I was on the fence about purchasing Michael Jackson’s Live in Bucharest: The Dangerous Tour because the setlist is mostly the same as the Live at Wembley concert and Jackson only performed four songs from the Dangerous (1991) album; “Remember the Time” was not included, unfortunately. Heck, there aren’t even bonus features on this DVD. So, why did I purchase Live in Bucharest? I bought it for two reasons only: the “Smooth Criminal” performance with the anti-gravity lean and that stupid gold leotard Jackson wears for more than half of the show. That leotard did things to me that are still beyond comprehension! The back portion of the leotard was stylized weirdly because it looked like Jackson had a wedgie, but at the same time, he had a nice butt! The video quality for Live in Bucharest is also a million times better compared to Live at Wembley.
The show took place on the first leg of Jackson’s Dangerous World Tour at the Bucharest National Stadium on October 1, 1992. Though I heard that Live in Bucharest includes footage from other shows on the Dangerous World Tour, as well, so please take the actual date with a grain of salt. I saw some familiar faces who worked with Jackson on the Bad World Tour such as LaVelle Smith Jr., Evaldo Garcia, Randy Allaire, Greg Phillinganes, Jennifer Batten, Ricky Lawson, Don Boyette, Dorian Holley, and Darryl Phinnessee. Actually, the backing vocal lineup is almost the same, except Sheryl Crow was replaced by Siedah Garrett, who sang with Jackson on “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You.” She also sang with Jackson on the studio version of “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You” and co-wrote “Man in the Mirror;” both tracks are from the Bad (1987) album. No offense to Garrett, but I think she exaggerated her vocals to the point where she sounded nasally and whiny, which is why the “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You” performance was laughable. Jackson was a perfectionist and liked the songs to sound exactly as they do on the albums, so I’m surprised he let Garrett get away with that.
Speaking of the songs, the setlist is crap! The second leg of the Bad World Tour included seven songs from the Bad album, but the Dangerous World Tour only included two songs from the Bad album (“Smooth Criminal” and “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You”). Jackson also performed “The Way You Make Me Feel,” the title track, and “Man in the Mirror,” but the former two were played on a few dates of the first leg and the latter was cut from the second leg. As mentioned earlier, Jackson only performed four songs from the Dangerous album on the Live in Bucharest show. Those included “Jam,” “Will You Be There,” “Black or White,” and “Heal the World.” The title track wasn’t added until the second leg of the tour. I get the significance of “Will You Be There” and “Heal the World,” but with so many dance bangers on Dangerous, how come no “In the Closet,” “Why You Wanna Trip on Me,” “Can’t Let Her Get Away,” “Who Is It,” nor “Remember the Time”? The latter was rehearsed for the tour, but was taken out of the setlist because of “wardrobe malfunctions.”
Of course, I’m picky because Bad and Dangerous are my two favorite Michael Jackson albums (at the moment), so that’s the fangirl in me wanting to hear all of my favorite songs live. But come on, no “Dirty Diana”?!?! That song was made for a live atmosphere! Batten got her rockstar moment on “Workin’ Day and Night,” where Michael let her fire away on the electric guitar. But that performance gave me a headache, just like the Wembley performance gave me a headache. Speaking of “Workin’ Day and Night,” why the hell was Jackson smacking Garrett’s butt? They had a weird friendship.
I would’ve preferred Jackson take out the Jackson 5 medley consisting of “I Want You Back,” “The Love You Save,” and “I’ll Be There” because it didn’t make sense for him to keep it, knowing he was trying to separate himself from his brothers. It was cute on the Bad World Tour, but by this point I was like, “Can you cool it on the Jackson 5 stuff?” No disrespect to the Jackson 5, but I want to hear the new songs instead! Psychologically, I understand why he kept the Jackson 5 medley after all these years, including the HIStory World Tour, because that was his way of staying connected to his brothers. Even though they ended on bad terms following the Victory tour in 1984, Jackson treasured the memories he had with his brothers and the medley was assuring his brothers were still with him.
“Human Nature” was kind of a mess because Jackson was out of breath from dancing too much. It’s such a beautiful, lowkey song that he didn’t need choreography for it. I would’ve been fine if he just walked around the stage with the microphone. Also, as much as I appreciate “Thriller,” I wish he stopped playing it when the Bad World Tour ended because those performances couldn’t be topped. Like the “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You” performance, the entire “Thriller” performance was laughable and the lip syncing did not help one bit! Jackson’s white jacket does not match the gold leotard. The skeletons orchestrated by the shadow men look pathetic and that’s saying a lot coming from me because I love anything with skulls. Plus, I hate when Jackson switches places with the body double for the song’s finale; the latter wearing a cheap werewolf mask.
My biggest complaint with Live in Bucharest, however, was the cameras focusing too much on the audience. I don’t care to see people fainting, crying, and passing out because of Jackson. I just want to watch the dude perform! I get why it was necessary to include some shots of the crowd, but I feel like it was too much. The overload of crowd shots made the concert feel like, at times, a chaotic mess!
The only songs that Jackson performed live entirely, with no lip syncing, were “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin,’” “Human Nature,” “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You,” “She’s Out of My Life,” the Jackson 5 medley, “Billie Jean,” “Workin’ Day and Night,” and “Beat It.” Though it’s significantly less compared to the Bad World Tour, it’s nothing compared to the HIStory World Tour. But, I don’t blame Jackson for lip syncing more on the Dangerous World Tour because he overdid it on the Bad World Tour, the reason being the latter was supposed to be his final tour. By the way, whoever planned the Bad World Tour is an idiot because a 123-date tour spanning 16 months is ridiculous and grueling for any artist to tackle. The only reason why Jackson toured for the Dangerous album was because he wanted to raise money for his Heal the World Foundation.
My favorite performances were “Jam,” “Smooth Criminal,” “Billie Jean,” “Beat It,” “Black or White,” and “Man in the Mirror.” “Jam” kicks off the show in a banging way with Jackson standing still for two minutes while the audience screams in his face. But dude, what up with the pyrotechnics and smoke utilized for the entrance? Your hair literally burned off because of the Pepsi incident; why you gotta keep playing with fire, dude? “Smooth Criminal” looks so much cooler with the anti-gravity lean because of the music video, so kudos to Jackson’s team for figuring out a way to do it live. Though I prefer the Wembley performance of “Billie Jean” over the Bucharest performance, I love the outro dance and the camera angles utilized for that sequence, giving the song a hip-hop feel.
Between the Bad World Tour and the HIStory World Tour, “Beat It” got funnier as time went on because Jackson kept messing with the camera guy. Someone even pointed out on YouTube that when Jackson playfully kicks the camera guy down to the ground, the guy is still tapping his foot to the song! Plus, it’s impossible to keep a straight face when Jackson yells “HOOO!” to the camera on the other side of the stage. “Black or White” has this riff that’s impossible not to bob your head to and the song has an important message. Plus, for all the crap I gave Garrett for “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You,” she did a great job on “Man in the Mirror.” She helped take that song to church (and outer space)!
Do I think Live in Bucharest is better than Live at Wembley? Hell no! Do I regret getting Live in Bucharest? Hell no! The show is filled with music, comedy, magic tricks, suspense, people losing their minds, nostalgia, and hints of Barney & Friends (watch the “Heal the World” performance to understand what I’m talking about). I’ll give Live in Bucharest a rating of 4 out of 5 stars.
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Lana
Lana Teramae | Me, Myself and Time 
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