The Together Again world tour kicked off back in 2023 and has already hit the New York City market, but that didn't stop a sold-out Barclays Center in Brooklyn from bringing the vibes and jamming along to hit after hit from across Miss Jackson's illustrious career. Breaking the night into several segments with shifting set pieces and varying outfit changes, it was a show full of elaborate ideas, but a rather limited production. Opening the night from behind a rising curtain, Janet emerged with a flowing gown and flanked by male dancers in Thom Browne attire as she delved into her set that kicked off a bit slower than anticipated with newer tracks from her more recent albums like Discipline and Unbreakable before she finally gave us "Throb" from 1993's Janet. She then closed out the first portion of the night with a shortened rendition of "Got 'til It's Gone" that felt more like a tease than a real performance before a sultry "That's the Way Love Goes" got the first really big reaction of the night. Things picked up a bit more for the next part as she came back to the stage for "What Have You Done for Me Lately" before hitting us with "Nasty." As she's been doing on several occasions, she worked in "Nasty" by Tinashe as well. Slightly more subdued than one would've hoped, Jackson's choreography was a bit limited and she really let her backup dancers do most of the work on a lot of the numbers, but it didn't really matter as she continued her stretch of bangers from Control and Rhythm Nation, the hard hitting funk of the '80s shining through in true colors that felt just as powerful today as they did nearly forty years ago. Still, there were moments when her vocals seemed off and the effort to mouth along to the backing tracks felt lackluster while the audio in general was muffled. Even with those remarks, when the hits hit, Janet was on top of her game, allowing the songs to prove their timelessness. The power and magnetism of them solidified the show that made up for anything that felt like filler. "Control" brought the hype back to a ten and had the crowd on their feet as the hard synths pounded away with flashes of bold neon and lasers taking over the arena. For "Again," Jackson had the crowd light up the room with their phones and delivered a soaring arrangement that left the everyone enraptured with her enduring charm. "Any Time, Any Place" slipped in a little of Kendrick Lamer's "Poetic Justice" as her featherweight voice floated with endless ease. There were lengthy breaks to adjust the stage and make time for wardrobe changes and even when those felt overstretched, the energy never failed to return as soon as Janet reappeared. The triple onslaught of "All for You," "Alright," and "Escapade" was an absolute highlight, the building jumping and grooving along while having the times of their lives, the last one in particular really taking things up a notch as brilliant bright lights lit up the stage raising the bar of the evening to new heights. As the night transpired, Jackson began to kick things into gear, devoting more of her stage time to leading her dancers through routines that cleared the air on where her talents still remain at this point in her career, really giving into the notion of saving the best for last as she queued up "Scream," the iconic duet with her late brother, not to mention one of the most expensive music videos of all time, and watch the crowd lose their mind. Following it with "Rhythm Nation" was over the top in the best way possible, the dancing again becoming the new focal point of the show. As the lights came up for the encore, screens showed us Janet backstage getting her make-up touched up before she started "Someone to Call My Love" and made her way from the dressing room all the way to the stage in her most playful moment of the night. To close things out she led the crowd through the exhilarating name-sake of the tour, "Together Again." The arena began to sparkle with light as the crowd joined in for the chorus and carried things off into the night. To see an icon is always an opportunity to take and something worth seeing. For nearly half a decade, Janet Jack has been remarkable and proven that even her hits alone can carry such weight, nostalgia, and elation that they make her that icon always worth seeing.
Set list:
02 "2nite"
03 "Slolove"
04 "Rock With U"
05 "Throb"
06 "All Nite (Don't Stop)"
07 "No Sleeep"
08 "Got 'til It's Gone"
09 "That's the Way Love Goes"
10 "Love Will Never Do (Without You)"
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11 "What Have You Done for Me Lately" [elements of "Get It Out Me")
12 "Nasty" [elements of 'Nasty' by Tinashe]
13 "The Pleasure Principle"
14 "You Want This"
15 "When I Think of You"
16 "Diamonds" [Herb Alpert cover]
17 "The Best Things in Life Are Free"
18 "Control"
19 "Son of a Gun (I Betcha Think This Song Is About You)"
20 "Take Care"
21 "Let's Wait Awhile" [elements of "Lonely" & "Funny How Time Flies (When You’re Having Fun)")
22 "Again"
23 "Any Time, Any Place"
24 "I Get Lonely"
25 "With U"
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26 "Make Me"
27 "All for You"
28 "Alright"
29 "Escapade"
30 "Miss You Much"
31 "Feedback"
32 "So Excited"
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33 "State of the World"
34 "The Knowledge"
35 "If"
36 "Scream"
37 "Rhythm Nation"
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38 "Someone to Call My Lover"
39 "Together Again"
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