The tour was highly praised by critics. Sean Daly of
Rolling Stone commended the show's "Vegas-style glam" and Jackson's "pure showmanship" as providing "a hellzapoppin' spectacle that featured enough over-the-top special effects to make
Armageddon look like
Driving Miss Daisy." The concert was considered "a lust-driven fairy tale", featuring "a giant storybook, containing a massive video screen" which opened and closed the show. Its varied themes were contrasted with
psychiatric thrillers
A Clockwork Orange and
Solid Gold, being "as damn freaky as it sounds", using a color scheme described as "a well-lighted explosion at the
Crayola factory." The show's second segment was analyzed as "deranged madness", questioning "Can this really be little Penny from
Good Times?" Daly praised Jackson's "breakneck speed" and favorably considered it "summer-entertainment bliss", adding "Janet's still as
nasty as she wants to be." Sean Piccoli of
The Sun Sentinel applauded the tour as a "birth of a new form of entertainment", effectively taking "music-video fundamentalism to a new extreme in live performance." Jackson's "athletic, superchoreographed presentation" was considered "sheery sensory thrill", thought to have "made
Spice World look like public theater." The show was analyzed to be "as much a broadcast as it was a show", transitioning through "a seamless whirl of songs, costumes and set changes." Jackson's performances were described as a "technicolor barrage", ranging from "punched-up, steely grooves" to "pillowy, whispered ballads." Piccoli declared highlights to include the opening number, "an eerie incantation on the strangeness and isolation of celebrity", and the "explosively colorful"
Control medley incorporating themes of "children's theater." The tour's rendition of "Rope Burn", showcasing Jackson as she "coaxed a young man from the audience onstage for a veritable striptease routine – for which the fellow was strapped by wristbands to his seat", was also praised. However, the show's unplugged ballad segment was thought to be "the evening's most unadorned moment." Piccoli added the crowd's "animated cheering" had been the most the arena had mustered in his experience. Robert Hilburn of
The Los Angeles Times favorably reviewed the tour, exclaiming "There is so much of the ambition and glamour of a Broadway musical in Janet Jackson's new Velvet Rope Tour that it's only fitting that the concert program credits her as the show's creator and director." Although "those aren't terms normally employed in the pop-rock world", Hilburn applauded Jackson's credibility in portraying "a dazzling package, complete with snappy choreography, a colorful array of costumes and often striking staging." Hilburn observed "there were several moments in the show when Jackson stepped beyond the production values and touched us in a way the best pop performers have done over the years." Emphasis was placed on the "playfulness of the fairy tale staging" of "
Escapade", the "artful musical stretch" of "
Got 'Til It's Gone", and the intimacy of "soul-searching" ballad "Special", adding "Jackson has put a personal stamp on this show that humanizes not only the music but also the performer too." Jackson's "radiance and warmth" was believed to be the result of "her own new-found self esteem", overcoming some of the insecurities plaguing her since childhood. Hilburn stated "the tour and album should go a long way toward helping Jackson finally get the credit she deserves as an artist." The tour's "computer design-phase" was considered "a marvel of precision" by Tom Moon of
The Inquirer. Paul Sexton of
The Times, who reviewed the opening concert at the
Rotterdam Ahoy in
Rotterdam, Netherlands, compared her two-hour performance to that of
Broadway theatre, calling it "an audiovisual banquet." Richard Harrington of
The Washington Post commented "Jackson looked fabulous, danced fabulous, sang as close to fabulous as she ever has and in the end provided a fabulous two hours of entertainment that was equal parts rock concert,
Las Vegas revue and Broadway musical." Steve Jones of
USA Today remarked, "Janet Jackson had a sellout crowd for the kickoff of her first U.S. tour in four years, and she blew the fans away with imaginative staging and sheer exuberance." J. D. Considine of
The Baltimore Sun noted "on albums, Jackson's sound isn't defined by her voice so much as by the way her voice is framed by the lush, propulsive production of
Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis ... her singing on "
Black Cat" was commanding enough to hold its own against the wailing electric guitar." (
pictured) in New York City was filmed and aired on
HBO, drawing fifteen million viewers. Natasha Kassulke of the
Wisconsin State Journal stated "The concert captured the scope of Jackson's talent from songwriter to singer, producer, actress, dancer and fashion diva." Similarly, Gemma Tarlach of the
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel observed, "A tiny dynamo of constant motion, Jackson strutted, slunk and grooved her way from one end of the stage to the other ... Her voice, sometimes thin and girlish on her albums, sounded fuller and more powerful than ever." Kevin Johnson of
St. Louis Post-Dispatch commended the tour as "one of the flashiest on the concert scene." Elizabeth Aird, who reviewed Jackson's concert at
GM Place, wrote "If there's a show sexier and more polished than Janet Jackson's The Velvet Rope extravaganza, it's only on Broadway ... Saturday night's show at GM Place was two hours of thrills pumped out by Jackson, her never-say-die dancers and her powerful band." James Sullivan of the
San Francisco Chronicle observed her concert at
the new arena "offered a career retrospective, punctuated by new material, periodic video diversions and fireworks." "The show was a lot like an '80s flashback, though to its credit Jackson's eight-piece band—bass, guitar, drums and percussion, two keyboardists and two backup singers—added some inventive layering to her older hits." Charles Passy of the
Palm Beach Post reported Jackson's show at the
Coral Sky Amphitheatre emphasized style over substance, commenting her "two-hour set was about half hormones—and half pyrotechnics. Without much in the way of a voice, she has sold her persona throughout her career. And as that persona has evolved from girlish teenager to sexually sophisticated woman, her albums—and tours—have provided a road map."
Jet Magazine reported, "With wit, sass, dance and a whole lot of sex appeal, Janet turns her song and dance fest into one of the major musical events of the year. In fact, it has become the must-see concert of the year." Jeannine Etter of
Youth Outlook stated "Janet takes us from ballads to hard-core dance beats, and from sex to politics. The set changes appropriately reflect some of the stages of her musical development, from the more playful circus/funhouse vibe of light and playful songs like "
Escapade" to the sexual side of Janet's music that keeps getting stronger and stronger as the years go by. During the performance, one lucky man is picked from the audience, strapped to a chair and "tortured" as Janet performs a highly erotic dance for him." The excerpt concluded "Janet is extremely beautiful, but she also demonstrates a humility obtained from pain, reflection and a sense of spirituality." Christine Robertson of
Evening Post, who reviewed Jackson's concert in
Wellington, New Zealand, exclaimed: "The sleek choreography and superb dance spectacle saw Jackson seldom take a breath from one set to the next—her control of the stage complete. Most of the time she plunged into two decades of hits which give her the right to stand her ground" among her contemporaries. Jane Stevenson of
The Toronto Sun exclaimed "pyrotechnics, set pieces and inflatables combine with non-stop singing and dancing for two hours of exhilarating entertainment." == Commercial reception ==