Review: Three of the Jacksons brought nostalgic disco jams to Tampa’s Hard Rock Event Center

Michael Jackson’s tragic 2009 death is why The Jacksons are back together, but Monday night at Tampa’s Hard Rock Event Center, his death was the elephant in the room for 70 minutes.

Marlon, Jackie and Tito Jackson miss the hell out of their little brother, but even with Jermaine and Randy Jackson off the road, the trio is doing what it can to keep the glory days of The Jackson 5—and The Jacksons—alive on the road. Back in the day, very seldom did the group stop in Tampa Bay, and even today, Tampa shows are pretty spotty. It’s been seven years since The Jacksons last came around here, and that was when the Rays still held post-game concerts. Ah, good times.

The ballroom-esque lights at the Hard Rock went down at 8:15 p.m. on Monda, but nothing Jackson-wise actually happened until right before 8:30. I’m gonna go out on a limb and assume that because the show was only about half-full when the lights went down, people from the actual casino were offered cheap—or complimentary—tickets, and figured “it’s a concert, so why not?”

A brief introductory video like you see at most nostalgia acts rolled, featuring the brothers with Ed Sullivan, and fans from all over the world expressing their love for the boys. Opening the show with “Can You Feel It,” Tito, Jackie, and Marlon walked out in sunglasses—which they slowly removed all at the same time—and shiny regalia that resembled something that their late brother would sport in the ‘90s.

On the right was Marlon, the youngest of the three who is now completely bald. Jackie still sports the most hair of the three, and Tito stood on the left, strumming away on his Gibson Les Paul while donning his trademark bowler hat. While the presence of all three was a glorious sight, Marlon took on the majority of Michael’s parts on songs released under the Jacksons moniker, spinning around and Hee-hee’ing just like the late King of Pop. He even had a black, glittery blazer on for the first few songs until right before “Enjoy Yourself.” While a lot of us were really there for Tito, Marlon did a bang-up job serving as frontman. There was hardly any banter that wasn’t related to how good Tampa sounded, or how accurate the video tribute featuring parents Joe and Katherine Jackson talking about the boys’ childhood was.

The choreography even wore shades of the original Jackson 5, and Marlon, Jackie, and the two backup singers engaged in it as energetically as the original five did. Tito wasn’t having it quite as much, but at the age of 68, when you’re holding a guitar from beginning to end, it’s tough to dance and strum at the same time. On the other hand, during a Jackson 5 medley, which started with a transposed version of “I Want You Back,” all three brothers—and their two backup singers—remarkably executed their original dance from their 1969 appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show .” And Tito would go on to make up for his slight lack of energy by taking on lead vocals during the medley’s “Dancing Machine” ending, later breaking out his new single, “Love One Another.”

Capping off the show’s main set was a 15-minute version of “Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground,” which did not have as much self-triggered dancing from the crowd. Marlon had to ask the crowd nicely to stand, clap “Radio Gaga” style, dance, sing, the whole kit and caboodle. In the end, they did what they were told, and gave a rousing reaction, but what came next was electrifying, compared to the disco hit. For an encore, a second tribute to Michael Jackson (the first being “Rock With You” earlier in the show) was presented through “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin,” which opened most of Michael’s solo shows from Thriller on.

It’s not that The Jacksons sounded like a bunch of old codgers or anything, but if they roll into town again, let’s hope that Jermaine or Randy—maybe even Janet—will be involved. For family’s sake.

This article appears in Feb 17-23, 2022.