CLEVELAND, Ohio - Janet Jackson hasn’t graced a Cleveland stage since her “State Of the World Tour” in 2017. Clearly her area fans have been waiting as they filled Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Tuesday for her “Together Again” tour, which finds the 58-year-old singer-songwriter and showbiz lifer seemingly settling into legacy mode.
Since then, Jackson has grown into a pop star, a sex symbol, a pop culture icon and a Rock & Roll Hall of Famer. Jackson is also one of the pioneers of the post-MTV era, arena-sized, multi-act, pop-star concert. It’s a combo platter of live action video, live performance and a multimedia extravaganza with many dancers doubling as musicians. It’s all delivered with an attitude of welcoming inclusivity that has become the standard format for big-tent solo artist pop concerts.
She then headed back through her catalog of with some of her midtempo, head-nodders including “Got ‘til It’s Gone,” and “That’s the Way Love Goes.” The first act ended with Rhythm Nation’s “Love Will Never Do ,” which served as a hint for Act II. During “Control,” Jackson and her dancers made Fosse-esque chair-centric dance routine moves, and they broke out the aluminum bats from the video for “Son of a Gun ” as Carly Simon’s ghostly recorded voice taunted a former lover.
Act III brought the tempo and the anaerobic dancing back up and more hits. The bouncy chorus of “Escapade” was a sing-a-long, during “Miss You Much” folks in the audience and Jackson recreated the staccato moves from the video and the guitar player got a moment in the spotlight during the club jam “So Excited.”