Justin Timberlake @ Verizon Center

All that build up turned out to be well-deserved. Timberlake's show was nothing short of spectacular. He sang just about every song from his current album Future Sex Love Sounds, all the big hits from Justified, and he even threw in a new song and a knee-weakening rendition of NSync's "Gone" from behind the piano. With every note he hit — on the keyboard, the guitar, or into the mic — Timberlake held the crowd in the palm of his hand. Aiding in that effort was the round stage that allowed him to play to every seat in the house. He played with arrangements, broke songs into parts and placed them at different spots in the set. More than a spectacle, it was a legitimately great concert. Timberlake's voice didn't waver a bit, despite the intense dancing he did throughout most of the set. He wasn't going it alone — backup singers and Timbaland added vocal depth, while a full band, featuring a D.C. native on guitar, rounded out the sound.

Now let me get back to that bit about the dancing. Oh my goodness, the dancing. God bless Michael Jackson for inspiring JT at a young age. If anyone in the Verizon Center had somehow managed to stay in their seats while the music thumped, then the jaw-dropping choreography was sure to give them a lift. Male and female dancers of every shape and size filled the stage to perfection. Like JT's voice, he and his dancers never missed a mark. Heavy with MJ-inspired moves and a mixture of hip-hop, modern and adult, I felt compelled to embrace the cliché and admit that Timberlake had in fact brought sexy back. Oh, and I've got reason to believe that Cameron's dark dye job was the nail in that couple's coffin, because Timberlake heavily favored the sexy blonde dancer — with whom he shared several so-hot-you-might-pass-out moments.

Timberlake did his fair share of personalizing the show with conversation. Aside from the requisite, "are ya'll ready to party?"s he endeared himself even more to an already crush-laden crowd. Arriving in D.C. a day early, he and Timbaland spent Thursday at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He seemed genuinely affected by his time there with injured soldiers, many of whom, he pointed out, were even younger than him. He didn't get political, as so many artists do when touring through D.C., but he did take time to revere the people doing the fighting in Iraq right now.

Instead of airing his political beliefs as an homage to the nation's capitol, he paid tribute to our musical roots with a burn down the house Go-Go rendition of "Sexy Back" that may have been worth the price of admission all on its own.

And now for the bits I couldn't fit in anywhere else. Pink's opening set impressed the pants off of me, much to my surprise. That is one strong woman (as demonstrated by her high-flying aerobatics) with one strong voice. Also quite impressive was the DJ who played during intermission. He mainly focused on Michael Jackson and all-artists-produced-by-Timbaland, but the energy levels JT built up during his first set never dropped while he was off stage. And that's saying something. It was probably a pre-mixed track that the DJ himself had little to do with, but as far as keeping momentum, these guys knew what they were doing.

From top to bottom, that was one of the finest shows I've ever seen. Next time he comes to town, I will be there. And I'll shell out the boucoup bucks for an upgrade stage-side bar seat, cause oh, that would have been incredible.

Photo by Flickr user patshin