[ Music Index | San Jose | Metroactive Central | Archives ]

Dance Chance Janet Jackson By Gina Arnold This one is a consolation prize for those who failed to get tickets to Madonna's show. Jackson's dance extravaganzas resemble Madonna's, only without the imaginative, feminist context. Janet's inner muse is not very articulate: her songs are all of the "I love you/I hate you/world peace is good" variety, but her dancing--in formation, at the head of a bunch of oddly clad backup dancers--is, like her brother's, superbly entertaining. Sadly, there's something very late-'80s MTV about her music: she samples, she raps, she's fly and all that, but she doesn't quite fit into the hip-hop world as comfortably as she would probably like to, partly because (like Michael) she's obsessed with white music: recent hits sample Joni Mitchell and America, of all groups. October 8 and 10; 7:30pm both nights; Compaq Center, San Jose; $38-$88. Critics' Picks: Belle and Sebastian, Björk, Bridge School Benefit, Nick Cave, dredg CD Release, Bob Dylan, Janet Jackson, Ozma, Pledge of Allegiance Tour, ResFest2001, Sex Mob, SoFA Street Fair, Watcha Tour , Weezer Fall Music: A high performance guide to Bay Area concerts. Venue Finder: Auditoriums, halls, wineries and clubs. [ San Jose | Metroactive Central | Archives ]