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Beyoncé – I AM World TourMadison 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’s ability to seamlessly weave her hits into an all

out stage extravaganza, complete with dancing and live vocals proves that artists and performers are not mutually

exclusive. As she just released her CD/DVD collection Above and Beyoncé,

fans can relive every moment at home, but it’s wise to witness it live. Beyoncé

is truly the hardest working woman in show business.