Sunday June 30th 2019
If you’re getting to know me a little bit, you probably know that I love being in Montreux, a soothing place where it is good to recharge your batteries. More generally, purists and enthusiasts know that Swiss town as a sacred place during its international jazz festival. Every year, I pay close attention to the announcement of its program, and that is how I let myself be tempted to cross the border again. It is true that I particularly love Switzerland for its concerts and chocolate, for want of ingots and other tax havens, but that is not the point!
No, let’s not go astray because it was indeed the name Jackson that appealed to me to the point of buying a ticket. The Jacksons’ and the 3T’s concerts I attended in 2018 were great experiences, and here was the opportunity to extend the party. However, this time it was not Michael’s brothers or nephews, but his younger sister Janet who was going to perform in Montreux for the first time.
I had never seen her on stage before so it was time to fill this gap, especially since this was one of her rare European dates this year. Indeed Miss Janet has chosen to reside in Las Vegas this summer, and apart from the Glastonbury Festival the day before, there would be no other opportunity to see her on the old continent. Another reason for me to go to the Stravinsky Auditorium and its impeccable acoustics with my #StudyPeace cap by Marlon Jackson screwed on my head that is now part of the folklore, even if in hot weather, it can be useful! Thank you, Marlon if you’re reading this!
But back to Janet and her concert! Quite a lot of fans were already queueing when I arrived, but no panic – I had a ticket for the pit and I am no longer obsessed by standing in the front row. I think to myself that I am now in my forties and that having a broader view of the stage is not unpleasant. I’ve been in the front rows so many times, trying to be as close as possible to the artist. It still makes me smile, and I am a bit nostalgic for a time that was not so long ago.
However, I didn’t have too much time to think, since it was time for the doors to open! And also time to climb the many steps of the Stravinsky Auditorium leading to the concert hall on the top floor. That would be enough to keep you physically fit, and thank God this is not a Michael Jackson concert like in the good old days. I don’t dare imagine fans running through the hustle and bustle as they would have been climbing those steps! Still, the context is not that of the Gerland Stadium and I am no longer eighteen years old. This is an audience that has matured and a Janet concert can now be experienced and lend itself to a more conventional setting like Montreux and its festival.
Finally, I entered the venue (no, I was not out of breath, well, almost…) and I saw that I could join the front row on the left side of the stage. I hadn’t really looked for it but the opportunity came up as the first sign to tell me that this evening was in a totally vintage spirit, like a wink to the past. That was when I discovered the presence of Marc, a fan from London. Chance does things well! He was standing right next to me after we had a drink together earlier. Marc is a music and concert enthusiast, used to the festival and more experienced than me. For example, Marc saw the Jacksons in concert in London while I was in my mom’s womb. So I enjoyed listening to his anecdotes and chatting with him while we were waiting for Janet. We got to know each other through Facebook and Montreux is now the place where we regularly meet.
We could have chatted longer but the clock had already indicated 8pm, and the show was about to start. Taking advantage of our position on the left side of the stage, we witnessed the arrival of Quincy Jones backstage. Indeed, the producer of “Thriller” is in Montreux like a fish in water and this is not new. He launched the evening with a 2-minute speech to welcome his little sister, whom he has known since she was 12 years old. He concluded his introduction by finally calling Janet to the stage, but he was asked to go backstage. Miss Janet made her entrance just as she had planned to, so Q changed his mind and headed to his seat to enjoy the whole show.
Finally, a flurry of activity started with the arrival of the musicians and dancers on stage, in the half-light and in a cloud of smoke. I finally distinguished her silhouette and long mane at the top of the stairs situated in the middle of the stage. That was why I was there, but I must admit that seeing Janet for the first time in my life did not leave me unmoved. I even tried to find the reason why I hadn’t go attended one of her concerts earlier since it wasn’t for lack of listening to her albums in the 90s. I have never claimed to be a fan, but her songs have sometimes accompanied me.
I didn’t know how right I was until the first notes of “That’s The Way Love Goes”, followed by “Got ‘Til It’s Gone” and “I Get Lonely” took me back to that period. I had had similar sensations during the 3T concert, but now they were intensified by the effect of being in front of the stage and crossing Miss Janet’s gaze. I was rediscovering the joys of the front rows, with their special atmosphere.
This trip back in time was doing me good and could have been enough to justify coming to the Stravinsky Auditorium. However, I felt like analyzing the show in a more general way after that first quarter of an hour of madness back to the 90s. Janet did the same by taking the time to thank Quincy Jones for his opening speech while looking in his direction.
This would be one of the few moments of relative calm since the hits were coming one after another, putting her excellent group to work while the dancers were not outdone. In this musical frenzy, Janet sometimes sit back and took it easy on herself to get off to a good start in some choreographies. She is still the last child who was born in the Jackson family, so that people might forget she is already 53. Yet she is an iconic artist whose career spans more than 36 years and who has shown the way to Beyoncé or Rihanna. And they have not really eclipsed her, as her presence in Montreux showed.
About her repertoire, I mentioned the 90s above, but that was a rather personal feeling. Some tracks from the 80s like “Nasty”, “Control”, “Miss You Much” and “Escapade” were part of the party. Let me specify that her first two albums, elaborated in a kind of family cocoon under the aegis of Papa Joe, seemed to be deliberately absent from the program. It is true that Janet found her independence in the entourage of… Prince! Destination: Minneapolis with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis from 1986 and the “Control” album. With this tandem and this so well entitled record, Janet totally emancipated herself and found her own style. For a little (HI)Story, Michael Jackson would be the one poaching Janet’s producers in 1995, and not the other way around. This turning point in her career and personal life is well shown in the set-list that might seem familiar to the general public, due to the presence of her many hits. For instance, the track “Black Cat” that put the guitarist in the spotlight. It is true that many have had the opportunity to play this track in the video game “Guitar Hero”! Quite a symbol!
I won’t forget to add “Throb” in this review because the will to assume the feminine pleasure by illustrating it with a song, is part of Janet’s history and her feminist fights that we could qualify as avant-gardist nowadays. During this performance, Miss Janet lied on her back surrounded by a few dancers, right under my nose. I tried to take a few pictures, but they turned out blurry – I must have been shaking…
Maybe it was the emotion of seeing this Pop music icon for the first time? Maybe, beyond that, it was because of her story as a woman who has always been involved and has managed to make a name for herself as a way to fight against some sort of unhappiness that has consumed her since she was a child. She has always kept smiling in front of her fans and she’s still in the arena, even though nothing forces her to be. What does she still have to prove? Not much, unless to herself, as if to show she shouldn’t be put aside too early, just like her choreographies, punching time that’s passing by in the face like uppercuts trying to push it on the ropes.
It was a show in communion with the audience, and I could not count Janet’s numerous loving looks and gestures to her fans. I enjoyed every moment of her presence and magnetism on stage since the star knows how to enchant her audience while practising her art.
Vocally supported by her two backup singers, she knows how to alternate between live vocals and recorded tracks that don’t sound exactly like on the album, but offers an honest compromise. Let’s face it – it is not to listen to performances like Céline Dion’s or Mariah Carey’s that we like Janet’s musical world.
Her performance of “Rhythm Nation” confirmed this. We rejoiced watching its mythical choreography and we appreciated the reference to the finale of her brothers’ numerous shows with “Shake Your Body”. The group then in unison in the front of the stage demonstrated its qualities in a moment of the show that was not totally perfect. I would have liked to hear “Scream”, her duet with Michael, like in her previous shows, but it remained a very personal wish.
Time flied by, and Janet said goodbye after only a 1-hour-and-15-minutes show. It was short but intense. You left us saying that this is all about love. I’m not going to contradict you. Is it only goodbye for now? I don’t know but I want you to know, Miss Janet, that I would like to see you again…
