Absolutely intoxicating: Justin Timberlake mind-blowing Saturday night at TD Garden x
Craig S. Semon |Worcester Telegram & Gazette
Published 11:40 a.m. ET | June 30, 2024
BOSTON — Saturday night at the TD Garden, Justin Timberlake was absolutely intoxicating. When I say intoxicating, I mean Timberlake was electrifying, exhilarating, exciting and, even at times, mind-blowing. And, no, when I say intoxicating I’m not talking about Timberlake’s recent DUI arrest that the multi-Grammy-winning, chart-topping, multi-platinum pop star joked about midway during the first of two, back-to-back sold-out shows Saturday night in Boston.The second championship win in less than two weeks in the home court of the Boston Celtics, Timberlake’s triumphant taking over of the TD Garden started with a video of the pop star watching an old TV set (complete with rabbit ears antennas, no less) with a public service announcement/disclaimer stating, “What you are about to experience may or may not be real.”
I expected a rebroadcast of Thursday’s Presidential debate to follow. But, thankfully, the packed audience of mostly women were treated to Justin Timberlake instead.
For his first tour in five years, “The Forgot Tomorrow World Tour” made the crowd forget about their troubles and the troubles of the world for a while and left them going home happy.
The two-hour, 28-song concert also reminded the crowd (that is, if any needed any reminding) that Timberlake is the rightful heir to Michael Jackson’s “King of Pop” throne.
Despite being 43 (which is Joe-Biden-old when it comes to boy band years) Timberlake still has stronger pipes and more style than Harry Styles, arguably his biggest competition of late.
As the former front man of pre-eminent boy band outfit ‘N Sync, Timberlake honed his craft as the consummate entertainer and pop music’s quintessential song and dance man. With 22 years now as a successful solo artist, the ex-Mouseketeer, SNL’s Five-Timers Club member and Super Bowl halftime show headliner commands the stage with confidence and ease. And, man does he know how to put on one hell of a show.Accompanied by his piping-hot backing band the Tennessee Kids, Timberlake’s newer songs often sounded like showstoppers and instant classics due to his conviction and commitment to the material and his band’s singular might — that is, despite the material's unfamiliarity to, probably, the majority of the audience.
Greeted with deafening screams and thunderous applause, Timberlake embarked on the stage with plenty of killer charisma and high-wattage star power. Opening with the nocturnal nightclubbing single “No Angels,” the first of 11 cuts from his latest “Everything I Thought It Was,” the pretty boy pop star with the blessed pipes to match had ample vocals support from a trio of fine backup singers.
With his Michael (and, sometimes, Janet) Jackson-inspired dance moves, Timberlake bounced from one end of the stage to the other without missing a beat, while his mini-dance troupe (of three women and two men) had enough ‘N Sync dance moves to create their own rhythm nation.Wearing a dapper double-breasted, grey suit with soon-to-come-off designer sunglasses, a finely tailored white T-shirt, an enormous silver necklace, a gold watch chain dangling from his pants’ pocket and comfortable white sneakers on his always moving happy feet, the lively and limber Timberlake looked both dressy and casual at the same time. And, he showed his fancy footwork with aplomb. This guy only stopped moving when he was strapped to an acoustic guitar.Going into the evening’s second number, “LoveStoned,” Timberlake playfully snapped, “We’re just getting warmed up, baby.” And he wasn’t kidding. Mustering his inner-James Brown with the soulful horns to match, this was one of many early evening standouts. And, the crowd-pleasers continued with soulfully crooned “My Love” and “Like I Love You,” his debut solo single from 2002’s “Justified.”
With his arms folded behind his back, Timberlake soaked up the adoration from the crowd for several minutes before bowing to the audience in a Wayne World’s “We’re not worthy” gesture.
Timberlake also gave a shout out to the NBA Champions Boston Celtics and continued the special night by introducing his saxophonist Leon Silva and combination trombonist, flutist and tuba player Kevin Williams from “Brockton” and “Boston,” respectively. How cool is that?
The new tune “Technicolor” lived up to its title. It was vibrant and alive. It was also sexy and romantic with Timberlake unleashing his silky, smooth voice while doing the lambada with one of his dancers.
After the arena-sized, gospel-tinged, guitar-driven pop rocker “Sanctified,” Timberlake set his sights on his inexhaustible carnal cravings with the one-two knockout punch of “Infinity Sex” (off his latest) and the title track off his 2006’s release “FutureSex/LoveSound,” the latter of which featured the pop star twirling a microphone stand that doubled as a phallic light source.
One of the evening’s undisputed highlights is arguably Timberlake’s best song to date. The artist’s first Top 10 single as a soloist, “Cry Me a River” boasted Timberlake’s most impassioned falsetto of the evening and it’s delivery was pure, intense drama.
During the booty-shaking single “Let the Groove Get It,” Timberlake made a declaration that Boston has replaced Chicago for having the best crowd, so far, on the tour. In fact, Timberlake, the seasoned live performer that he is, looked pleasantly overwhelmed by the sheer volume and the intensity of the crowd all night. Don’t know, personally, about the Windy City audience, but Timberlake wasn’t merely blowing hot air to win over the Bean Town audience when he said they were the best.
Sandwiched between “Señorita” and “(Expletive) Up the Disco,” the seasonal party anthem “Summer Love” was the perfect number to be turned into a massive singalong with the audience and another perfect opportunity for Timberlake to flirt with more fans.
During “Play,” Timberlake traveled from the main stage to a mini one way in the back. With his dancers, singers and bandmembers in tow, Timberlake often posed for selfies and videos for fans on both sides of the aisle. In fact, I’ve never seen any celebrity who posed for more selfies and shaky photo ops in my life.
For the next several songs, Timberlake and his entourage performed on a small circular stage in the back of the arena that looked like it was so tiny it had trouble accommodating everyone performing comfortably.
On his ode to having good looks and being able to afford the latest fashions, the ex-Mouseketeer sets out to show us a few things about neo-soul and R&B romance on “Suit & Tie.” His soulful, silver-tongued croon delivers an insanely catchy chorus about looking good and how he's going to be stripping down to his birthday suit by evening's end (which didn’t happen).
“Say Something,” Timberlake’s 2018 unsuccessful stab at becoming the next country crossover sensation, sounded like something more than the audience collectively remembered. Strumming an acoustic guitar, Timberlake belted out the song for all its worth and it sounded like a winner.
After saying his favorite part of the show is looking at all the beautiful faces in the audience, Timberlake addressed the elephant in the room (aka his recent DUI arrest) with humor.
“So, is there anyone here tonight that is driving?” Timberlake said, before changing gears and continuing with, “No, I’m just kidding.”
Whether it was inappropriate or not to make light of the charge, who am I to judge. Either way, the critic-proof, scandal-proof, tabloid-proof and ravages of times-proof pop star got the laugh he was looking for and all is forgiven as far as the fans are concerned.
Before people could dwell on it too long, Timberlake poured his heart out about how him and his fans have, literally, grown up together.
“It has almost been three decades, you all,” Timberlake pontificated. “From the bottom of my heart, you have been such a big and beautiful and special part of my life and I only hope that I have been even half the same for you. For all of you in this room tonight, I have so much gratitude for all of you. I love you all so much. And, here’s to 30 more years. Let’s keep it going.”
Timberlake finished up the small stage portion of the show with two more winners, “Selfish” and “What Goes Around…Comes Around,” before trekking back to the mainstage with the totally infectious and inspired version of “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” Timberlake’s Academy Award-nominated entry from the “Trolls” movie soundtrack.
While the evening was full of crowd-pleasing highlights and undisputed showstoppers, the two most visually stunning numbers were saved for last.
On shuffling electronica manga opus “SexyBack,” Timberlake was having a virtual duet with himself, in the form of an A.I, “Lawnmower Man”-like deity courtesy of the floating LED monolith. But that was nothing compared to the jaw-dropping spectacle of the one-song encore, “Mirrors,” that followed.
During “Mirrors,” a harnessed Timberlake triumphantly appeared to be riding the monolith high above the rafters like it was one of the gigantic sandworms depicted in “Dune.” Waving and pointing at the crowd and making eye contact with fans while singing, “I can see you’re lookin’ back at me/Keep your eyes on me,” Timberlake made the performance personal and unforgettable.
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