For our anniversary last year, Jacob and I bought each other tickets to see Justin Timberlake at TD Garden in Boston. Those who know me understand that I do not really have a powerful connection to music. I just never have. However, the two artists that I have an undying love for are Elton John and Justin Timberlake. We have been counting down to this event for four months, and promised each other that we would not look up any set lists or previous performances...which we stuck to regardless of how difficult and seemingly unavoidable it was. For two days before the concert, we listened to nothing but JT. Every time someone asked about the show, it would escalate until I eventually had to ask them to change the subject because I was getting way to overwhelmed about the fact that I would be in the same room as him and gazing at his face in person.Well, last night was the night. For almost three hours, JT sang and danced and essentially murdered my soul with his beauty and humility. I took 1 video and 3 pictures, but could not stop staring at his glorious bottom enough to do any more than that. Thankfully, other people had no problem gluing themselves to their phones (for which I am quite grateful) so I can relive the moments over and over without having sacrificed my in-person experience.
So let's break it down. Lights go down, and all of a sudden JT appears on stage and Pusher Love Girl begins. The Tennessee Kids come up from the floor and everyone loses their shit. Not only is this one of my favorite songs from 20/20, but Jacob and I predicted this would be his opening song so we were already super pumped.
My all-time favorite JT song is the Intro/My Love...which he did flawlessly between Like I Love You and TKO. I couldn't find a good version from Boston, but this is how it went.
UPDATE: Here is a video of Like I Love You transitioning to My Love
Then he ranted to us about snow and how cold it is in Boston. He also took some time to show us how fucking awesome he is by introducing some members of the Tennessee kids from Boston and one who was having his birthday. The dynamic he has with the band is so sweet and amazing. He never said "I'm Justin Timberlake, bitches." EVERY TIME he said, "We're JT and the Tennessee Kids." I think I loved that more than almost anything else he did.
I am still waiting for the official set list to come out, because the lists from other shows don't seem to be the same as what he played for us.
Some examples were this awesome back to back combo of Lovestoned and Til the End of Time which is one of the greatest songs of all time that I somehow completely forgot about. Seriously. Skip Lovestoned and go to 3:00 and watch the most glorious three minutes of your life flash before your eyes.
He also played this really awesome combination Holy Grail/Cry Me a River (sound on this one gets a little crappy in the middle)
After a brief intermission, he played an incredible version of Only When I Walk Away very reminiscent of his SNL performance. So many lasers. This one isn't from Boston, but it's good.
Then, during Let the Groove Get In, Heartbreak Hotel (Elvis), Human Nature (MJ) and Cabaret) up on this stage running back and forth, going down the ramp INTO THE CROWD, and being overall incredible.
WHAT GOES AROUND. ACOUSTIC. ARE YOU KIDDING ME.
He did a killer performance of Cabaret and was a total sweetheart and gave a long speech about how much he loves Boston and then toasted "Boston Strong" and did a shot on stage. I could see his eyeballs he was so close. Even with our seats I did not imagine I would see facial expressions that close to me. After all his time over near us, the stage went back to the front. AND THEN HE DID THIS. The video is not from Boston, but it's much better quality and SO SO SO good. This song is one of my greatest guilty pleasures which made it so much more incredible that he covered it.
He played almost 40 songs including covers and pretty much blew my entire mind. He closed the show with Mirrors (our predicted closer too!!!) and said a huge thank you to us all. My life is now complete.
UPDATE: This girl posted a TON of GREAT videos from Boston in the VIP section.
