Michael Jackson: Live in Bucharest: The Dangerous Tour (2005)
Michael Jackson: Live in Bucharest: The Dangerous Tour (2005)
Michael Jackson: Live in Bucharest: The Dangerous Tour (2005) Reviews
Yesterday. I enter Circuit City at Union Square in NYC with my wife, who is from Japan, and this DVD is on three modestly sized plasma TVs a the top of the escalator–which is crowded with mesmorized viewers.
We could not help it. The show was so awesome that we found ourselves standing there, entranced.
My wife put it correctly when she said to me in Japanese, “Whatever he does in life, people will always be facinated with his performances,” meaning no matter what freakish things he does to or with his body, it just plain wont effect the fact that he truly is the King of Pop (though I must then appoint Prince as the Emperor of Pop–sorry Michael).
That really summed it up; we were watching one of the all time great masters of performance, and indeed were lucky to be alive when his career was in full swing.
Michael Jackson is one of the all time greats–like Harry Houdini, Fred Astaire, Jimmy Hendrix, or Miles Davis. He’s a master of the stage, and–though I protest with myself–has a fantastic musical ability that can’t help but mesmorize.
On this DVD, there is of course a lot of lip synching. This isn’t so much a music concert as a stage show. And as a stage show, it’s one of the greatest of all time. Just seeing Jackson dance to his own music is worth your money.
*****There was one musical break that was facinating, though it wasn’t performed by Jackson. At one point in the performance, he shares the stage with a solo guitarist–apparrently just for effect–but the guitarist completely takes over the stage. Jackson points him out to a stage hand, who tries to stop the solo, and the guitarist just keeps going with a fantastic, mad, crazy solo.
It’s pretty rare to see a solo like that unless you’re in the biz. I immediately thought of Mike Stern–who this was not–totally dominating the show. Jackson should have let him go a bit longer, but instead started the next bit and had the guitarist’s plug pulled.
Bottom Line: I suppose that says a lot about Jackson’s way of performing–he’s a perfectionist; it’s all planned out, and it follows the plan exactly. Other performers would have played counterpoint to that solo (as the guitarist was starting to do when Jackson ‘interrupted), shared the limelight, and acknowledged that this is what musical performance is really all about–that there’s really no such thing as a solo artist, unless of course you’re Michael Jackson.
Anyway, I can’t help but give this DVD 5 stars on sheer greatness.
I actually went to a live Dangerous Concert at Roundhay Park, Leeds in England. The concert was amazing, one of the best moments of my life. It would be difficult to capture the brilliance, the atmosphere of Michael in a concert but the Bucharest Dangerous concert DVD comes close.
It is simply a point in history, a time when a musician could bring out pure emotion in a crowd through excellence in music and dance. Buy this, you won’t see a better artist in concert and I guarantee anyone who takes a chance on this will be a fan.
The Dangerous World Tour set is a wise compromise : MJ sings most of his mainstream hits, and the global experience is something between pure rock concert and hollywood musical.
Despite the odd outfits (remember this weird gold top ??), MJ dances and sings his heart out for more than 2 hours during this Goliath-ic gig.
Mj hardcore fans will tell you they prefer the Bad Tour concert, and they are right, since this previous tour was more about music.
The Dangerous Tour is THE MJ show to recommend to any non fan, new fan, or any other newbie.
Most of the tricks and ideas were core elements of the previous tours, but here they seem more polished and sophisticated.
The Dangerous Tour : Michael plays Jackson : the monster “toaster” + long “strike a pose” entrance is, so far, the best opening ever staged in a Jackson concert.
MJ comes in from nowhere, and, at the end, leaves the audience speechless, when riding a solid and sophisticated nasa-style equipment that, don’t get me wrong, definitely flies him to the moon.
Hardline, Magic, State of the Art : Michael Jackson live is all that, and even more…
Main low point : the gradual and disappointing lip-sync routines : Jam and Smooth Criminal are ok though (those kind of songs are so hard to sing AND dance live that MJ has some excuse), but why using this “technique” on ALL the Dangerous Songs (Black Or White, Heal The World, Will You Be There etc..)?
Most end of those songs are sung live anyway, but, knowing the man has one of the most amazing voice in the History of popular music, it’s a shame the staging focuses more on what we see instead of what we hear.
Note : Of course, No Bonus included, like most Michael Jackson DVD releases…
Leave a Reply