While Janet Jackson Dazzles, Some Fans Stranded During Chicago Concert

“That’s the end?” asked Janet Jackson playfully Saturday night on stage just as she does on record at the end of the 1989 hit “Miss You Much.” “I hope not!” was the likely reply from Chicagoland fans still rushing into the venue after sitting in traffic for multiple hours as the show nevertheless neared its end.

Amidst her first full U.S. tour since 2018, Jackson’s aptly-titled “Together Again” outing is amongst the summer’s hottest, one set to run across America through June.

Saturday night’s performance took place in Tinley Park, Illinois, about an hour south of Chicago, the season opener at the newly-named Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre, an outdoor venue with a capacity of nearly 30,000 which first began putting on concerts in 1990 as the World Music Theatre.

Despite a history of nearly 35 years hosting sold out shows on the site, theoretically with a set maximum capacity and a well-worn, worst-case-scenario parking plan, the venue appeared to run out of parking early Saturday, funneling overflow crowds to a nearby family entertainment center and used car retailer, backing up traffic for miles around the venue and stranding many.

“There’s always an issue getting in here,” said a concertgoer named Tania from Chicago. “The last concert we came to was Nas and Wu-Tang. And we missed a lot of that show trying to get in,” she continued, noting a performance at the venue last fall. “I got here late but Janet always puts on a phenomenal show.”

There seemed to be little debate amongst fans as to the quality of Jackson’s performance Saturday night.

“I’d like to tell you that I thought the concert was outstanding,” said Robert from Chicago. “Being a child from the 70s, I really felt like she did a marvelous job. She’s our generation’s Beyoncé is what she is. It was a heck of a show.”

But one word seemed to come up a lot when it came to describing the parking situation at Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre.

“I thought the parking, for lack of a better word, was atrocious,” added Robert.

“It was atrocious,” confirmed Chicagoan Leeann. “It was the worst parking situation I’ve ever seen.”

Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre owner Live Nation, who blew out $25 lawn seats in the run up to Saturday’s sold out concert, didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment, though some fans were sent what appeared to be an automated Twitter reply by the venue asking them to email [email protected] to elaborate upon their experience, promising to respond “by the end of the week.”

Social media was filled with reports from concertgoers, some of whom ran out of gas as they sat stranded in traffic for hours attempting to enter the venue. While general admission parking at the amphitheatre is free, some concertgoers who paid for VIP parking vented on social media that they were nevertheless sent to the backup lots.

After waiting hours in standstill traffic, some gave up and rolled the dice, abandoning the venue plan entirely while taking parking into their own hands.

“I’m an 80s kid so we went for my friend’s 40th birthday,” said Lindy, a resident of Chicago’s northern suburbs, making a lengthy trip south across the city during Friday afternoon rush hour. “We got there at about 6:45 PM and were in standstill traffic – no movement,” she said, arriving near the venue an hour before the show’s scheduled start time of 7:45 PM. “After about an hour and a half of no movement, we were like, ‘This is kind of weird… Shouldn’t we be moving?’ So we got out of the car and started looking at the neighborhood signs just to see if we could get out of the line and park in the neighborhood – and then walk the 1.5 to 2 miles to the venue. Because we thought we were going to miss it otherwise,” added the concertgoer, highlighting a dark, lengthy walk which crossed an interstate. “We saw a mom with her baby outside of her house and explained that we were kind of in a pickle. We asked, ‘Do you think it’s OK to park in front of your house?’ And she was like, ‘Yeah! No problem.’ So we left it on a residential street and walked.”

For some concertgoers lucky enough to make it on site early, in time for Saturday night’s opening act, rapper/actor Ludacris, there were more issues looming inside the venue.

“We arrived as soon as Janet was getting on stage. We were in the lawn. And the audio didn’t turn on for about the first 15 minutes. The volume not working was just so absurd,” said Lindy with an exasperated sigh, noting conditions on the venue’s sloped hill in the rear general admission section. “And we just started laughing at that point, looking at the line of cars still out there trying to get into the venue. ‘OK. This is what it is. At least we made it in.’”

Lengthy lines of cars unable to get anywhere near the venue itself were still attempting to enter the entertainment center’s backup parking lot, a single entrance which choked traffic down from three different directions.

This reviewer opted to park at a nearby shopping mall, making a mile and a half walk over. With cuts like “All For You” audible from the parking lot, audio in the venue seemed to be functioning normally just after 10 PM during the show’s closing 40 minutes.

Excited fans danced in the aisles as Jackson, backed by a troupe of dancers and a tight five piece live band, dug deep before closing up with a slew of hits from a catalog responsible for sales of over 100 million, landing her as one of the top 20 selling artists ever.

“There are a few songs that I absolutely love that I’ve never done!” said Jackson on stage excitedly Saturday night. “Is that OK?” she asked to rapturous approval, soon putting her spin on Blackstreet’s “Girlfriend/Boyfriend.”

While two of her best albums, 1989’s Rhythm Nation and 1993’s Janet are broken up by interludes, the “Together Again” show is divvied up into four acts, with act III focusing primarily on deep cuts before closing with the hits.

Jackson’s moves were tight and crisp, the singer sporting a Rhythm Nation t-shirt as she kicked the energy level in the amphitheatre up a notch via “The Knowledge,” a quartet of dancers duplicating each move.

Live bass propelled “Miss You Much,” as Jackson shortened up some of the selections in an effort to work a whopping 40 songs into the “Together Again” set. “Love Will Never Do (Without You)” followed, Rhythm Nation still relevant and resplendent on a gorgeous spring Chicagoland night.

Imagery of her brother Michael Jackson elicited a pop as video from their “Scream” collaboration ran on a pair of screens flanking the stage’s outermost reaches following “Escapade,” Saturday night’s concert heading for the finish line in Tinley Park.

Gearing up for an encore, cameras followed Jackson backstage as she made her way out to an adoring fanbase, rejoining fans with “Together Again.” “I love you so much! Good night!” said the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, waving from the stage Saturday night.

Despite the great show, some fans said they’ve had enough.

“I’ve never come to a show here and I don’t want to come back,” said Leeann.

“I live in the northern suburbs and there’s no way I’m ever going back to Tinley Park. It’s just too much,” added Lindy. “That was so dicey. We barely saw the show! It just… it was lacking in organization,” she said.

“It was my first time. My friends had an issue before. And we were a little taken aback. How long have you been doing this? It is not your first rodeo. So we were a little surprised,” she said. “No one reached out. I saw zero workers directing traffic. And just minimal workers everywhere. So after our huge journey, walking alongside a busy street, there were multiple fails,” she explained. “I get that in this economy it is really hard to hire people. But don’t sell out the venue then, you know?”