Last modified: Sunday, March 25, 2007 5:58 PM EDT REVIEW: Timberlake's arena show captures small club feel BY JESSICA KOSOWSKI SUN CHRONICLE STAFF UNCASVILLE, Conn. - Sexy came back into style in a big way when Justin Timberlake brought his FutureSex/LoveShow tour to the Mohegan Sun Arena on Saturday night. The 26-year-old superstar sang and danced his way deeper into the hearts of the already adoring, mostly teenage and young adult female audience members for about 2 hours with a full production show that incorporated a center stage spanning the width of the arena that jutted into the seats and throngs of audience members viewing the concert from the arena's floor, coming just close enough for fans to touch the man they affectionately call "JT." Timberlake made a stylish entrance by ascending to the stage on a platform wearing a full three-piece gray suit to the deafening screams of audience members as he began the show with "FutureSex/LoveSound," the title track of his most recent album. He and the full complement of well-choreographed dancers engaged and interacted with the audience in a way that made the already cozy 10,000-seat arena seem like an intimate dance club. Timberlake began the second song, "Like I Love You," off 2002's "Justified," playing a gleaming white acoustic guitar, and showed off his dance moves, which seemed slightly robotic, to match the techno sound of third song, "My Love." Timberlake's band provided soaring electric guitar riffs, which when coupled with Timberlake himself running frantically to each edge of the multi-level stage, increased the energy of the show. The crowd only got more wild after Timberlake's on-stage tequila shot to start off "Senorita," which included an audience sing-along, and continued through a provocative "Sexy Ladies," a sultry song that featured his dancers' intricate choreography routines. While Timberlake interacted with the audience on many occasions during this show, the production featured a series of translucent video screens - one surrounding the center stage and two others that curved out around the lower parts of the stage - that seemed to be there to give a visually muted effect, but really just made it difficult to see him. This was most apparent during his current radio hit, the break-up song "What Goes Around." The song began with Timberlake entrancing the audience with his voice and piano playing, and built up intensity as it progressed. Off-putting, though, was when, during the song's climax, Timberlake went behind the screen followed by a cameraman who swirled the camera to match the song's lyrics. The screens were down again for the next song, "Chop Me Up," showing illustrations of skyscrapers, which did conceal Timberlake, but also seemed to give a feeling of being in a club that many audience members took advantage of by dancing throughout the song, as well as much of the rest of the concert. Furthering the club feel, a DJ spun popular dance hits during a 20-minute intermission, complete with videos of the songs displayed on the screens to plug Timberlake collaborator Timbaland's upcoming album. The producers, however, didn't take advantage of what would have been a good segway from the DJ's final song, "Give It To Me," a Timbaland song featuring Timberlake and Nelly Furtado, to reintroduce Timberlake to the stage. A laser light show that ran during "Rock Your Body," the band's funky sounds and Timberlake's athletic dancing got the crowd jumping back into the show. Although, Timberlake slowed it down again for "Gone" and "Last Night," which again featured his soaring vocals. Timberlake picked up the tempo again on "Damn Girl" and "Summer Love," which featured skillful choreography and risqué costuming. Arguably, though, the best two songs of the show came close to the end of the night when Timberlake sang the cautionary "Losing My Way" and the angry "Cry Me A River." The former, off his newest album, had Timberlake alone on stage with his soulful voice carrying the song's pleading lyrics to the audience. "Cry Me A River" featured a heavier sound than the album cut, complete with a soaring electric guitar, and Timberlake seemingly pouring his soul into singing the lyrics. The crowd responded to Timberlake's intensity through thunderous applause at the end of the song, which he concluded with a snippet of beat boxing. Timberlake finished off his show with "Lovestoned" and his hit "SexyBack," which had a heavier sound delivered through the drums and guitar and didn't feature the Timberlake's synthesized voice as the album cut does. He concluded the show by descending back through the floor to loud applause and screams from the audience. After just a two minute wait, Timberlake obliged those still in attendance, as many audience members left after he made his exit from the stage, to an encore of "(Another Song) All Over Again" off "FutureSex/LoveSounds." He took a few minutes before beginning the night's final song to thank the crowd and his supporters, however, the gratitude took a conversational tone continuing the vibe that Timberlake intended for this show to have a more club atmosphere opposed to a large arena tour. Pop singer Pink opened the show for Timberlake with a 45-minute set playing radio favorites like "Trouble" from 2003's "Try This" album, "Just Like a Pill," "Family Portrait," "Don't Let Me Get Me," and "Get the Party Started" from 2001's "Missundaztood," and "Stupid Girls" and "U + Ur Hand" from her most recent release "I'm Not Dead." Pink also included "Cuz I Can," with its heavy drumbeats, and "Dear Mr. President," a politically charged song from "I'm Not Dead," in her set list. While Pink herself was wearing a black mini-dress that turned into a black leotard, and not a shred of pink, even in her hair, she did incorporate lengths of pink cloth tied to an acrobat's chair lift during the latter portion of her set. The singer wrapped the cloth strips around her legs and, after the chair was hoisted into the air, performed various acrobatics in mid-air, which was visually impressive, but somewhat confusing as "Get the Party Started" has little to do with acrobatics and contortions. Overall, Justin Timberlake's "FutureSex/LoveShow" provided an evening of good visual and stunning auditory entertainment for the fans at Mohegan Sun proving that Timberlake is a headliner that can sing more than just pop hits; he can dance and perform them in show all his own, too.