Now 35 and with a her new album in tow, Jackson is showing off a much sassier, sexier, more confident self.

Originally scheduled to kick off in Vancouver last Thursday, Janet Jackson's much-awaited "All For You" tour ended up getting its start in Portland on Friday -- reportedly because sections of the elaborate sets were delayed in being shipped over the border during the Canada Day and American July 4th holidays. Then, last night, the show's start time was pushed back by more than 45 minutes. But the fans didn't seem to mind the long wait one bit.

To their deafening cheers, Jackson appeared in dramatic fashion, standing high above the stage on a platform that rose out of the floor. A simple tip of her hat and wiggle of her hips set in motion an incredibly slick, highly produced show. Moments later, the 8 dancers who accompanied Jackson throughout the evening slowly descended from the ceiling, and from the moment they reached the stage, they didn't stop moving until the show was over.

But the Janet Jackson that crowds are catching on this tour is distinctly different from the one they might have seen in years past. Gone is the "girl next door" version of Janet -- the coy, cutesy, smiling little girl who managed to avoid the glare of the tabloids. Now 35, recently divorced, and with a her new album "All For You" in tow, Jackson is showing off a much sassier, sexier, more confident self.

Of course, major productions like these tend to be light and substance and long on eye candy, but Monday night's show had elements of both. Designed by Mark Fisher -- who also did sets for Pink Floyd's "The Wall" tour, U2's "Popmart," and the Rolling Stones "Bridges to Babylon" -- the set had a spare, futuristic feel, with panels that showed snippets of Jackson's films and music videos hanging above the band. Always shifting and changing, at one point in the show, the set became a creepy sort of torture chamber, and the dancers, skeletons lurking around the stage. Then, during another song, the stage was filled with colourful inflated building blocks, candies, and flowers, as Jackson flitted around dressed as a pink flower. Not long after, an unwitting -- but very willing -- member of the audience became the victim in an S&M-style piece, in which Jackson plays the torturess.