Text, Vivian G. Kelly
Images, from the official website: www.beyonceonline.com
WHEN & WHERE: Wednesday Night, July 23rd, @ 8:30p.m.
Sitting in Section 105H we had a bird’s eye view of the stage and could have jumped down and fallen into the arms of the blue shirted security guards.
The mood in the venue was mellow yet happy and anticipatory as we waited for the Diva to come on.
Unlike the Justin [Timberlake] concert that was 98% women and 2% men, the ratio was 60/40 here. Many of the men attended with their S.O.
FASHION, FASHION, FASHION!
TOTAL NUMBER OF OUTFIT CHANGES: 11
Beyonce uses French fashion designer THIERRY MUGLER, to create the fantasy get-ups she wears on stage. True to form, she made her entrance in a gold lame body suit , complete with a giant gold tail-bow, 20 Carat diamond earrings, and 5” gold heels. Put that with her huge hair, and she was every inch the”SASHA FIERCE” character she morphs into once on stage. Being a glam diva is a tough climb and once there, it’s even harder to stay on top with all the younger performers breathing over your shoulder and waiting in the wings.
BEST OUTFIT
The SASHA FIERCE outfit – think a cross between Wonder Woman and a leopard.
Her backup dancers wore rubber skin patent leather suits that showed every one of their muscle striations and more than thrilled the male contingent in the audience.
NOT JUST [any old] DIVA
The concert spanned a wide range of songs and reminded us of the impressive body of work she’s accumulated since she broke away from Destiny’s Child and went on her own. There were numbers from the platinum “DANGEROUSLY IN LOVE” 2006 album which caused a sustained deafening roar from the audience, to some songs from “Dream Girls” to video of her singing at the OBAMA INNAUGURAL. Knowles reminded us of pop legend TINA TURNER, at a long-ago “WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT” concert we attended I 1985 in Charlotte, NC, just after her huge career comeback. The strut, the legs, the bigger than big hair, the voice that bounces effortlessly from octave to octave – check.
Unlike Tina, Beyonce has youth on her side and effortlessly contorted herself into a human pretzel all the while singing her heart out for her audience.
SHOW HIGHLIGHT
When the lights went up and Beyonce appeared in a gold encrusted bodysuit on a flying trapeze well over 20 feet off the ground.
MOST MOVING MOMENT -
Her tribute to the late Michael Jackson. Hair guru LEONARD ZAGAMI of NYC’s ANTHONY LEONARD had predicted early that day that pop divas would be doing numerous tributes to the late king of pop. Good call, Leonard!
It’s not suprising that Anthony’s on point, he’s the guy who cuts Madonna and countless other celebs’ hair. Life is too short not to have great hair.
www.anthonyleonardsalon.com
LAST WORDS
What really won us over is that you really got the feeling that she was giving her all to the audience, no hold-backs. Also similar was the frequent audience interaction, she leaned over many times to touch her fans’ hands, to their delight and to the consternation of the Arena’s security detail. A guy named Joe Wilson she had a conversation with during the show’s life will never be the same.
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