The Michael Jackson History Show, a tribute concert to the King of Pop, performed by South African artist Garth Field, took centre stage at the Joburg Theatre on Thursday evening, delivering an unforgettable experience for fans of different generations.
Field, hailing from Cape Town, brought Michael Jackson’s magic to life with a live band, choreographed dancers, authentic costumes, state-of-the-art sound, and theatrical lighting, creating a spectacle that left all of us in awe.
Since I’m not a fan of attending social events by myself, I asked my gran to tag along, and I’m glad she agreed.
This came with excitement and nervousness at the same time, as I wondered if she feels out of place depending on the age of the crowd. But I remembered that MJ was admired by literally everyone, so the audience would have to consist of people of all ages, both young and old.
This turned out to be true. While waiting in the foyer for about 15 minutes before being seated, fans started filling the venue. The crowd included primary and high school kids accompanied by their parents, youngsters in their 20s, and older fans.
One elderly-looking man had donned a full white suit, reminiscent of the one Michael Jackson wore in the Smooth Criminal video.
As we waited in anticipation for the show to begin after entering the theatre, I remember thinking: “This is probably going to be a little cringe. A grown man pretending to be someone else? This is going to be interesting.”
Another thing that made me skeptical is the fact that I’ve always been a huge Michael Jackson fan and probably know 90% of his music, having watched him perform on TV about a million times in my entire life. That made me think there’s no way I could appreciate another person emulating one of my most favorite artists, the undefeated King of Pop.
I must admit, I was wrong – I was incredibly mind-blown by Field’s performance, loved his outfits, his dance moves, the mannerisms that he imitated to the T, and even the makeup and hair.
He truly gave us the real deal, a performance to remember. But still, I couldn’t look past his height and the fact that he’s much shorter than the real Michael Jackson.
The realisation that he was singing live instead of presenting a lip-synced performance intrigued me. His vocal resemblance to MJ, coupled with his accurate mimicry of MJ’s moves and outfits heightened the experience.
A part of me almost felt transported to a genuine Michael Jackson concert. I sang along to all the songs, although there was one unfamiliar track.
I appreciated all the songs he performed, including They Don’t Care About Us, The Way You Make Me Feel, which is my most favorite – but I was dissatisfied with the performance as he only sang parts of the song.
He showcased a range of other hits, like Human Nature, Smooth Criminal, Earth Song, Beat It, I Just Can’t Stop Loving You, and the iconic Black or White among others.
The performance of Black or White will probably remain etched in my memory forever because he paused for a bit to sing to my grandmother while the audience watched – it was truly beautiful.
And just when we thought he had given us his all, the stage slowly floated up with band members ascending in the air. Below was a pleasant surprise; they had set up a grave-like space like the one in the Thriller music video. It looked amazing and was accompanied by a brilliant performance.
The experience was truly amazing, and I would gladly relive it, since tribute artists’ concerts offer the closest connection we could ever have to Michael Jackson, especially for us who missed the chance to see him perform live during his prime.