If I wrote you a symphony …
Wild shrieks ring out through the Orpheum, the high-pitched, gleeful wails emanating from an audience brimming with barely-restrained enthusiasm.
Just to show how much you mean to me …
The woman two chairs over from me nearly collapses, heaving herself forward onto the railing, breathless. The lady sitting behind me is dancing so wildly that her cup of wine flies out of her hand and completely spills onto the back of my sweater. On stage, Justin Timberlake launches into the chorus of “My Love,” and the crowd bays out the lyrics alongside him. The hometown son had returned, and Memphis was ready to welcome him back with open arms.
That people were out at all last week rockin’ to hits from Justified, FutureSex/LoveSounds, and The 20/20 Experience was a bit of a surprise. The January 19th concert, surprisingly announced just a week prior, was threatened by freezing temperatures, snow and ice that the city was ill-equipped to handle, plus low water pressure and a boil water advisory that ultimately rendered the Orpheum bathrooms unusable for the evening.
Eager fans were able to request up to two tickets through a Ticketmaster lottery, with demand far exceeding the limited supply of around 2,500 seats at the Orpheum. Many users on social media bemoaned their ill luck, blaming out-of-town sharks for snatching up most of the available stock for a show they may not even be able to attend thanks to the inclement weather. Other, more intrepid fans decided to show up to the theater anyway, spending a lengthy wait in the cold in the hopes of snagging any leftover spots. And many were rewarded with tickets.
In hindsight, any questions about the show’s potential turnout were foolish. By the time Timberlake took to the stage around 9:30 p.m. – his first show in Memphis since a 2019 stop on his second Man of the Woods tour, and first ever set at the Orpheum – the crowd was ready to party. And as the opening brassy synth waves of the live rendition of “SexyBack” cascaded from the speakers and over the audience, it lit the fuse on what would be an exuberant, pop-fueled hour-and-a-half performance.
The Orpheum setting created a much more intimate environment than the floor tickets I’d nabbed for his last two tours, but the smaller venue didn’t sacrifice any of the verve or energy his fans are accustomed to. Timberlake, backed by his exceptional Tennessee Kids band, ran through the hits to a wild crowd, throwing it back to the slick call-and-response of “Señorita,” slowing things down with the pop ballad “Mirrors,” and luring everyone in with the moody, spiteful “Cry Me A River” (which really dials up the suspense live). He even paid tribute to Al Green with a rendition of “Let’s Stay Together.” Notably, not a single track from the somber, Americana-tinged Man of the Woods made it onto the setlist at any point.
Fueling the crowd’s anxious delirium was a sense that they’d get to see something new. In the days leading up to the concert, Timberlake’s label RCA Records posted a graphic teasing “Big News,” conspicuously made with the same design, color scheme, and fonts as the initial concert announcement. The announcement of subsequent Timberlake bookings with Jimmy Fallon (January 25th) and Saturday Night Live (January 27th) only added fuel to the fire, and sure enough, he teased a few snippets from his upcoming sixth album, Everything I Thought It Was, set for a March 15th release.
There was a full reveal for new single “Selfish,” a slowed-down R&B track that provided several minutes of calmer head-bopping.
Midway through the show, when Timberlake jumped off stage and danced through the crowd to various hits from both his catalog and other (some local) artists, DJ Hypes played about 90 seconds of a second track, “No Angels.” The pulsating, bass-thumping beat harkened back to Timberlake’s early-aughts pop roots, when every song he slung from his repertoire had people ready to rock their bodies on the dance floor. (Short snippets of a third song, “Sanctified,” can be heard over ESPN promos). It’s a welcome return to form for the pop star, whose output since 2018 has mainly consisted of his work on DreamWorks’ Trolls series and an NSYNC reunion track, “Better Place.”
All indications are that the rest of EITIW will showcase Timberlake embracing his charming, hip-hop-inflected pop chops that made his early albums so popular. “It’s fun Justin,” longtime Timberlake collaborator Timbaland told Variety last April. “It’s like FutureSex/LoveSounds but nothing too heavy, just giving you what you expect from us. Music is a young sport — of course, we’ve both seen a lot of life, but you have to bring out the 13 year old kid again, you know? We had songs that maybe were too complicated, so we said we want it to feel like FutureSex part two, so we did songs that will fit that.”
In between the singing, the dancing, and the grooving, Timberlake paused several times to thank fans for braving the inclement weather, and to muse on how much he appreciated being back in Memphis. There was even time to lead the crowd in singing happy birthday to his mother, who was in attendance, and to shout out former NSYNC member Chris Kirkpatrick (also in attendance, but alas, no duet).
If the mixed reception to Man of the Woods saw Timberlake’s star fade a little bit, he looks poised to bring it roaring back brighter in a couple months. After my own Covid-induced break from live shows, this performance reminded me why I enjoy excursions like this so much, and it has me excited to see what local Memphis musicians have in store for the rest of the year.
As for Timberlake: “See you on tour,” he quipped as the curtain dropped for a final time.
