering him on – the audience is already on board! The intimate setting does not prevent from feeling all the frenzy from the spectators, and in this atmosphere, TJ removes his dark glasses during his first speech which inaugurates numerous ones between songs. He first invites percussionist Amine Ouazzani and guitarist Vincent Fabert to join him while asking the audience to sing in communion with him. There are no rules here, unlike a very tight show, as the artist likes to tell us, and on this stage originally dedicated to jazz, the improvisation and the excitement of live performance will be the order of the day to make this evening so special.
It is true that many anecdotes will be evoked, a bit like when you are sharing a family, meal on a festive evening. Like with 3T, TJ does not limit himself to his solo repertoire and likes to cover songs from the Michael Jackson and Jackson 5 repertoire with “Man In the Mirror”, “I’ll Be There” and “Human Nature” – a sort of tribute to his elders, to share the songs he grew up with and that forged him as an artist. The intimacy experienced during the concert also goes through this but it is only a glimpse. To express it further, I would like to mention the moment when TJ invited a young lady to join him on stage to wish her a happy birthday. It was as if he knew and had something to say to each and every one of us. I had never felt this sensation with an artist before and I admit that it is impressive, especially when I remember this fan clinching to his arms during a “Happy Birthday” that I don’t know if I should call it improvised or prepared because it might be both at the same time. Then I remember that it was my birthday when I saw 3T last May and I didn’t get any hugs. I want to stand up and claim my due but I wisdomly sit back and applaud this beautiful gesture. A little modesty is appropriate and it might be risky to make some people feel jealous in the room! When TJ whispers “Heaven On My Lips” as if he is addressing each of them, you can feel that you shouldn’t stand in the way. More seriously, I would add that these are striking aspects of the complicity between the artist and his public that should not be ignored to analyze the emotions experienced throughout the evening.
It’s true that many die-hard fans since the 90’s are there and they necessarily appreciated to hear songs from 3T’s repertoire. The male gender is not left out to appreciate everything that this period brought to them, and I am a living proof among many others. Especially since for TJ, there is a part of challenge to perform these songs without his brothers and with Michael’s voice as a support. He even talks about it with us, as a new solo experience but one that he shares with pride, feeling all our benevolence to accompany him in this stage of his life as an artist. He stops in the middle of “Why”, after making a small mistake, not being able to share the verses with Taj and Tarryl this time. No matter, he takes the time to talk with us, breaking the rules of what would be a very tight show once again. He starts again with a big smile to the great joy of the audience and at this moment I want to greet the two musicians who accompany TJ. I know that “Why” was recorded at the Hit Factory with a rich horn section and many arrangements. So I pay tribute to their performance of being able to convey the soul and richness of a song with only two instruments. “Why” is just one example of all the songs performed that night, but I loved their way of revisiting many of the songs I grew up with. This atmosphere was also reflected in the acoustic instrumentation and I want to greet these two French musicians who were totally in the service of TJ Jackson.
The anecdotes continued to pour in and I enjoyed learning that “Stuck On You” is Katherine Jackson’s favorite song in 3T repertoire. I loved hearing again (as TJ had told us in our interview) that Michael had to choose between “Why” and “You Are Not Alone” for his album, so much so that he offered the later to TJ and his brothers. This desire to tell the story really brings something special, and when the artist mentioned a trip to London where he discovered that “Anything” was at the top of the charts, I remembered that during my first stay in Britain’s capital city in January 1996 I could see huge posters of the band in the streets. Still, TJ has not yet finished surprising the audience, and after performing “I Need You”, here he is greeting two young ladies (no older than 10!) named Lou-Ann and Emma. This is their first concert and the 3T member knows how important this moment can be in a lifetime. That’s why he takes the time to sign lyrics sheets for each of them and shows that it’s actually a night to remember. The singer has what it takes to delight us with his vocal and scenic talents but his generosity is even bigger.
TJ left the stage after performing the track “Last Night” but quickly returned for a more than logical encore. He then addressed a fan at the back of the room, asking her what song she wanted to hear. I had the feeling that he knew her, as if he had seen her many times before and that it was legitimate to ask her. He granted her wish with “I Don’t Deserve This” and then ended the show with “Insomnia”. He crossed the room with a standing ovation to go back to his dressing room. I have been to a few concerts in an intimate atmosphere before but I don’t remember experiencing it like that evening, in a rare communion between the stage and the audience. Everyone is on cloud nine, but I still have the presence of mind to greet and congratulate guitarist Vincent Fabert. These will be my last words about that night, and I have the feeling that those who experienced TJ Jackson’s first solo tour have let themselves be carried by its acoustic and intimate atmosphere. It could almost be described as a “family” thing because this is really the artist’s generous will. Many should be inspired by it.
