Justin Timberlake oozed charm last night at the Sprint Center

Justin Timberlake
Sprint Center, Kansas City
Wednesday, July 30, 2014

For the full slideshow from last night, go here. 

The charm and charisma of Justin Timberlake is inarguable. The 33-year-old artist dominates on just about every creative outlet he finds, whether he’s giving a blockbuster performance for the big screen, goofing off with Jimmy Fallon or delivering a two-plus hour music marathon at a nearly sold-out arena. He dominates not necessarily because he is an amazing actor (he’s not) or comedic genius (eh) or a heart-stopping singer (though his falsetto is positively golden). It’s more because, in addition to those pieces of higher-than-average talent, Timberlake has a very particular combination of good looks and self-awareness.

 
There was plenty evidence of this last night at Timberlake’s first of two solo Kansas City dates at the Sprint Center. The show began with a countdown on the giant honeycomblike white screen on the stage, which then lit up with JT’s silhouette; the man himself was hardly noticeable until the spotlight found him. As the first notes of “Pusher Love Girl” began, Timberlake looked around at the packed arena, smiling and waving. After that first song, JT was at the edge of the stage, looking wholesome with one hand in his pocket and another on his brow, beaming as he took in the 15,000 people there to see him perform. He would take multiple moments throughout the evening to do this, to connect in a seemingly sincere way with his audience with waves and eye contact. And every single time he did it, the screaming of young girls would threaten to burst older eardrums.

That self-awareness, though, did not extend as far as the construction of Timberlake’s 20/20 concert experience. The night was split in two sets with a 10-minute intermission, and the first batch of songs – which included such hits as “Rock Your Body,” “FutureSex/LoveSound,” “TKO” and “Cry Me a River” – felt, at times, like one long track with a few odd samples. There was quite a bit of bombast and production in this set, and while that’s certainly to be expected of any arena show, it would have been nice to add a little variety to the tracking.

The dance choreography was fine, too, but nothing too risky. Timberlake was mirrored, almost always, by a handful of competent back-up dancers, and he pulled out some smooth moves (many borrowed from the school of Michael Jackson), but it was all kind of same-y from one song to the next.

Not that anyone in the crowd really seemed to mind. Ladies – from teenagers to their soccer moms – were in awe of JT’s holy presence, with his dapper suit, glowing white sneakers and immaculately coifed hair. (Except for the few pockets of older, ‘NSync-era fans, who appeared not to really understand – or care for – the R&B-style pop that Timberlake was been touting since going solo.)

The second set, too, more than made up for anything lacking in the first half of the show. The second song, “Drink You Away,” was a sort of blues-rocker sing-along, with JT strumming happily on a guitar as his backup singers and dancers swayed around him. The band disappeared for “Tunnel Vision,” one of the few songs of the night that Timberlake performed without any other onstage distractions (well, aside from the fancy laser light show), and it was back again for “Señorita,” while Timberlake played on a piano that rose up from beneath the stage.

This all led up to what was undoubtedly everyone’s favorite part of the evening, when Timberlake and his crew mounted a hydraulic catwalk, propelling them up and over the entire audience for “Let the Groove Get In.” Everybody got a little JT love this way, and the platform eventually stopped at the back of the arena, where Timberlake got up close and personal with audience members, holding hands and taking selfies. He performed a few songs from back there, including a pretty safe cover of Elvis’ “Heartbreak Hotel,” which his high tenor doesn’t really do justice, and a much better take on Michael Jackson’s “Human Nature.”

Timberlake was back on the catwalk and cruising over the crowd again for “Take Back the Night,” and when he finally resumed his place on the Sprint Center’s main stage, the last few songs in his set seemed to fly by, almost as if they were a medley. The lights went dark after “Suit & Tie,” but there couldn’t have been even a full minute before JT was back for a two-song encore, featuring his smash-hit “SexyBack” and the wall-shaking “Mirrors,” which had just about every audience member present – and most people were still present – clapping in time. Charm and charisma, indeed.

Leftovers: I swear, JT’s back-up singers were sourced from soap operas. Every song got its own set of dramatic facial expressions, which cameras would zoom in on and play on the screen behind. It was the cheesiest thing ever, and from an artist who has obviously taken such meticulous care in trying to steer clear of the queso. 

For more photos, go here. 

Set list:
Pusher Love Girl
Gimme What I Don’t Know (I Want)
Rock Your Body
FutureSex/LoveSound
Like I Love You
My Love
TKO
Summer Love
LoveStoned
Until the End of Time
Holy Grail (Jay Z cover… JT performed only the intro, though)
Cry Me a River
—
Only When I Walk Away
Drink You Away
Tunnel Vision
Señorita
Let the Groove Get In
Heartbreak Hotel (Elvis Presley cover)
Not a Bad Thing
Human Nature (Michael Jackson cover)
What Goes Around… Comes Around
Take Back the Night
Jungle Boogie (Kool & the Gang cover)
Murder
Poison (Bell Biv DeVoe cover)
Suit & Tie
—
SexyBack
Mirrors