sidenote:
EstelleDarlings@crystaljtorres yes. Show was INSANE! Just frickin unfair to everyone else!4 minutes ago from UberTwitter
THE BEAUTIFUL BEYONCE @ MSG FOR HER SHOW YOUR HELPING HAND CAMPAIGN
Beyonce at the National “Show Your Helping Hand” Hunger relief initiative kickoff!
What a beautiful Dereon shirt :-)
6/22/09, 10:00 am EST
Photograph by Alex Reside for RollingStone.com
Of all the one-name-required pop divas who launched big arena tours within the last three years, the most unknowable star is Beyoncé. There are fountains of tabloid tales about Madonna, Britney, Mariah and Christina, but the onetime Destiny’s Child singer has mysteriously but impeccably carved out her own niche as a triple threat while hiding in broad spotlight. Perhaps that’s why she so strenuously emphasized the many dimensions of her identity at Madison Square Garden Sunday night, kicking off the U.S. leg of her “I Am …” tour in New York. The title could have been followed by a dozen sometimes conflicting terms — dancer, balladeer, street, classy, movie star, rock star, feminist, sex symbol, humble, proud, demure Beyoncé, fearless Sasha Fierce. Ultimately, though, she wanted to be consumed. “I am,” she said as the final notes rang out, “I am … yours.”
(Check out photos of Beyoncé’s fierce, glitzy show here.)
Two hours earlier Beyoncé emerged alone in a gust of smoke. Giant black curtains parted and a single beam of light illuminated her silhouette, as though the heavens had opened and simply deposited her leggy figure there. Opener “Crazy in Love” had enough pomp and glitter to have been the encore, and as Jay-Z calmly strode onstage to join his wife for his verse, the Garden lit up with camera phones and genuine hysteria. Beyoncé pulled out the stops early and often, swinging her hair around wildly, falling to her knees and dancing hard enough for every move to be seen by fans in the $20 seats. She worked, and worked it relentlessly, never missing a note, a beat of choreography, or a chance to strike a pose, hold it, and be adored.
She bent backwards at her guitarist’s feet during “Freakum Dress” and stood windblown atop the set’s biggest piece — a giant lighted staircase — for “Smash Into You” from her recent movie Obsessed. Her white dress was transformed into a stunning wedding gown during “Ave Maria,” which took a detour into Sarah McLachlan’s “Angel.” “If I Were a Boy” lifted a verse from Alanis Morissette’s biting “You Oughta Know” and heralded the arrival of her more ferocious onstage persona (in case the rocked out tune and red lighting wasn’t a tip-off, a video interlude tracked a robot Beyonce’s interactions with a cheetah as a mechanical voice intoned “Sasha Fierce”).
Thierry Mugler’s wardrobe designs put Beyoncé in a variety of gold sparkly leotards, all form-fitting, light-reflecting and leg-baring. She later donned a gown for a torchy two-song display of vocal gymnastics on “At Last” and “Listen,” which could have been dubbed her coulda-shoulda Oscar interlude.
But before she was refined, she was straight-up fierce: the fantastic “Radio” juxtaposed images of a five-year-old Beyoncé with the current-day version, which led to a brief speech that introduced “Me, Myself and I.” “I’m all about female empowerment,” Beyoncé simply stated. “We have to support each other, which is why all the musicians onstage are ladies. Give it up for my all-female band!” It wasn’t The Feminine Mystique, but it was more convincing than the girl-power show Gwen Stefani brought to the Garden a few years ago with her Harajuku Girls.
After another wardrobe-change break, Beyoncé shot into the air, suspended by wires, and glided over the crowd to a smaller stage while completing some acrobatic flips to “Baby Boy.” Before a Destiny’s Child medley, she paused to speak to specific fans: “I see you in the yellow shirt,” she said, pointing out an audience member, “and I see you with the fringe dress.” She then sang a stripped-down “Irreplaceable,” putting aside the mic as the crowd handled the first verse and chorus without her.
Seeing her fans — and making them feel acknowledged (particularly those who paid a pretty penny for front-row VIP packages) — was a major priority that reached its apex with an amusing montage of fan-made “Single Ladies” videos, which featured appearances by Web sensation Shane Mercado, Barack Obama and Justin Timberlake. After Beyoncé and her crew of dancers re-emerged to show everyone how it’s really done, she ended with ballad “Halo,” singing as she descended from the stage and shook hands with nearly every fan in the front rows. She thanked the crowd for a “wonderful first night in America,” then asked if anyone in the house was celebrating a birthday, serenading the arena with “Happy Birthday.” It was an odd way to break the momentum of the carefully plotted show, but it was a genuine moment, and her final gift of the night.
Set List:
“Crazy in Love” (featuring Jay-Z)
“Naughty Girl”
“Freakum Dress”
“Get Me Bodied”
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“Smash Into You”
“Ave Maria”/”Angel” (Sarah McLachlan)
“Broken-Hearted Girl”
“If I Were A Boy”/”You Oughta Know” (Alanis Morissette)
–
“Diva”
“Radio”
“Me, Myself & I”
“Ego”
“Hello”
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“Baby Boy”
“Irreplaceable”
“Check On It”
Destiny’s Child Medley (”Bootylicious,” “Bug-A-Boo,” “Jumpin’ Jumpin’ “)
“Upgrade You”
“Video Phone” (dance to track)
“Say My Name”
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“At Last”
“Listen”
–
“Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)”
“Halo”
Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
June 21, 2009
When you want to visit the happiest place on Earth, you go to Disneyland. When you want to be inspired, you replay Obama’s first address as President. And when you want to believe in live performances again, you attend a Beyoncé show. A few years back when Jay-Z predicted who was the Black Madonna, he should’ve been looking toward the woman on his arm. Sure the parallel could be argued on many levels – vocals being the primary difference. However, after witnessing Beyoncé’s first US tour date off her I AM World Tour, one thing is for certain; the woman is iconic.
Queen Bey emerged right on time wearing her signature gold dress, adorned with a huge bow on the backside. Opening with “Crazy In Love”, she gyrated in video fashion up until Jay-Z strutted out on the stage. Hovi came home early, considering it was predicted that he’d check in for his wife’s introductory New York tourdate, but not so quickly into the show. It was a pleasant surprise nonetheless, complete with him spitting his first verse off “I Just Wanna Love U”, as he casually hopped off stage to let his lady take over. Breezing through selections like “Naughty Girl” “Freakum Dress” and “Get Me Bodied”, Beyoncé moved and sang in true Beyoncé fashion, shaking her ass with flawless vocals – only to catch her breath when the last note was hit.
A brief dance break introducing her all-female band segued into the return of Bey clad in all white with a silkscreen of waves crashing behind her as she soulfully sang through “Smash Into You”. “Ave Maria” arrived, as backup dancers pieced a wedding dress onto Mrs. Carter while she covered Sarah McLachlan’s “Angel” inserting operatic moments that had the crowd breathless. “Broken-Hearted Girl” was the last of Beyoncé, and “If I Were a Boy” marked the turning point into Sasha Fierce, where a leather dressed S.Fierce arrived in all her crotch-grabbing Alanis Morissette “You Oughta Know” covering glory.
The concert held a variety of movie screen moments and backup dance breaks, which packed most of Beyoncé’s career into the stunning show. No Rock or R&B was left unturned from I AM…Sasha Fierce, as everything from “Radio” to “Sweet Dreams” was covered. There were even home movies, showing the young “Diva” in training, along with a live montage of Destiny’s Child hits that left you wondering why there was even more than one girl to begin with. One of the many high points in the evening was during “Irreplaceable” when the entire crowd chanted the “To the left, to the left” mantra, like it was “Yes We Can” on Election Day. Of course “At Last” was delivered, along with “Single Ladies” preceded by a collection of embarrassing “Single Ladies” dance moments caught on You Tube. Beyoncé closed with “Halo” and the message “I AM…yours” as she descended from the stage.
Beyoncé to Perform!
The Diva Extraordinaire will join Jay-Z, Maxwell, Kanye West, Ne-Yo, Mary Mary, Fabolous, Young Jeezy and Soulja Boy as she takes a break from her “I Am” tour to bring her stage show to the thousands in attendance and the millions watching the BET Awards.
“Simply put, we love Beyoncé,” said Stephen Hill, President of Music Programming and Specials at BET Networks. “With her immense talent, boundless energy, total professionalism and class, it’s always an honor to have her grace a BET stage. She’s performed on the BET Awards show more times than any other performer and each of her performances has been memorable. We know that the fire known as Beyoncé will again sear the stage on June 28 and leave another indelible mark.”
There truly is no artist like Beyoncé. The former Destiny’s Child member struck platinum sales as a solo artist with three consecutive #1 albums and a number of chart-topping singles. Her high-profile marriage to Jay-Z and her budding acting career continue to keep her star burning bright.
With five BET Award nominations garnered for her latest album, “I Am…Sasha Fierce,” we can be sure that Beyoncé will leave it all on the stage on June 28.
The 2009 BET Awards will air live from
Stay tuned to BET.com for more updates.
You people simply talk to be talkin'. What is your fave artist doing? Rehab? Court? Floppin'? Lip Syncing'? Having affairs? Taking pictures & what...???
Britney Concert Review (Partial):
EDMONTON - She didn't even need to be here. The Britney Spears machine runs just fine without any input from Britney Spears.
All she has to do is show up, dress in one sexy costume after another, pretend to sing, pretend to dance and pretend to perform the fizzy pop songs that have been created on her behalf. Other people - dancers, musicians, sound engineers, lighting techs - do most of the actual entertaining. In fact, I'm beginning to think that it wasn't the real Britney Spears performing in front of 18,500 delirious fans at Rexall Place last night. It was a Britney-bot, or perhaps a highly trained clone - while the real Britney was relaxing in rehab.
Does it sound far-fetched? From the widespread acceptance of lip-syncing in a supposedly live concert, it's a slippery slope to pop star simulacrums.
Just wait.
Rihanna, O2 Arena, London (Partial)
More like 'The Clothes Show'
Tuesday, 11 March 2008
Rihanna turned 20 last month, and watching her walk on in a black spandex fetish jacket, bustier, ultra-hot pants and stiletto boots, you have to wonder who has moulded her success. "Where my ladies at?" she asks, before joining her two similarly clad female dancers in wiggling their bottoms, as a prelude to "Break It Off". It's like watching the death of feminism to an R&B beat.
Worse for Rihanna, when she poses cocked against the mic stand for "Rehab" as if she's a torch singer, then draws on her West Indian roots for Bob Marley's "Is This Love", the skimpy leatherwear looks ludicrous. Whatever late-night rap channels may feel, Half-Dressed Dominatrix is not an all-purpose style for young female singers. It's also the exact look Madonna was courting mild controversy with circa 1992. When her dancers stretch and pose in slow motion as she slips off her jacket, it is a Hollywood "gentlemen's" club's idea of sexuality and transgression.
The final irony in Rihanna's dominatrix look is that this slight Bajan girl, barely out of her teens, seems naturally pliant and nice. It is as if her out of tuned, dancer's body has been dressed by older, male hands, to suit their own fantasies. Amy Winehouse's wild, wilful self-destruction suddenly looks almost healthy.
Rihanna's two backing singers, meanwhile, wear more tasteful cocktail dresses, and carry the songs. Her rougher voice cuts across them almost randomly, and is only strong when buffed by effects. Look at the video screens, and you can admire Rihanna's looks, and diamond-encrusted mic. Look at the stage, and her real performance has no charisma, no defining persona. She could be a mannequin, or a hopeful rap video extra.
It's like punk, disco, and the 21st century never happened.
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She could be a mannequin, or a hopeful rap video extra.
ReplyDeleteLMAO
SMOKAH? that 's wh you're beautiful
love the review.did you noti how they ccall her queen bey so easilly?
love the original prince GIF ;)
I know you read the papers, the one that they call THE QUEEN...
ReplyDeleteLOLO :-) I just had to do it because one commenter got carried away on the "B1tches Stay Lying On the Queen" post. Sittin' there yappin' bout how they're all the same. Well... EVERYONE ELSE begs to differ.