JC CHASEZ
IF JC Chasez weren’t the consummate pro, he might have walked off the stage at the Roseland Ballroom Wednesday when he realized he was performing for a measly 1,000 fans – in a club that usually packs in more than 3,000.
Instead, the *NSYNCer, now on a solo tour, put on a terrific concert and thanked those who came instead of punishing those who ignored the gig.
In a moment of self-doubt, a conquered Chasez faced the females who pressed toward the stage, telling them, “I don’t know about this, but I’m going to ride this thing till the wheels fall off.”
He did, through the many fast tunes, sappy ballads and even his oddball Sting-meets-Marley reggae number, “Everything You Want.”
The stage was set with padded walls and the backup band members were dressed in orderly scrubs to conjure images of a mental hospital. (His solo album is titled “Schizophrenic.”)
Yet, because of the sexually charged songs on the disc, and Chasez’s quartet of girly-show dancers who strutted in lingerie, Roseland felt more like the Paris’ Crazy Horse Saloon than a crazy house.
That was clear from the first tune, “All Day Long I Dream About Sex,” when Chasez hit the stage running, all in white, as his ladies in black lace swirled around him.
The guy is a fine singer who performed every song during the brief but explosive 75-minute set. Still, as good as his voice was (especially on the ballad “Dear Goodbye”), his dancing stole the show.
At times, he had the same easy, everyman elegance that was Gene Kelly’s trademark as a hoofer.
That comparison was easiest to see when Chasez worked the electronic funk “One Night Stand” dressed in pimpadelic high fashion, treating the risqué number with the same deliberation that Kelly gave his classic routine for “Singing in the Rain.”
The song was an early show highlight, as was his equally spicy number “Blowing Me Up (With Her Love),” when the Chasez dancers illustrated a number of chapters in the Kama Sutra as the man sang. As Dr. Freud would attest, sometimes dreams have deep meanings and sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.
Earlier this year, Chasez played a pair of sold-out shows at Irving Plaza. He could have done the smaller club again with a full house, but the tiny Irving stage restricted this well-rehearsed, finely crafted song ‘n’ dance performance. If you only get to hear him sing, you experience only half the show.