mjjscholar
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This is my personal review of the "Michael Jackson The Immortal World Tour By Cirque Du Soleil" which I attended last night. Read on for a possible show treat for any MJ fan out there which I may let go of...
I was lucky enough to purchase a ticket for the "Immortal World Tour" last year in October for $175. It sold out as soon as you could say "Mj Where?" I held on to the tickets for a year until last night! When the show was meant to go on as planned in Toronto at the Air Canada Centre. There were droves of Mj fans at the event, and of course finding a place to park was hectic. Nonetheless as soon as you walked into the hallways you could hear "Dirty Diana" bumping loud! The rush of a real Mj concert was oozing through the walls. People were jogging, and rushing to get to their seats. No one was late this was just the pre music playing before the show. But of course everyone was excited enough to run in. My guests and I were lucky enough to by a few souvenir programs just before heading in. There was very limited stock, and we managed to purchase an extra one [hint, hint]. We found our seats and laid these fantastic over sized tour programs on our laps and got ready for the show. They started with a roaring crowd and out of nowhere came five young boys. One of them an overweight kid who was wearing an undersized beat it jacket! Lol. They walked out to the extended stage [there were three stages, a main stage, extended, and second floor stage]. One of them laid out a huge 80's style juke box and started tuning into the radio. Every station had snippets of Mj songs. When all of a sudden they dimmed the lights and you could hear Michael Jackson talking about himself with a very sad tone in his voice. I thought it was excellent that they incorporated very rare and possibly never released audio of his voice. "Childhood" began just after he spoke about his life, and the stage lit up with such amazing theatrics one can't fully put into words. They had a replica of his "Neverland Valley Ranch" home gate. & these five boys were amazed walking toward the main stage where it was, just to take a closer look as part of the show wondering what was inside. A massive "Mj" logo air balloon just like his "Childhood" video came flying out among the crowd with a young "Jackson 5" era Michael sitting inside the basket over looking the crowd with his little afro.
The boys tried to get the attention of the Neverland insiders by dancing Jackson 5 hits to a stunning scenary, and were finally let in. Where you could see Mj's special "Giving Tree" lit up with all of it's might to the sounds and dance of "Wanna Be Startin Somethin." That's where the journey began and one has to wonder what Michael's experience in heaven is like to closely imagine the sight and sounds of this show. It was marvelous I won't spoil the show for you all but there were tears in my eyes throughout most of it. They did a spectacular job remixing all of his songs. I am one to normally hate remixes as I'm a sound engineer and work with music all of the time. Remixing is very taboo for me... Doing a cover song is one thing, though I'm one to believe that originals songs should be left as is. But they actually did a wonderful job which is why the "Immortal" album release next month should be really good if it is exactly the same music they played at the show. Michael Jackson's voice was the lead vocal for the whole show, and NO there wasn't a sole Mj impersonator for the whole show. Everyone drew from Michael's lifelong dances adding their own touches through the whole show. From my understanding the musical director of the show was given complete access to original studio master recording sessions done throughout Michael's career. All I can say is they did a fantastic job with his vocals. Yes it sounds very close to his original songs, but also new, fresh, and vibrant. They use different rhythms at times, and substitute original instruments for ones that may be out of the ordinary like super fast violins, or massive band changes. It really looked a bit like what I believe the "This Is It" tour could have been. Of course in a different sense but still a massive show just like it. Another thing that struck me musically was the fact that I saw 4 of Michael's real band musicians playing on the massive second stage which was high up in the air above the theatrical stage. Those musicians include Greg Phillinganges who was Mj's keyboardist since the 80's, Jonathon "Sugarfoot" Moffett who was Mj's drummer since the Jackson 5 era, Jon Myron Clark who played rhythm guitar for Mj since his Bad Tour, & Don Boyette Mj's bass player. The sound was incredible! It sounded as if you were at a real Mj show... Michael was there in spirit of course. I couldn't help but watch and think in my mind "Where's Mj? Come out, please come out!" But sadly he is no longer with us in this physical realm. But I knew in my heart as I said before that he was there in spirit and I know he had to have been very proud of what was being done in his honor. The band did a wonderful job playing all of his hits, and when I say hits I mean everything. They played at least 50 of his songs for about 3 hours or more. Some in full, and some in snippets of course. It was very nice being in the presence of some of his real band players who were to do the "This Is It" tour with him. & have done many with him before... They saw the man day in day out, and let loose. I loved the fact that I was in the same room as his drummer "Sugarfoot." Who knew Mj since he was a kid, he's a beast on the drums. There were actually three drummers with three separate drum sets on the same second stage playing at the same time. But he obviously stood out! But just being in the same room and watching his band mates who shared such an intimate setting & laughs with Michael on stage before was an honor. You could feel his energy through them. Sugarfoot was constantly putting one drum stick in the air and looking up as if he was thinking about he main man when songs were done. what a friend and gentlemen...
There were touching moments like a point where they dropped a massive curtain and projected Michael as a kid singing "I'll Be There" in full acapella. It was so touching there wasn't a dry eye in the house. Thriller was done with class, it's so amazing to see a huge group of people do that legendary dance on stage with so many other theatrical things going on. The lighting was superb you felt like you were in a dream. This is the closest thing to a circus you will ever get to see. Forget a fair, or a normal circus you have seen in story books, or cartoon movies. This is the real deal, with sights you will remember until you leave this earth. I loved it! People were shouting out "WE LOVE YOU MICHAEL!!!" & "MICHAEL!!!!!!!!" throughout the show so loud as if he were there. It was very touching to know there are so many people who love him and aren't afraid to show it. The lady next to me was sobbing through the whole show. A couple in front of me were dancing especially when "Can You Feel It" played out. There was a point where a giant glove appeared out of nowhere, and got up... Started dancing doing the moonwalk and such!!!! While a huge set of Mj shoes with his classic white socks started dancing on the other stage. & I mean these were HUGE well over the size of a few people. Marvelous, just marvelous!!! The also made use of the costume he was to wear for "Billie Jean" that used LED technology to light up, with what was to be his newest glove THE MAGICALLY LIT MJ GLOVE! It looked awesome I just kept thinking in my head how we would have made use of it. They made good use of it dancing and such, but one always wonders what new things the man would have done with these costumes. That no one else would have thought of with just dance, normal moves that trick the eye he could have created. The stripe on the pants was also lit up and looked amazing.
The point where I almost broke down [& I'm a grown man mind you, who doesn't like to show his feelings at times ]. Was when they started doing some of his earlier work with the Jackson 5, sporting a background of the old Jackson cartoon show on all of the screens. Seeing the cartoon character of Berry Gordy struck me deep inside reminding me of his earlier days as a boy. & as soon as they showed that funny cartoon pink snake I almost went bananas in tears! For you die hard Mj fans you'll know who I'm talking about. I used to watch that cartoon in the mornings as a young boy while my parents would get ready to go to work. They did a wonderful set to his song "Gone Too Soon" with amazing pounding hearts that lit up the stage all over... There was actually an appearance of Mj in the show so touching he looked as if he were there. I don't want to spoil it for you all it's a must see in person. But it was done with so much thought, and love for him. That's another point where I almost broke down again... He looked like the vision of an angel. But funny enough the part that got to me too was when you saw this little character roaming onto the extended stage out of nowhere. & who was that? BUBBLES!!!! He became part of the Neverland journey and I don't know why but knowing that he was so special to Mj and probably one of his dearest friends even though he was an animal, it just got to me. Oh bubbles just had to make an appearance and he did become part of the whole show. I won't even mention what he ended up doing when he took command of the stage. It was amazing you just have to see it. The "Heal The World" set was spectacular just like you would have seen Mj do in person but with so many more advancements in technology, dance, props, etc. The show even included fireworks!
All in all I thought it was a great show made with LOVE, and RESPECT. I walked away knowing the entire message throughout the whole show was about LOVE, GIVING, TOGETHERNESS, GLOBAL UNITY, UNIVERSAL UNITY, HOPE, & PEACE. They played a few snippets of his voice I have never heard before, it was so touching. & he did read his poem "Planet Earth" which I have heard before. But when he spoke, during the poem, and with the entire collection of songs being bombarded on you with sights and sounds. You just knew who he was and what he stood for. That's one word... "LOVE."
Now for all of you fans who didn't get to see the show please try to. Or check it out in Vegas when it finally sets up there in 2013 I believe if it does end up doing so. Don't fret as I mentioned before we happened purchased 1, that's right only 1 spare souvenir program which is about 40 pages thick printed on a hard matte cover, with matte style paper pages inside. It's enormous measuring 12" inches in width and 14" inches in height. I could have purchased a bit more of the limited stock they had [which was a MUCH lessor amount compared to the number of people at the venue]. But I felt that if I did so and sold them off I just wouldn't feel right inside. Any real Mj fan would know why... So many people have tried cashing in on his success for years. So after walking into the show and looking at mine during intermission I thought "Ok well the only way I'll grab an extra one is to sell it to a fan out there who wasn't able to make the show due to distance, or other circumstances." Heck it's a traveling circus and not just anyone is going to be able to see it in their lifetime. But than selling it was still an issue to me... So I decided that it may just be fair if I did sell it, that I'd give a portion of the proceeds to charity in honor of Michael. I can't just give it away since it cost a lot of money, on top of our tickets to the show which were expensive. I may or may not put it up for sale this week... It's possible that we might keep it as a backup spare for the one I bought for myself. But if I do decide to sell it I will auction it off on eBay this week possibly starting today, or I may list it starting next Sunday. But it would more than likely be today I just have to think quickly about keeping it or not. Either way be on the lookout for it as of today October 23rd until the next couple of weeks. I may also put one of our tickets in the same auction with the souvenir program. The ticket is mint without any torn stubs. Search for "Michael Jackson The Immortal Cirque Du Soleil Souvenir Program" in the general eBay search box. I think it would only be fair to let people bid on it so it gives everyone a chance to win it, as well as sharing some of the proceeds with charity.
UPDATE:
I've got to say that I've decided to sell the extra souvenir program I got at the show. I'll be putting it up for auction on eBay this Wednesday the 9th of November. Search for "Michael Jackson The Immortal Cirque Du Soleil Souvenir Program" in the general eBay search box [copy that text]. I'll possibly be uploading a video of all the pages in the huge book showing all of the pages in the listed auction. I'll try my best to be back and post the item number in this very post when I list it on Sunday.
I hope you all liked my review, and please do see the show.
It's incredible how all of his songs flow so well in a theatrical environment.
It's as if he knew all of this would still be part of his magical journey one day when God was to call on his name...
- MJJSCHOLAR
Here's the pumpkin I made today for all of you!
I was lucky enough to purchase a ticket for the "Immortal World Tour" last year in October for $175. It sold out as soon as you could say "Mj Where?" I held on to the tickets for a year until last night! When the show was meant to go on as planned in Toronto at the Air Canada Centre. There were droves of Mj fans at the event, and of course finding a place to park was hectic. Nonetheless as soon as you walked into the hallways you could hear "Dirty Diana" bumping loud! The rush of a real Mj concert was oozing through the walls. People were jogging, and rushing to get to their seats. No one was late this was just the pre music playing before the show. But of course everyone was excited enough to run in. My guests and I were lucky enough to by a few souvenir programs just before heading in. There was very limited stock, and we managed to purchase an extra one [hint, hint]. We found our seats and laid these fantastic over sized tour programs on our laps and got ready for the show. They started with a roaring crowd and out of nowhere came five young boys. One of them an overweight kid who was wearing an undersized beat it jacket! Lol. They walked out to the extended stage [there were three stages, a main stage, extended, and second floor stage]. One of them laid out a huge 80's style juke box and started tuning into the radio. Every station had snippets of Mj songs. When all of a sudden they dimmed the lights and you could hear Michael Jackson talking about himself with a very sad tone in his voice. I thought it was excellent that they incorporated very rare and possibly never released audio of his voice. "Childhood" began just after he spoke about his life, and the stage lit up with such amazing theatrics one can't fully put into words. They had a replica of his "Neverland Valley Ranch" home gate. & these five boys were amazed walking toward the main stage where it was, just to take a closer look as part of the show wondering what was inside. A massive "Mj" logo air balloon just like his "Childhood" video came flying out among the crowd with a young "Jackson 5" era Michael sitting inside the basket over looking the crowd with his little afro.
The boys tried to get the attention of the Neverland insiders by dancing Jackson 5 hits to a stunning scenary, and were finally let in. Where you could see Mj's special "Giving Tree" lit up with all of it's might to the sounds and dance of "Wanna Be Startin Somethin." That's where the journey began and one has to wonder what Michael's experience in heaven is like to closely imagine the sight and sounds of this show. It was marvelous I won't spoil the show for you all but there were tears in my eyes throughout most of it. They did a spectacular job remixing all of his songs. I am one to normally hate remixes as I'm a sound engineer and work with music all of the time. Remixing is very taboo for me... Doing a cover song is one thing, though I'm one to believe that originals songs should be left as is. But they actually did a wonderful job which is why the "Immortal" album release next month should be really good if it is exactly the same music they played at the show. Michael Jackson's voice was the lead vocal for the whole show, and NO there wasn't a sole Mj impersonator for the whole show. Everyone drew from Michael's lifelong dances adding their own touches through the whole show. From my understanding the musical director of the show was given complete access to original studio master recording sessions done throughout Michael's career. All I can say is they did a fantastic job with his vocals. Yes it sounds very close to his original songs, but also new, fresh, and vibrant. They use different rhythms at times, and substitute original instruments for ones that may be out of the ordinary like super fast violins, or massive band changes. It really looked a bit like what I believe the "This Is It" tour could have been. Of course in a different sense but still a massive show just like it. Another thing that struck me musically was the fact that I saw 4 of Michael's real band musicians playing on the massive second stage which was high up in the air above the theatrical stage. Those musicians include Greg Phillinganges who was Mj's keyboardist since the 80's, Jonathon "Sugarfoot" Moffett who was Mj's drummer since the Jackson 5 era, Jon Myron Clark who played rhythm guitar for Mj since his Bad Tour, & Don Boyette Mj's bass player. The sound was incredible! It sounded as if you were at a real Mj show... Michael was there in spirit of course. I couldn't help but watch and think in my mind "Where's Mj? Come out, please come out!" But sadly he is no longer with us in this physical realm. But I knew in my heart as I said before that he was there in spirit and I know he had to have been very proud of what was being done in his honor. The band did a wonderful job playing all of his hits, and when I say hits I mean everything. They played at least 50 of his songs for about 3 hours or more. Some in full, and some in snippets of course. It was very nice being in the presence of some of his real band players who were to do the "This Is It" tour with him. & have done many with him before... They saw the man day in day out, and let loose. I loved the fact that I was in the same room as his drummer "Sugarfoot." Who knew Mj since he was a kid, he's a beast on the drums. There were actually three drummers with three separate drum sets on the same second stage playing at the same time. But he obviously stood out! But just being in the same room and watching his band mates who shared such an intimate setting & laughs with Michael on stage before was an honor. You could feel his energy through them. Sugarfoot was constantly putting one drum stick in the air and looking up as if he was thinking about he main man when songs were done. what a friend and gentlemen...
There were touching moments like a point where they dropped a massive curtain and projected Michael as a kid singing "I'll Be There" in full acapella. It was so touching there wasn't a dry eye in the house. Thriller was done with class, it's so amazing to see a huge group of people do that legendary dance on stage with so many other theatrical things going on. The lighting was superb you felt like you were in a dream. This is the closest thing to a circus you will ever get to see. Forget a fair, or a normal circus you have seen in story books, or cartoon movies. This is the real deal, with sights you will remember until you leave this earth. I loved it! People were shouting out "WE LOVE YOU MICHAEL!!!" & "MICHAEL!!!!!!!!" throughout the show so loud as if he were there. It was very touching to know there are so many people who love him and aren't afraid to show it. The lady next to me was sobbing through the whole show. A couple in front of me were dancing especially when "Can You Feel It" played out. There was a point where a giant glove appeared out of nowhere, and got up... Started dancing doing the moonwalk and such!!!! While a huge set of Mj shoes with his classic white socks started dancing on the other stage. & I mean these were HUGE well over the size of a few people. Marvelous, just marvelous!!! The also made use of the costume he was to wear for "Billie Jean" that used LED technology to light up, with what was to be his newest glove THE MAGICALLY LIT MJ GLOVE! It looked awesome I just kept thinking in my head how we would have made use of it. They made good use of it dancing and such, but one always wonders what new things the man would have done with these costumes. That no one else would have thought of with just dance, normal moves that trick the eye he could have created. The stripe on the pants was also lit up and looked amazing.
The point where I almost broke down [& I'm a grown man mind you, who doesn't like to show his feelings at times ]. Was when they started doing some of his earlier work with the Jackson 5, sporting a background of the old Jackson cartoon show on all of the screens. Seeing the cartoon character of Berry Gordy struck me deep inside reminding me of his earlier days as a boy. & as soon as they showed that funny cartoon pink snake I almost went bananas in tears! For you die hard Mj fans you'll know who I'm talking about. I used to watch that cartoon in the mornings as a young boy while my parents would get ready to go to work. They did a wonderful set to his song "Gone Too Soon" with amazing pounding hearts that lit up the stage all over... There was actually an appearance of Mj in the show so touching he looked as if he were there. I don't want to spoil it for you all it's a must see in person. But it was done with so much thought, and love for him. That's another point where I almost broke down again... He looked like the vision of an angel. But funny enough the part that got to me too was when you saw this little character roaming onto the extended stage out of nowhere. & who was that? BUBBLES!!!! He became part of the Neverland journey and I don't know why but knowing that he was so special to Mj and probably one of his dearest friends even though he was an animal, it just got to me. Oh bubbles just had to make an appearance and he did become part of the whole show. I won't even mention what he ended up doing when he took command of the stage. It was amazing you just have to see it. The "Heal The World" set was spectacular just like you would have seen Mj do in person but with so many more advancements in technology, dance, props, etc. The show even included fireworks!
All in all I thought it was a great show made with LOVE, and RESPECT. I walked away knowing the entire message throughout the whole show was about LOVE, GIVING, TOGETHERNESS, GLOBAL UNITY, UNIVERSAL UNITY, HOPE, & PEACE. They played a few snippets of his voice I have never heard before, it was so touching. & he did read his poem "Planet Earth" which I have heard before. But when he spoke, during the poem, and with the entire collection of songs being bombarded on you with sights and sounds. You just knew who he was and what he stood for. That's one word... "LOVE."
Now for all of you fans who didn't get to see the show please try to. Or check it out in Vegas when it finally sets up there in 2013 I believe if it does end up doing so. Don't fret as I mentioned before we happened purchased 1, that's right only 1 spare souvenir program which is about 40 pages thick printed on a hard matte cover, with matte style paper pages inside. It's enormous measuring 12" inches in width and 14" inches in height. I could have purchased a bit more of the limited stock they had [which was a MUCH lessor amount compared to the number of people at the venue]. But I felt that if I did so and sold them off I just wouldn't feel right inside. Any real Mj fan would know why... So many people have tried cashing in on his success for years. So after walking into the show and looking at mine during intermission I thought "Ok well the only way I'll grab an extra one is to sell it to a fan out there who wasn't able to make the show due to distance, or other circumstances." Heck it's a traveling circus and not just anyone is going to be able to see it in their lifetime. But than selling it was still an issue to me... So I decided that it may just be fair if I did sell it, that I'd give a portion of the proceeds to charity in honor of Michael. I can't just give it away since it cost a lot of money, on top of our tickets to the show which were expensive. I may or may not put it up for sale this week... It's possible that we might keep it as a backup spare for the one I bought for myself. But if I do decide to sell it I will auction it off on eBay this week possibly starting today, or I may list it starting next Sunday. But it would more than likely be today I just have to think quickly about keeping it or not. Either way be on the lookout for it as of today October 23rd until the next couple of weeks. I may also put one of our tickets in the same auction with the souvenir program. The ticket is mint without any torn stubs. Search for "Michael Jackson The Immortal Cirque Du Soleil Souvenir Program" in the general eBay search box. I think it would only be fair to let people bid on it so it gives everyone a chance to win it, as well as sharing some of the proceeds with charity.
UPDATE:
I've got to say that I've decided to sell the extra souvenir program I got at the show. I'll be putting it up for auction on eBay this Wednesday the 9th of November. Search for "Michael Jackson The Immortal Cirque Du Soleil Souvenir Program" in the general eBay search box [copy that text]. I'll possibly be uploading a video of all the pages in the huge book showing all of the pages in the listed auction. I'll try my best to be back and post the item number in this very post when I list it on Sunday.
I hope you all liked my review, and please do see the show.
It's incredible how all of his songs flow so well in a theatrical environment.
It's as if he knew all of this would still be part of his magical journey one day when God was to call on his name...
- MJJSCHOLAR
Here's the pumpkin I made today for all of you!
Last edited:
