Janet Jackson presents a career-spanning trip when the Together Again Tour visits Pine Knob.
Janet Jackson infused lots of charm and contagious energy into a nostalgic Tuesday night at Pine Knob Music Theatre, performing her four-decade library of classics with lively motions and sensual flow.
The 1¾-hour show at Clarkston amphitheater had a joyful feel, with an impressive number of younger fans joining Jackson’s core Gen X audience to sing, dance, and yell.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a 39-song performance that moves as quickly as this one, and even with the handful of costume changes Tuesday, which featured the diva in everything from sparkly jumpsuits to tartan costumes, did little to halt the pace. Jackson, in keeping with her time-tested onstage manner, kept talking to a minimum, adding the odd “whatupdoe” and “I love you so much, Detroit” during her most recent visit to a city that played a significant role in her renowned family’s musical ascension through Motown Records.
The Pine Knob visit was part of Jackson’s extended Together Again Tour, which debuted at Little Caesars Arena more than a year ago and returned to metro Detroit on Tuesday with a new song set.
The set choices was mainly based on Jackson’s earlier material, with only two songs from her most recent album of new material, 2015’s “Unbreakable,” including the glittering show opener “Night.”
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That meant the audience got a generous helping of music from her career-defining records of the 1980s and 1990s: a cooing “When I Think of You,” a feisty “Nasty,” a frisky “Miss You Much,” a spiky “Control,” and, of course, the wistful 1997 hit that gave the tour its name, “Together Again,” which capped the night’s encore.
Jackson’s music in the 2000s, incorporating hip-hop and electropop, may not have reached global chart heights, but she was very invested in it Tuesday, leaning hard into material such as “Feedback,” “So Excited,” and “With U,” the last of which included a risqué sequence with her dancers..
Jackson’s voice retains its weightless, soft-lit quality, but it was augmented Tuesday night by piped-in tracks (which experienced at least two audio errors). Production-wise, the Together Again tour isn’t quite as large as some Janet tours of the past, but the four male dancers and five-piece band supporting her helped maintain it a vibrant event, with the choreography delivered in quick bursts.
Even at that lower bandwidth, the show maintained the shiny, high-energy elements that served as a reminder of how much Jackson, 58, contributed to the appearance and feel of modern pop concerts.
As the final of four acts that comprised Jackson’s main concert, a “Rhythm Nation 1814”-heavy closing sequence made for a fiery climax, punctuated by a performance of 1995’s searing “Scream,” with her late brother Michael appearing as duet partner via video screen.
