Beyoncé – I AM World Tour
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’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.