Janet gives it her all

Where does Janet Jackson go to from here? In the past 10 years her commercial profile has dipped to the point where she can announce a gig at an intimate theatre venue such as the Grand Canal and for there to be tickets still on sale on the day of the performance.

Yet Jackson is a Jackson, and coming from a family of dyed-in-the-wool showbiz troopers – drilled from childhood to deliver the goods in a venerable show-must-go-on tradition – youd imagine shed play in even smaller venues if she felt she had a point to prove.

Judging by last nights performance that is exactly what Jackson is doing. From the get go, way back in 1986, when she nabbed a top three UK chart placing with What have you done for me lately?Jackson made very clear that she had no intention of hiding in her brother Michaels somewhat broader shadow.

And so we have a show that is comprised entirely of her hit songs entirely which by definition alone would indicate a no filler/all killer evening.

Jackson, however (and it bears repeating), is a Jackson, which means on occasion it all gets a little bit wizard of odd. While a good portion of the show features medleys of her hits (in this neck of the woods alone, she has enjoyed up to 40 Top 30 hit singles), other sections feature hits interspersed with an energy sapping drum solo, a mildly diverting interpretive contemporary dance piece and (heres where it gets weird) a cluster of clips from her moderately successful acting career.

Included in this miscellany is a scene from John Singletons 1993 movie Poetic Justice, in which Jackson talks about the aroma of her vagina. After this, there is scene where, as a distressed wife, she smashes her husbands apartment (the latter scene in particular receives bursts of prolonged applause from the largely middle-aged female audience). During the encore there appears on the video screen a clip of brother Michael.

Odder still? Well, yes, but the disembodied duet is no saccharine domestic love fest, as she segues into a rendition of Scream, and follows this with a searing version of Rhythm Nation. There is a general rule of thumb that highlights the true measure of a performer: that no matter what the size of the crowd, they give their all. Janet Jackson did just that.