The Spin
Bodies sufficiently rocked
Metrosexuals, heterosexuals, gays, grown-ups, teens, tweens, blacks, whites, Latins, Asians. They were all out Friday night at Gaylord for Mr. Sexxxyback himself, JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE, and they came to scream. Long on production, with a multilevel mechanical stage that moved, shifted and provided various instrumental setups, it was a night of solid pop-funk from two of America’s reigning hitmakers: Timberlake and PINK with producer TIMBALAND, who threw down a hardcore spin/beat-fest midway through Timberlake’s set. For a young man with a muscular tenor that boasts a seriously potent upper range, Timberlake shone when he was digging into the undulating terseness of “Cry Me a River,” though the “West Side Story” dance tableaus were flashy enough to nearly supersede the vocal talent. But this was a good time vibe, first and foremost. Yes, he flexed his musicality with turns on guitar and various keyboards, but mostly it was the good grooves and better moves that raised “Rock Your Body” to more than mere dance-floor confection. Special guest Pink threw down an unrelenting physical gamut, at times coming off as a cheerleaderesque Bride of Chuckie doll, all blitzkrieg choreography and hardcore watch-me-now theatrics. Her set-closing “I’m Coming Up,” her definitive party anthem, had the percolating rhythms we expected, but became more a vehicle for some Cirque du Soleil high-altitude twirling, whirling and tangling enmeshed in two long flowing fuchsia ribbons.
We wouldn’t call it anticlimactic
We missed most of ASTRONAUT PUSHERS’ opening set Thursday night at Exit/In because we were checking out the recording setup at the back of the SILVERSUN PICKUPS’ tour bus. (Parts of the new Film School album are being tracked there by the band’s guitarist, who is currently running sound for SSPU.) Once inside, though, we were treated to a show that had a bit of everything, including a dance-fight—but even that wasn’t the climax of the evening. In their first Nashville appearance, the Pickups provided a large, enthusiastic crowd with ample doses of energizing, sometimes shoegazing, maybe even gourd-destroying rock. And we like to see fans such as the two guys who spent the night dancing, singing along to every word and even pointing to individual band members when it was their turn to do something noteworthy. But the night’s award for audience participation (or for too much information) must go to a young woman in the front row. At one point, SSPU singer BRIAN AUBERT asked how she and her boyfriend were enjoying the show. The boyfriend replied that she had just experienced her first orgasm during the previous song. And since the band would go on to play a fairly lengthy—and loudly demanded—encore, it may not have been her last.Send reports of transcendent experiences at rock shows, tales of hat shopping with members of The Faint or your take on the most annoying things about SXSW (whether or not you made it to Austin) to thespin@nashvillescene.com.
Comments (0)