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Was giving a HIStory concert fun for Michael?

Remington Steele

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Since he seems most focused and serious at HIStory concerts compared to other ones, I wonder how doing such a concert was from Michael's perspective. I don't mean all the stress around it (traveling etc.), just the very moment he was on stage. Was there still space for fun or was it only about not doing a mistake during the dance routines etc? Was he happy being in front of 10 000s of people or was he glad when it was over?
 
Of course he was happy and stressed. It was a hard work for him..
And he DID have fun on stage in HIStory Tour.. Look at this video :D

 
*Little Suzie* said:
Of course he was happy and stressed. It was a hard work for him..
And he DID have fun on stage in HIStory Tour.. Look at this video :D
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Thank you I haven't seen the bit where he is chasing the mop around or the bit where he says "I love you most beat that!":wub: Or when he's drinking from his own promotion cup:toofunny:
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I think he enjoyed Dangerous tour more:yes: because in most of the HIStory concerts he didn't dance as much as he had in Dangerous concert:no::no:
 
Interesting thread (although why is it in the General Discussion section?).

In some of the HIStory concerts MJ looks fully engaged and "in-the-zone", but I've seen a few shows where he looks disinterested and like he'd rather be doing something else.

I suppose it's like the rest of us really, he had his good days and bad days.
 
On the 2 I saw live, it seemed like he was going through the motions and it showed and the crowd felt it.

There was none of the buzz & excitement that the Bad & Dangerous shows had.

I find the HIStory tour very difficult to watch.
 
Tony R said:
On the 2 I saw live, it seemed like he was going through the motions and it showed and the crowd felt it.

There was none of the buzz & excitement that the Bad & Dangerous shows had.

I find the HIStory tour very difficult to watch.
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Lip-synching aside (if you can look past that) some of the HIStory shows were great.

His Billie Jean performances on the whole were outstanding. His whole talking to the hat routine and his robotic moves were just mesmerising and showcased some of his best ever improvised dancing. I would rank his BJ performances on the HIStory tour over Bad or Dangerous any day.

And the encore of HIStory with the marching and the flags and the confetti... I remember that being intensely atmospheric. But we've had this discussion before and it's so subjective. This was your third MJ tour, you were that much older etc - perhaps that contributed to your peceived lack of buzz/excitement??

I know when I had tickets for TII I was concerned that it could never live up to my rose-tinted memories of the HIStory tour. I was that much older and uglier and with age it becomes harder to be impressed.
 
MattyJam said:
Lip-synching aside (if you can look past that) some of the HIStory shows were great.

His Billie Jean performances on the whole were outstanding. His whole talking to the hat routine and his robotic moves were just mesmerising and showcased some of his best ever improvised dancing. I would rank his BJ performances on the HIStory tour over Bad or Dangerous any day.

And the encore of HIStory with the marching and the flags and the confetti... I remember that being intensely atmospheric. But we've had this discussion before and it's so subjective. This was your third MJ tour, you were that much older etc - perhaps that contributed to your peceived lack of buzz/excitement??

I know when I had tickets for TII I was concerned that it could never live up to my rose-tinted memories of the HIStory tour. I was that much older and uglier and with age it becomes harder to be impressed.
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Unfortunately, I can't look past the lip-syncing. For me, it takes away everything a live concert is supposed to be about.

It was my 3rd tour so I guess some of the novelty had worn off. But then it's up to the artist to make it so that isn't the case by putting in different routines, songs, versions of old songs.

Madonna never bores me in concert for each one is extremely different. She has never performed the same routine twice. If, like me, HIStory was your third tour then you'd seen half of it before and heard it all before hundreds of times. That's not enjoyable.

If it was your first concert I could see how that would be a different experience.
 
Tony R said:
Unfortunately, I can't look past the lip-syncing. For me, it takes away everything a live concert is supposed to be about.

It was my 3rd tour so I guess some of the novelty had worn off. But then it's up to the artist to make it so that isn't the case by putting in different routines, songs, versions of old songs.

Madonna never bores me in concert for each one is extremely different. She has never performed the same routine twice. If, like me, HIStory was your third tour then you'd seen half of it before and heard it all before hundreds of times. That's not enjoyable.

If it was your first concert I could see how that would be a different experience.
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Michael's a very different entertainer to someone like Madonna. Look at TII, the only new choreography was the drill sequence. I think MJ saw routines like SC, TWYMF, Thriller and Billie Jean as classic, iconic pieces which just needed slight embellishments.

Why come up with a new routine when you have a performance as legendary and breathtaking as Billie Jean? How can you possibly top the routine for SC? It doesn't get better than that. If MJ came out and performed SC without the fedora and white jacket and without the trademark lean people would feel cheated.

Madonna's music videos and performances don't have that same level of quality, which allows her more freedom to reinvent herself. Nobody has a fixed expectation of how Madonna should perform Like A Virgin or La Isla Bonita. You can't say the same about Michael's classics.
 
^ Well, we'll agree to disagree on that. But for me Beat It, Smooth Criminal, Billie Jean, Thriller all having to performed a certain way is wrong.

You'd think it for Madonna's Vogue after that iconic video but she wasn't restricted by it, she went on and gave performances like this.

[youtube]7XRq8b0ewIU[/youtube]

But I guess I'll get slaughtered if I start comparing the two. MJ is better in every other way, but live for me Madonna wins.
 
Blasphemy!

She has to reinvent herself and rely on fancy staging and costumes to make up for her lack of talent.

Put her on an empty stage with just a single spotlight and see if she can transfix 80,000 people the way Michael does when he performs Billie Jean.
 
MattyJam said:
Blasphemy!

She has to reinvent herself and rely on fancy staging and costumes to make up for her lack of talent.

Put her on an empty stage with just a single spotlight and see if she can transfix 80,000 people the way Michael does when he performs Billie Jean.
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Let's stop it there!!

Well, one more point. When I say she's better live, don't get me wrong. Take a Bad concert or Dangerous in seclusion & Mike has it nailed.

But take longevity of concerts and the ability to keep it fresh and unique for fans, then M has it.
 
Tony R said:
Let's stop it there!!

Well, one more point. When I say she's better live, don't get me wrong. Take a Bad concert or Dangerous in seclusion & Mike has it nailed.

But take longevity of concerts and the ability to keep it fresh and unique for fans, then M has it.
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You pushed me into it. lol.

I concede, Madge puts on a good show (never seen her myself, but I've seen her concerts on TV).

I thought her crucifix performance of Live To Tell was a brilliant piece of theatre and actually quite moving.

But the irrational crazy MJ fan in me will always resent her for being more relevant and active than MJ in the last decade. Forget Sneddon, forget Bashir, I blame Madonna for all of Michael's shortcomings.
 
MattyJam said:
You pushed me into it. lol.

I concede, Madge puts on a good show (never seen her myself, but I've seen her concerts on TV).

I thought her crucifix performance of Live To Tell was a brilliant piece of theatre and actually quite moving.

But the irrational crazy MJ fan in me will always resent her for being more relevant and active than MJ in the last decade. Forget Sneddon, forget Bashir, I blame Madonna for all of Michael's shortcomings.
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Ha! Yes, it's all her fault.

But, seriously, you know the big difference (going off topic), Madonna had a childhood. She was an adult when she achieved worldwide fame so could handle it better and knew a hanger on & leech when she saw one. Hence why she's managed to keep going.
 
*Little Suzie* said:
Of course he was happy and stressed. It was a hard work for him..
And he DID have fun on stage in HIStory Tour.. Look at this video :D
Click to expand...
Thank you so much for posting this video..I absolutism love it....Michael is so happy....:D
 
What's not in that video is when he jokes with Brad Buxer in Copenhagen. During the talk before J5-medley he suddenly says "-Brad, hit it!" which usually serves as a signal to start the music. :)

LOL. It's much funnier if you just watch it.. :)
 
Tony R said:
Ha! Yes, it's all her fault.

But, seriously, you know the big difference (going off topic), Madonna had a childhood. She was an adult when she achieved worldwide fame so could handle it better and knew a hanger on & leech when she saw one. Hence why she's managed to keep going.
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Add to that, Madonna is a media darling and has been for her entire career (bar perhaps a few years in the early 90s).

Michael just pisses the media off. They hate that he doesn't play the game and doesn't try to fit in or win their approval.
 
Matty I love the sizzy. It can be applied to so many things, e.g., Madonna live is better than Michael live. Yeah this is real.
 
Tony R said:
Ha! Yes, it's all her fault.

But, seriously, you know the big difference (going off topic), Madonna had a childhood. She was an adult when she achieved worldwide fame so could handle it better and knew a hanger on & leech when she saw one. Hence why she's managed to keep going.
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MattyJam said:
Add to that, Madonna is a media darling and has been for her entire career (bar perhaps a few years in the early 90s).

Michael just pisses the media off. They hate that he doesn't play the game and doesn't try to fit in or win their approval.
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Agreed with both of you. :agree:

Michael was not perfect. He had his shortcomings, but the way he was made his so special.

In terms of live performance, if I can only go to see one concert in my life and I have to pick a Michael Jackson concert or a Madona concert, I'll pick a Michael Jackson concert (anyone, Triumph, Victory, BAD, Dangerous, or HIStory) in a heartbeat. And, I actually do like Madona a lot.
 
MJJ faced health problems since vitiligo & lupus & pepsi accident in the '80's.

And.....Madonna does lip-synch on her concert, is not "all live".
 
This is my opinion!

I would have not liked if MJ changed his routines constantly like BJ, BI, SC and the rest just to "keep it fresh!" I don't mind slightly changed sometimes if he wanted it! Which he did mostly in performances!

But, I wouldn't like a whole change like Madonna who changes her performances and the way she sings them all the time! To where it's almost unrecognizable from the classic way, which is the reason why one became a fan in the first place!
 
Yeh he did seem somwhat bored with the history tour and i think it was cuz that was the time when prince & paris were born. It was hard for him to be away from the kids always on stage everynight and i guess he felt mellowed down cuz of that.
 
It looks like he's having fun in that video. He was always so adorable. :heart: Of course, there must have been days when he was hardly into it, but we all have those days, and you can hardly blame him for not being different in that respect. He was, after all, a human being, capable of having good and bad days.

Yet his concerts have always been the absolute best, and I've seen (granted, on TV) other artists' concerts (Madonna, P!nk, Lady Gaga, Ke$ha, etc.) and none of them even come close to some HIStory magic. Michael always had it in the end. :heart:
 
8701girl;3209038 said:
Yeh he did seem somwhat bored with the history tour and i think it was cuz that was the time when prince & paris were born. It was hard for him to be away from the kids always on stage everynight and i guess he felt mellowed down cuz of that.
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Prince was born in Feb 97 and Debbie went with him for almost the whole second leg. Paris is born in 98. So I don´t think that is the reason. ;)
 
*Little Suzie* said:
Of course he was happy and stressed. It was a hard work for him..
And he DID have fun on stage in HIStory Tour.. Look at this video :D
Click to expand...


I can't believe we lost this wonderful man a year and 7 months ago today :(

I just can't believe he is gone. I can't :cry:
 
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@CaptainEo...: True ;).


Wait a minute... I remember reading a Michael interview with him saying the fans expect him to do the moonwalk in Billie Jean and that's why he does it, although he'd like to interpret the song in another way. After all he probably kept the routines BECAUSE of the fans.
 
moodyblue97;3209078 said:
Prince was born in Feb 97 and Debbie went with him for almost the whole second leg. Paris is born in 98. So I don´t think that is the reason. ;)
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Umm im sure prince was born in 96 & paris the next yr
 
Remington Steele said:
@CaptainEo...: True ;).


Wait a minute... I remember reading a Michael interview with him saying the fans expect him to do the moonwalk in Billie Jean and that's why he does it, although he'd like to interpret the song in another way. After all he probably kept the routines BECAUSE of the fans.
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If that's true I would really like Michael to do the other way round coz it would be nice to see the new routine of Billie Jean. I am sure Michael could give something better than moonwalk if he did :wub:

I hope Michael had fun doing the History but all the while I keep thinking the same quote from him "I go through Hell Tour" :(
 
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