Justin Timberlake, Wireless Festival London, review, It’s Jay Z and JT. Like a black and white, hip hop R’n’B- double act, the US superstars are tag-teaming this year’s UK Wireless festival, sharing the headline spots across three nights in London. Former Disney Mouseketeer and boy band star Justin Timberlake topped the opening night, introducing the veteran rapper for encores before Jay Z’s Saturday night spot, where Timberlake will be amongst his guests. Then they are both back for a double bill on Sunday.Was there really no one else available? Or are these two versatile and charismatic performers deemed so far ahead of the rest of the field there is not much point in anyone else turning up?On this evidence, it may well be the latter. British acts are, for the most part, low profile at the three-day urban festival, with only Emeli Sandé, Rita Ora and a Calvin Harris DJ set prominent among supports. For all the growing confidence and raised skills levels of UK rap and soul artists over the past decade, the bill at Wireless reminded us that this is still predominantly an American musical genre.What is more interesting is that, on an opening day dedicated to slick, smooth, jazzy nu soul performed by some of the most dynamic and honey-toned black singers in the US, including John Legend, Miguel and Trey Songz, it was the blue-eyed Disney kid who trumped them all.Like other once-in-a-lifetime talents from Elvis to Eminem, JT has become the crossover star of a black genre by mastering all the sounds, styles and moves of the most talented black artists, then adding a very direct, accessible, crowd-pleasing commercial pop wallop of his own. To compete at this level, you don’t have to just be good, you have to be extraordinary, and Timberlake sings, plays and dances with dazzling grace and finesse.Where many urban pop acts have reduced their backing bands to a DJ and a laptop computer firing out pre-recorded beats, Timberlake stands up in front of a 15-piece big band featuring horns, percussion and vocalists, reshaping the digital machine grooves into sinuous, old-school funk.The singer really leads from the front, picking up guitars and jamming on keyboards with a playful showmanship that stirs up everyone on stage. This is one smiling, happy, jiving ensemble. That kind of enthusiasm is infectious, radiating out from the stage and enveloping the crowd.To be fair, old gangster rapper Snoop Dogg almost rivalled Timberlake on the opening bill, with a laptop set dependent almost entirely on his sly charisma and popular hits extolling the joys of pimping and dope-smoking. But there was still a tangible gulf between the two. Snoop Dogg is an incredibly engaging pop character. Timberlake is a potential multi-generational world-beater.Having taken a five-year break to diversify into a not particularly satisfying Hollywood acting career, Timberlake has returned to music with real intent. He opened with a trio of his biggest hits, the kind of surefire crowd-pleasers other artists save for encores, all the time demanding “Are we there yet?” As the last notes of Cry Me a River faded, Timberlake surveyed the 40,000-strong moving and swaying mass of young, enthusiastic urban ravers occupying an astroturfed London car park beneath the Olympic stadium, and smiled “I think we’re there.” There was still another hour to go, and it never let up.Timberlake’s principal model is Michael Jackson, although drawing more on Off the Wall funk than his later plastic pop. He made that debt explicit on a free-flowing cover of the Jacksons' Shake Your Body Down (To the Ground) but there was a big shot of Prince’s rock-funk-jazz swagger in there, too, and it is no coincidence that many of his band members served time in the New Power Generation.This was a set that didn’t really rise or fall - rather it was all about keeping the groove and the crowd moving. The arrival of Jay Z on stage, that most royally confident of rappers in a genre never short of bullish swagger, was a crowning moment, like an endorsement from the godfather of hip hop to a new prince of pop.Source:
Justin Timberlake, Wireless Festival London, review Images
Justin Timberlake, Wireless Festival London, review - Telegraph
(620 x 387 - 73.56 KB - jpeg)
... Justin Timberlake and Frank Ocean Playing 2013 Wireless Festival in
(554 x 369 - 72.42 KB - jpeg)
justin timberlake
(570 x 374 - 50.13 KB - jpeg)
... Justin Timberlake Headlining the Wireless Festival 2013 in London
(450 x 450 - 81.85 KB - jpeg)
A star attraction on the Sunset Strip a generation ago, London was once a breeding ground for rock stardom for some of the early members like Nikki Sixx, Slash, Steven Adler, Izzy Stradlin and Blackie Lawless, but there is now a lot to more to London after a flurry of creativity has breathed new life into the band.Frontman Nadir D’Priest, the iconic pretty boy heartthrob now all grown up, still has the same star qualities that made London such a buzz band back in the day, and he is singing better than ever -- as the world will soon find out upon the release of a live new CD for London Live, recorded in Nashville and engineered by the legendary Michael Wagener.“I knew the record would have to sound big, and it sounds humongous. That’s the best way I can put it,” D’Priest said. “There was a specific sound we needed. It had to sound large or it wouldn’t even be worth doing, and Michael Wagener is great because he’s one of the superstars of producing.”Still in place is guitarist Sean Lewis, who has been in London since 1987, and bassist Brian West, whose London pedigree goes back to 1984. Also, London has pulled a big coup by reuniting with legendary drummer Alan Krigger, a founding member of Giuffria who joined briefly in 1988 and has also played with Tina Turner, Carl Wilson of the Beach Boys and other superstars.“It’s an honor to play for London. It’s just a great band to be in,” Krigger said.There are big plans. In addition to the heavily-anticipated London Live, there is a batch of new songs just begging to see the light of the day, and a large-scale tour is planned for the summer.Instead of being a feeder best known for being featured in Decline of Western Civilization Part 2, London is primed and ready to carve a deeper niche with a revitalized comeback that is sure to make the band not just the talk of the town in Hollywood – a badge London has worn since the spandex days – but now the whole world.“There’s also a lot of interest in this kind of music again, and it’s a worldwide interest,” D’Priest said. “The demand is there and it exceeds the Southern California area. Our number one goal is to show people a good time and have a good time ourselves, and that will never change.”London was formed in 1978 by Nikki Sixx and Lizzie Grey. The lineup shuffled and at times including future Guns N’ Roses guitarists Slash and Izzy Stradlin future WASP singer/bassist Blackie Lawless and future Cinderella drummer Fred Coury.Once D’Priest joined in 1984, London really began to take off. The band recorded Non-Stop Rock and Don’t Cry Wolf, then was introduced to a worldwide audience in 1988 Penelope Spheeris film The Decline of Western Civilization II: The Metal Years.A third album in 1990 called Playa Del Rock was released, and at this point the band was sometimes called D’Priest. Frustratingly, the band was still trying to find its grip on mass appeal by this time – why London did not sell millions of records is among rock’s great mysteries – but D’Priest refused to let go of the vision.Sixteen years passed, and D’Priest dedicated his life to raising a family and being financially successful in business, but as the years went by he learned more than anything that rock and roll was in his blood. He has stayed in great shape – mind, body and spirit – and eventually an overwhelming urge not just to get up on stage again and the music flow through his body but also to finish what he started, D’Priest was more and more convinced that London is a band the singer could not turn his back on.London is primed and ready to go from footnote to big toe, and the good news is the band has never sounded better. It’s easier than ever to reach fans at the simple press of a button, and London is ready to rock again – and this time they plan to play loud enough that everyone can hear. And they do mean everyone.London Live is produced by London and engineered by Michael Wagener. Roy Z Ramirez (Halford, Bruce Dickinson) provided additional mixes, and Maor Appelbaum (Halford, Bruce Dickinson) did the mastering.London is also releasing two new tracks, “Get Back Home,” written by D’Priest and West, along with “Tu Cultura y Tu Nacion,” London’s first Rock En Español single (written by D’Priest) also featuring renowned keyboardist Teddy “Zig Zag” Andreadis, who toured with Guns N’ Roses during Appetite For Destruction and Use Your Illusion.” London is in pre-production for the filming of music videos for both new songs.Also, London is re-releasing its cult classic LP “Don’t Cry Wolf” on both CD and vinyl (with two different album covers, too) through their website at londontheband.net.
