Your iconic summer

TRIBE CALLED QUEST | JOÃO GILBERTO | BUTTHOLE SURFERS | B-52’S
STEELY DAN | ALAN AND RICHARD BISHOP | GEORGE MICHAEL | “KIDD” JORDAN
WIRE | TEENAGE JESUS & THE JERKS | THE FEELIES | CHARLIE HADEN | YAZ
THE EX WITH GÉTATCHÈW MÈKURYA | RHYS CHATHAM | JUDAS PRIEST

Photograph: Andrew McPhearson

George Michael

Madison Square Garden. July 21, 23; $49.75–$254.50.

Landmark achievement: After “Wake Me Up Before You Go Go”—the dorkiest pop debut of 1984, if not ever—Michael matured quickly, crafting a catalog of brilliant singles, handling much of the writing, arranging and producing himself. Just as important, his steamy videos defined what was sexy during MTV’s golden age.

Why see him now: The press-averse Michael hasn’t played live in North America in 17 years, but has been sharpening his stage show for more than a year in Europe. Sure, he’s had some public mishaps, but what other pop icon has been so frank about his predilections for toilet boinking and falling asleep at the wheel? Besides, as proved by his new hits collection, Twenty Five, the cuts from ’04 are as solid as the ’84 jams—even the Wham! tunes kind of rock. Once “Careless Whisper” fills the Garden, you know all living organisms present will melt into sure things.

Listen to "Careless" Whisper—and the Gossip's rocking cover