By Daniel Paiz
Missy Elliott’s “Out of This World” Tour greets Denver’s earthlings with a concert they haven’t witnessed before and may never see again. Timbaland, Ciara, and Busta Rhymes all deliver signature performances that upped the ante and had the crowd ravenous for the “Supa Fly” artist. This is Missy Elliott’s first-ever headlining tour, and “Misdemeanor” poured forth every bit of effort and musical expertise into this Ball Arena concert in Denver, Colorado.
Each Supporting Act makes it their own
Timbaland
Timbaland is best known for producing everything everywhere in music. Okay, so that might be a slight exaggeration, but not by much. If you are a fan of Aaliyah, Nelly Furtado, Beyonce, Jay-Z, Justin Timberlake, One Republic, Keri Hilson, Ginuwine, Jodeci, UGK, ServidSounds, or Missy Elliott, you’ve heard a production from Timbaland. The endless discography would be like liner notes to put here; so, suffice it to say this guy knows music.
He also knows that to entertain a crowd, you have to draw them in and keep them guessing. Timbaland went the Verzuz route for his set as he played a slew of songs from his career. Delight happened early and often, as self-proclaimed “Timbo Da King” played selections from Aaliyah, Justin Timberlake, and Nelly Furtado amongst others. It was a walk through Hip-Hop and R&B history; musicians in their early years in the 1990s earning their first hits, artists switching musical gears in the 2000s, etc. For someone who didn’t perform a lot of their own verses, Timbo set the tone for the night.
Ciara
There are singers, and there are performers. Well, then you occasionally have your singer performers and Ciara is definitely one of them. The R&B veteran transitioned from one song to another without missing a beat. The dance moves excited the crowd and backup dancers hyped the audience up even more.
Ciara even threw in her own take on a few Petey Pablo lines while finishing up “Goodies”. Crowd pleasers like “Oh”, “Like a Boy”, and “Level Up” all made appearances to a ferociously supportive crowd. Difficulty arose at the end of the set; not with the singer, dancers, or stage but with the audience. It was difficult to discern if this crowd was here for Ciara or for Missy (in the end, it was both). Ciara received her flowers, which clearly meant a lot as Ciara does have a bit of a connection to the Mile High City.
Busta Rhymes
Busta Rhymes is the human version of energy concentrated, and it’s part of what makes his show unique. Busta tends to be an artist who in the past few years has liked to play with volume control as he raps. For some reason, he enjoys rapping fairly quietly as a verse starts. He then gets louder and louder until he’s shouting his lines.
At times it feels like a mixed bag. Sometimes it’s to hype the crowd up and encourage further participation, but other times it sounds like a pop quiz. The NYC rapper feeds off of call and response, and it can be jet fuel for his set. Busta also seems to enjoy displaying his rapid-fire deliveries as a bonus towards the end. He did so with “Scenario” and “Look at Me Now” but didn’t finish the songs. It could be due to the time constraints, or more likely because the classic 90s jams seem to be the crowd pleasers. This guy is a character in Hip-Hop that adds to every show he’s in.
And now, presenting…
Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott delivered every aspect of a show that makes a concert set memorable: infectious music and energy that ebbs and flows throughout, elite-level production, and top-tier dancers/support crew. Elliott’s set kicked off with a spaceship hovering above, gradually setting the scene to where Elliott emerges from her outer space vessel in Denver. The music pours in and tunes from across this movement-inducing discography envelop the audience. Newer tunes set the stage, while older ones send sensory neurons into nostalgia overload. There are but moments to reflect on from this massive set.
Dark rain clouds protrude digitally across the stage, a screen placed to add depth of incoming precipitation to the audience. A few opening words of “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)” graze the speakers, and after dancers take their place with Elliott, the rest of the classic drizzles the arena. Missy performs this track as if it was released just yesterday. At one point, the screen onstage is used as a cover to transform the headliner into having a trash bag-esque cape flowing behind her. This homage to the classic music video is not lost on the audience and adds another precise pinprick of pleasure to the evening.
Fast forward to bright colors, a completely different wardrobe, and a newer song that doesn’t have the accolades “The Rain” does. The subway cars of New York City clash with the fizzling neon lights of Japan and Seoul in the background. Dancers nodding their heads while uniformly breaking down some smooth choreography. Bright pink flashes across the subway car windows, around the stage, and bouncing off of Missy and the dancers. This is “WTF (Where They From)”, a track both Elliott and the crowd vibe to frenetically. This stage setup, crowd reaction, and choreography are one of many memorable snapshots throughout the night.
“Work It”, “One Minute Man”, and “Gossip Folks” all get due time on stage. “We Run This”, “One, Two Step”, and “Cool Off” represent for newer hits. Plus, the tag team-ups with Busta Rhymes and Ciara end the night with a euphoric bang. There might not be another tour this year that can touch this energy, this precision, and this level of fun.
Cypher Sessions 
Sounds lit man. Making me wanna hit up a concert
It was absolutely phenomenal man, if she goes to the UK it’ll be worth going to