The man, the myth, the legend. Justin Timberlake was in Toronto for his Man of the Woods tour at the Scotiabank Arena tonight and it was everything we hoped it would be and more. 

JT show was boasting a real (we think?) bon fire, a short film about love (d’awww) and a wild lights show. It was definitely a concert the Six will remember.

Timberlake’s awesome band, The Tennessee Kids, filed out onto stage toting their various instruments (of which there are several) and then—as a giant light hovering above the stage flashed the Man of the Woods logo—Timberlake himself took the stage, and he did not stop performing until he left the stage hours later.

Timberlake made his way through his hits across the ages. We heard old tunes like “Sexyback” and “Suit & Tie” mixed in with brand new songs off the Man of the Woods album, including the ever-bouncy and fun eponymous track.

As Timberlake sang and danced, he and his team made their way across the winding stage, which spanned the length of the Scotiabank Arena and had on it items like faux trees, tall grass and often, dense fog.

During the more woods-y tracks, screens descended from the ceiling to project stunning landscape shots of sunsets and sunrises, serene bodies of water and forest skylines. During “Man of the Woods,” the screens crawled up to dangle about five feet from the ceiling, holding a cheerful blue sky in place above the otherwise dark stadium.

 

Halfway through the show, Timberlake took a break from singing and dancing—an impressive feat that probably requires a lot of backstage water-chugging, right?!—and played the audience a short film about love. In it, various couples of all races, creeds and sexualities are seen spending time together, talking about what true love means to them.

After the break, Timberlake and his musical team cozied up around a fire. Whether or not the bonfire was actually fire is to be determined, but it didn’t look artificial in the slightest. It was here that Timberlake through the spotlight to his back-up singers, giving them each time to cover one of their favourite songs. This brought us glorious oldies like Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” and The Beatles’ “Come Together.”

 

At the end of the show, Timberlake was only gone a moment before “Can’t Stop The Feeling” came over the speakers and the crowd erupted. The light show that accompanied this hit made the performance one of the best of the night. Everyone in the room knew every lyric, and it ended both shows on a major high note.

 

All in all, if you’re looking for a fun and high energy performance, look no further than Justin Timberlake. Dude’s still bringing “Sexyback” 12 years later.

Here’s the Man of the Woods setlist in FULL: 

  1. “Filthy“
  2. “Midnight Summer Jam“
  3. “Lovestoned/I Think She Knows Interlude“
  4. “Sexyback“
  5. “Man of the Woods“
  6. “Higher Higher“
  7. “Seniorita“
  8. “Suit & Tie“
  9. “My Love“
  10. “Cry Me a River“
  11. “Mirrors“
  12. “Drink You Away“
  13. “Flannel“
  14. “Until The End of Time“
  15. “Morning Light“
  16. “What Goes Around…Comes Around“
  17. “Say Something“
  18. “Montana“
  19. “Summer Love“
  20. “Rock Your Body“
  21. “Supplies“
  22. “Can’t Stop The Feeling“
Filed under: Justin Timberlake