The kids are alright

Sparks flew. Clothing made a brief appearance. Three voices soared heavenwards. Ah, yes, this was the night of Destiny’s Child – one of the most visually arresting and aurally compelling pop/R‘n’B groups to emerge in recent times.

But first, in the main support slot, there was Eve. Although the US rapper’s first solo album debuted in America at No 1 on the Billboard charts, on this side of the Atlantic, she is mostly known for her single ‘Who’s That Girl?’. This factor, combined with acoustics that morphed her polished rapping skills into something that sounded like staccato firing practice allowed the crowd little opportunity for enjoyment of her opening tracks.

Fortunately, the more melodic (and therefore easier on the sound system) ‘Let Me Blow Ya Mind’ and ‘Love Is Blind’ from her second album, Scorpion, leavened the mix considerably.

Forty minutes later, Destiny’s Child burst onto the stage with their flag-bearer, the brilliantly feisty ‘Independent Woman Part 1’. As sparks streamed out at the front of the stage, the girls moved hyper-kinetically between each other, singing in pure, strong voices that reached every row of the not-quite-full Point.

An accomplished backing band added gravel and grit to their string of R‘n’B anthems which coursed out one after the other. After a super-smooth rendition of ‘Bills, Bills, Bills’ followed by ‘Bootylicious’, the three bantered with the crowd, exhorting them to roar ever more loudly before they finally exploded into ‘Say My Name’.

One quick costume change later, the girls returned for the more schmaltzy and less interesting slow set. But in true showbiz style, nothing (including the sometimes impossibly small outfits) hangs around in Destiny’s Child’s world long enough to be really disliked. Another interlude, another costume change and the sirens came back – lead vocalist Beyoncé throwing out a fragment of Missy ‘Misdemeanor’ Elliott’s ‘Get Ur Freak On’, before zooming into recent single ‘Survivor’. The crowd went mad, the atmosphere was ecstatic.

You could call it mass-market pop and dismiss it. Or you could do as Bono has already done at the Grammys, and acknowledge that this group are seriously vying for the position of best band in the world. Tonight, they once again proved their mettle.