Last week local fans witnessed four of the original Jackson 5 childhood band brothers perform their 19th concert on their worldwide return tour at the River Rock Show Theatre inside the River Rock Casino Resort in Richmond, British Columbia.
Dubbed the Unity Tour, Jackie, 61, Tito, 58, Jermaine, 57, and Marlon, 55, known collectively today as The Jacksons, performed to a jam-packed audience of new and old fans alike.
The Jackson brothers didn’t seem to miss a beat as their performances all night were filled with high energy and nostalgic excitement that had spectators dancing on their feet to songs like “Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground).”
After the show opened with “Can You Feel It,” fans in the first few rows surrounded the stage where they could high five members of The Jacksons dynasty and dance along to hit songs like “Blame It On The Boogie,” “This Place Hotel,” and Motown classics that included “I Want You Back,” “ABC,” and “Never Can Say Goodbye.”
Sadly missing from the Unity Tour concert though, was the late, great Michael Jackson, who joined his brothers, with Randy, 28 years ago for three consecutive Victory Tour concerts in Vancouver at the newly constructed BC Place Stadium.
Although he was missing physically from his tragic passing in 2009, you could certainly feel Michael’s spirit at the show.
Marlon put his best foot forward strutting across the stage several times, doing his best to steal the show with his entertaining dance moves. He, along with Jermaine and Jackie, also traded off as lead singers for the night.
Many of the Jackson 5 songs that included Michael Jackson as the lead vocalist were taken over by brother Jermaine, while Marlon took Jermaine’s former placement behind Michael.
The show was certainly a trip down memory lane for the audience. Throughout the night a montage of photos and video clips were played on the big screens inside the River Rock Show Theatre, while The Jacksons entertained.
In tribute to their fallen brother, The Jacksons covered some of Michael’s most popular hits, including “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” from the most successful album of all time in 1982’s Thriller, the disco beats of “Rock With You” and “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” from Off The Wall in 1972, along with singles from the 1991 Dangerous album that included “Can’t Let Her Get Away” and a heartfelt solo by Jermaine singing “Gone Too Soon” to close off the tribute portion of the show.
Though they were missing the spark that was Michael Jackson, the brothers were still able to give the audience the very essence of The Jacksons experience through a stage performance of singing, dancing, laughing, and crying all in one that could only be described as magical.
Their concert performance in Richmond was terrific. The Jacksons proved they still have that desire to perform by not only entertaining the crowd, but themselves in the process as they looked to be enjoying their time together, reunited for the Unity Tour as siblings on-stage, like they first began in 1964.
The Jacksons have 12 more Unity Tour shows scheduled for cities in the United States, Belgium, and the Netherlands before closing out their concert tour on December 9, 2012 in Japan.
