Beyoncé Knowles is late. The crowd is getting restless. We’ve seen flashes of her face on the screens and even her Nintendo DS ad (a bit of crass commercialism there) but we’ve been waiting and waiting. As the murmurs of discontent turn ugly, the lights go down, Beyoncé’s silhouette appears on stage and a huge cheer erupts.
There’s no doubting Beyoncé’s talent, but whether or not she’s human is an entirely different matter. From the opening bars of ‘Crazy In Love’ the energy doesn’t let up. She sings, she dances, she whips in and out of costumes, all while barely breaking a sweat, like some kind of gorgeous life-sized Barbie doll, or perhaps Superwoman, since the outfits are mostly blinging leotards.
Beyoncé has a great voice and it’s a pity that we don’t hear more of it. During a number of songs she sings over a vocal track – even Superwoman can’t execute some of those dance moves or make 360 degree turns on a suspended swing and be expected to hit the right note. The longer costume changes are frequently accompanied by videos of the singer – all very well, but available in your own home.
Despite these gripes, Beyoncé is amazing and she has a slew of catchy hits: ‘Naughty Girl’; ‘If I Were A Boy’; ‘Irreplaceable’; ‘Single Ladies... Put A Ring On It’; ‘Halo’; ‘Survivor’ and snatches of other Destiny’s Child favourites all get a look in.
At around two hours, it’s an all singing, all dancing extravaganza, and while a Beyoncé show might not be a 100% live experience, it’s certainly a spectacular one.