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Michael Jackson | Bad Tour on Rome, Italy Stadio Flaminio May 23rd, 1988 Attendance: Revenue: $ Sound Quality: A /A Videofeed Recording / Audience Recording Since you guys seem to enjoy when I tweak the instrumentation, I decided to add more synths and keyboards to songs like “Another Part of Me,“ “I Just Can't Stop Loving You,“ “Smooth Criminal,“ and “Thriller.“ “Wanna Be Startin' Something“ – I just want to mention that the booming audio and over-the-top bass at the beginning aren’t my fault. That’s how the tape came, and there’s not much that can be done. Michael’s voice here sounds off—he was likely sick during this show, maybe running a fever. He was even wearing a winter coat during rehearsals, despite the sweltering Roman summer heat at the time. A random ball flies into the stage at 5:20, by the way, LOL. “This Place Hotel“ – Michael's vocal issues become more noticeable here, especially at 8:08 when you can see him form the word “heart,“ but nothing actually comes out of his mouth. He even smiles a bit afterward, probably at the unexpected moment. Also, there’s no “hope is dead“ line at 8:57, but the energy really picks up by 11:12, despite his vocal discomfort. This is still a high-energy performance. “Another Part Of Me“ – We start off strong. I love the guitar at 13:55, and his movements here are sharp and intense. I really like the synths I added at 14:47, which give this version a nice vibe. The crowd's energy at 15:16 is palpable, a great atmosphere “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You“ – Sheryl sounds a bit under the weather too, and at 20:01, if you were by a lake full of ducks, you might hear something similar, LOL. But I do love the synth echoes that follow. “She's Out of My Life“ – Just, puh. “Jackson 5 Medley“ – Compare this performance to the ones from the HIStory tour, and you’ll see the difference. Here, Michael’s movements are incredibly intense, and his expressions are much more vibrant. “Rock With You“ – I love the intro, especially at 31:40. The keyboard is super groovy, and the overall instrumentation is so smooth. At 34:08, you can catch the backup dancers doing something funny in the background, didn't notice their dancing until now. Michael, though, struggles to get out the “I Wanna Rock With You“ lyric clearly, but it’s still a fun performance. “Human Nature“ – This one’s a solid, standard performance. No surprises here. “Smooth Criminal“ – Very interesting performance! At 43:37, you can actually hear Michael's voice faintly behind the playback. Watch out at 43:40, LaVelle almost gets stomped on lmao, Michael yells “Too much smoke!“ at 45:21, and his movement at 45:38 is one I really liked. “Dirty Diana“ – Tons of energy here, but the vocals sound a bit strange. It’s hard to explain—Michael's giving his all, but his voice just isn’t cooperating the way he wants. “Thriller“ – My favorite part of “Thriller“ in 1988 has to be the explosion and how Michael arrives on stage with the mask. His delivery of the first verse here sounds so mysterious and cool. “Thriller“ in general just works so well live. “Workin' Day and Night“ – 1:07:20 “Workin’! Workin’!” “Beat It“ – He starts this one with a unique shout, but the rest of the performance is pretty standard. “Billie Jean“ – This performance feels strangely different from others. At 1:17:53, the horns seem to hit a wrong note, and at 1:18:28, there’s this sound I’ve never heard before in any performance, but I liked it—it added a suspenseful vibe, like a “wrong decision” was made. “Bad“ – A pretty typical performance, but after the song ends, something weird happens. The band doesn’t sync up with Michael, and only the synth bass keeps playing while the rest of the band catches up. Also, the band intro is unusually short compared to other performances. “The Way You Make Me Feel“ – The mic takes a moment to turn on, and then doesn’t turn off. You can hear Michael shouting over the playback. “Man In The Mirror“ – Once again, the instrumentation here feels different. There’s a weird intrument at 1:44:42 that I actually enjoyed, and the bass kicks in so epically at 1:45:54, followed by the drums—it’s all pretty epic. The synth bass at 1:46:31 is cool too. At 1:48:15, Michael says “Grazie,” and Ricky’s drumming at 1:48:55 is outstanding. Overall Grade: A- Pinterest: Personal Instagram: Instagram: 0. Intro - 0:00 1. Wanna Be Startin' Something - 2:14 2. This Place Hotel - 7:25 3. Another Part of Me - 12:05 4. I Just Can't Stop Loving You - 16:50 5. She's Out Of My Life - 21:39 6. Jackson 5 Medley - 25:10 7. Rock With You - 30:24 8. Human Nature - 35:50 9. Smooth Criminal - 41:10 10. Dirty Diana 48:00 11. Thriller - 54:34 12. Workin' Day And Night - 1:00:07 13. Beat It - 1:07:50 14. Billie Jean - 1:15:10 15. Bad - 1:25:10 16. The Way You Make Me Feel - 1:34:57 17. Man In The Mirror - 1:40:40
