BPD member DivaLuva wrote:Pop-R&B diva Beyonce lived up to her on-stage alter-ego -- Sasha Fierce -- last night, fer sure.
The 27-year-old singer, previously known for her work in Destiny's Child but now three albums into a successful solo career, including her most recent effort, I Am... Sasha Fierce, came to town packing big hair, big heels, big costumes -- courtesy of designer Thierry Mugler -- a big production, that included an impressive LED video screen and a staircase -- and a big band made up of 13 female musicians and singers and as many as nine dancers, both female and male.BPD members get the best views to the best shows, You can too; join today.
Seemingly, it all went according to plan over the course of an hour and 40 minutes with nary a hair out of place on the beautiful Beyonce, despite a wind machine constantly blowing back her long mane which she liked to whip around while doing her trademark exaggerated dance moves.
Part supermodel, part drag queen, part showgirl, this girl loved her drama and the audience seemed to love her for it. Opening the show with Crazy In Love, Beyonce first appeared backlit while wearing a gold bathing suit-like costume with a big bow on her backside.
With her hands on her hips and her legs spread apart, the crowd went nuts before she even sang a note and by the time the tune had ended, white confetti rained down on the audience like it was the show finale instead of the beginning.
Now that she had gotten our attention, Beyonce segued into Naughty Girl with red lighting to emphasize the point.
At times, she came across as a sex kitten on songs like Freakem Dress, but other times, she seemed more innocent such as when she donned a full-length silver-beaded gown for the ballads At Last, the Etta James classic which she sang while portraying the singer in Cadillac Records, and Listen from Dreamgirls.
There was even a moment when she sang and danced opposite vintage footage of her former small self in a split screen during Radio. Mostly though, it all seemed to be about Beyonce with not a lot of soul behind the music itself.
When she offered up a snippet of Bootylicious from her Destiny's Child days, it was really the sample of Stevie Nicks' Edge of Seventeen guitar hook that everyone was going nuts for.
Visually, she had some interesting highlights like the crashing blue surf projected on to the LED screen behind her while she donned a white bathing suit and white cover up to sing Smash Into You, and Ave Maria, which included a bit of Sarah McLachlan's Angel. But Beyonce's best look was a black leather bustier, mini skirt and cuff, which she donned for If I Were A Boy, on to which she tagged Alanis Morissette's You Oughta Know.
The cheesiest moment came during a filmed video segment, shown while she was offstage making one of her numerous costume changes, when her face transformed into that of a leopard's during a snow storm. She then returned to the stage in a futuristic outfit that included lit-up private parts in the dark while her female dancers wore gold robot-like suits that recalled C-3PO from Star Wars.
The best video moment was a YouTube montage showing fans dancing to All The Single Ladies before Beyonce and her dancers performed the hit song much to the crowd's delight.
Another highlight was Irreplaceable as audience members sang the song's familiar refrain, "To the left, to the left," while waving their hands in the same direction. "That is so beautiful," Beyonce said.
Same to you darling.
