Oh, sexy was definitely brought back on Friday night…

Picture from Washington Post

I think the Washington Post said it best, but I’ll add my own version below this:

There was much to discuss, from stop-on-a-dime dynamics — as featured in a sultry reading of “Justified’s” Spanish-inflected hit, “Senorita” — to frequent shifts in keys, tempos and even musical styles: During an encore performance of “SexyBack,” for which Timberlake was joined onstage by the new single’s mad-professor producer Timbaland, the band suddenly changed directions, recasting the buzzing, electro-R&B song as an exuberant, D.C.-style go-go jam. (In both live iterations, “SexyBack” trumped the digitized-sounding recorded version, as Timberlake’s unprocessed vocal was superior and seemed more inspired.) Sometimes, the songs themselves changed completely. For instance, the syncopated dance-pop of Timberlake’s “Like I Love You” abruptly gave way to the metallic crunch of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” Whether Timberlake was trying to make a statement by interpolating the latter song is unclear. But following the unexpected mash-up, as he sat down to play a new Prince-like slow jam, “Until the End of Time,” he exhaled and noted that he’s getting “too old for this.”

And, it seems, for some of his fans, as the smoldering show was open only to those 18 and over. Something about not wanting to offend the yutes with his salty language and dirty dancing. Not that the age restriction thinned the crowd any, as all 1,200 tickets sold out in about eight minutes.

The show opened with an amusing instrumental rock-opera rendition of Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf,” which morphed into a punched-up version of “Cry Me a River,” Timberlake’s infamous kiss-off of his ex, Britney Spears. Suggesting that he has more than just early Michael Jackson records in his collection — though he’s definitely studied plenty of those — Timberlake quoted Carly Simon during the opener, sneering: “I bet you think this song is about you.” (Well, yeah, sure she does, given “Cry Me a River’s” lyrics and the fact that a Britney doppelganger appears in the video.)

Yes, I was impressed with his renditions of “Cry Me a River”, “Like I Love You” and “Seniorita”…and when he prefaced the closing “SexyBack” by saying “1…2…3…everyone take off your clothes!” – well damn, I definitely did have the strong urge to take off all my clothes.

Timberlake gets up close and personal at the 9:30 Club, part of a series of intimate club dates. It’ll be like he’s singing just for you, so try to keep your shirt on.

I also enjoyed the fact that Justin seemed like an average 25 year old guy, drinking a beer on stage and winking to many an adoring fan in between his sexy sounds and swaying hips.

I was a little disturbed by the fact that there were 1,200 screaming women in the audience (OK, and maybe 50 guys total) between the ages of 18 and 35. I also am not sure who was more fierce, the girls or the “girls” (aka the many lovely ‘mos that came out to support Mr. JT).

When Justin first came out, I was a little mesmerized by the fact that he was, in fact, RIGHT THERE. I literally was 50 feet away from him. But, the novelty wore off and soon I was forced back to the facts which were – I was jam packed so close to screaming women that I kept touching their sweaty arms and chests (I know guys, I should have taken pics), and they were screaming in my ear while I was straining my neck to see over the tall ass girl that insisted on standing in front of me…and my feet were killing me. I wore 4 inch heels like an idiot and wanted to die after standing for over 2 hours. So, I committed the cardinal sin of heading to the back of the 9:30 Club to sit on the chairs and listen from the back. I know, I know. I totally wasted the opportunity. But, I just couldn’t take it anymore.

By that point it was the middle of the concert and he was playing some newer and/or slower songs. I can’t say I liked all of them, but it’s also hard to tell when it’s live and you’re hearing them for the first time.

I stood back up (sadly, this time in the back) and danced when he sang “Rock Your Body” and waited patiently for him to come back on stage to perform the hot hot hot “SexyBack” where I then proceeded to indeed, bring it.

All in all, I had a good time, with the exception of the struggle to get a cab afterwards. I had driven to Dupont and parked there, then cabbed to 9:30 and needed to get back. It took well over 30 minutes to finally catch one. Totally ridiculous.

The other sore point was the fact that the radio station called me that afternoon to tell me not to bring my camera, that no pictures were allowed. I was so distraught. I decided to get a disposable camera just in case, and not risk bringing my digital in. Well, I was the stupid one because of course they weren’t going to take everyone’s cameras…and when I got in I realized EVERYONE had their digitals out. The rules stated no FLASH photography. Oh, I was heated. So, now I have to hope and pray I got some decent pictures on my stupid disposable, and curse myself for not just bringing my digital anyway (I left it in the car). Stupid people telling me the wrong thing. GRRRR!!!!!

So now, my weekend of fun and fake fame is over…now it’s back to the daily grind. I hope you’ll all still remember me even when I’m just another blogger. Heh.

P.S. I’ll post about the “fake date” later… email me if you want the real scoop! But, don’t worry – it was definitely not a love connection of any sort.

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