POP MUSIC REVIEW : Michael Jackson at Irvine: Still Dazzling but Distant

Early Monday night at the Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, Michael Jackson brought out background singer Sheryl Crow to duet with him on his hit “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You.” He sang the verses to her. He even halfheartedly tried to indulge in a little Prince-style randy interplay with her.

But when it came time to sing the chorus, Jackson couldn’t seem to bring himself to address that title phrase to her.

“I just can’t stop loving you ,” Jackson sang, turning to us, the audience. And like a jealous lover, we believed it.

Never mind that Jackson no more attempted to connect with the crowd than he did with Crow during this, his first-ever solo Southland appearance. He didn’t, in the slightest, and that presented the most glaring void in this physically impressive but emotionally impersonal spectacle.

It’s just that we sensed that this child/man--the biggest of today’s pop stars--could not possibly love a mere woman--one on one--the way he loves us as a huge, anonymous monolith. A girlfriend might interact with him and give him a few moments of pleasure, but his fans, just by passively being there, make it possible for him to feel comfortable two hours a night in the one place he possibly really feels at home: on stage.

Michael Jackson’s social discomfort has been so well-documented--the fake, timid smiles seen at public press conferences and unveilings; the shyness and admitted loneliness in private--that it came almost as a relief to see him so relaxed and exuberant again in concert.

And though he’s now in the 14th month of his world tour, it was endearing during the show’s third number, “Another Part of Me,” to see the look of pure, beatific bliss on Jackson’s face as he closed his eyes, spun around, landed on his toes and did all the usual right moves. Jackson really seemed to be still enjoying this--caught up and self-hypnotized in his own private, wonderful world.

That unspoken joy spoke volumes. And if all Jackson did during his 2-hour-plus show was sing and dance alone at center stage, his cup running over with contentment and talent, the crowd might never notice the absence of any attempt at connection.

As it was, too much of this dazzling, overlong, draining, occasionally brilliantly entertaining show was hyped up with production numbers that seemed to come out of somewhere between Las Vegas and Disneyland (Liza meets Siegfried & Roy on the set of “Captain Eo”?), leaving the human element abandoned somewhere around Barstow.

Of the set pieces, “Smooth Criminal” provided the highlight early on, with Jackson surrounded by four male dancers in early gangster attire. This number provided the best choreography of the evening, with the dancers using moves that were occasionally as goonily masculine as they were smoothly executed, with an obvious nod to Fred Astaire and the film noir parody segment of “The Band Wagon.”

It soon became apparent, however, that most of the production numbers would reprise the themes and visuals of Jackson’s video clips--most of which, of course, are not as new as “Smooth Criminal.”

During “Thriller,” Michael wore a werewolf mask and his four dancers became zombies. “The Way You Make Me Feel,” with background singer Crow strutting her stuff before the eyes of the ogling male dancers, became an ode to leering at women a la the video. “Dirty Diana” had Jackson playing off of heavy-metal guitar soloist Jennifer Batten, who, with her mane of wild blond hair, had even been made to look like the video’s Steve Stevens. And so on.

Michael, are you still in there? Did that last magic trick swallow you up and spit out a video hologram? Come out, come out, wherever you are!

And, as if he heard us calling, suddenly the dancers and props disappeared, and there was “Billie Jean,” as electrifying as ever. As often as we’ve all seen the moonwalk on TV, his first full-scale version of the physics-defying dance step was an event worthy of ticket-selling (and scalping) in itself.

It was those moments that had Jackson alone at center stage, combining the two things he does best, that were revelations--not emotional revelations, certainly, but nonetheless the kind of intensely personal expression that can’t be designed by Disney and turned on by remote control at 5-minute intervals.

Jackson’s three-night Irvine Meadows stint continues through tonight, followed by six shows Sunday through Tuesday and Nov. 20-22 at the L.A. Sports Arena. All dates are sold out.