At a Timberlake show, audience members show they’re true believers
The show: Justin Timberlake + the Tennessee Kids The moment: The ecstatic communion.
On an elaborate stage in Las Vegas, Justin Timberlake and a large pop/ jazz orchestra perform the final concert of their two-year tour. Twenty cameras capture the action from every angle. The budget — musicians, dancers, hydraulics, lasers — is unimaginable.
At one point, a camera looks out from the back of the stage, over the keys of the piano. Timberlake stands at the front of the stage, two levels down, far away, bathed in light.
His back is to the piano, but that doesn’t matter, because the keyboardist intently watches his every physical cue. Timberlake doesn’t have to look at him. He knows he’ll be obeyed.
Like many concerts, this one begins with a group prayer. I’ve puzzled over why so many music superstars, who lead pretty racy lives, consult with a higher power before stepping onstage.
But after watching this concert doc from the great Jonathan Demme, I may have figured it out: God is the only one who’s big enough to understand them.
Is Timberlake the preacher or the deity himself? Several times, his head fills the video screen behind him, like the Great and Powerful Oz. The earpieces are marked “JT.” The guitar picks, too.
Either way, the audience members are true believers. He lifts a finger; they cheer. He puts a hand to his ear; they chant his lyrics. They are gathered here to participate in the communal joy of bringing sexy back. And when Timberlake soars across the arena on a Plexiglas stage, crooning like an angel? It’s ecstasy. Justin Timberlake + the Tennessee Kids streams on Netflix. Johanna Schneller is a media connoisseur who zeroes in on pop-culture moments. She usually appears Monday through Thursday.