Beyonce Knowles has returned to Melbourne last night, landing just hours before the first show of her Australian ‘I Am’ tour, but if she was jet lagged, it didn’t show.
Opening with ‘Crazy In Love’, the first thing that hits you about this spectacular show is the incredible stage design.
Beyonce’s massive band and huge troupe of dancers are just a tiny part of the spectacular stage backed by a gigantic screen with some of the sharpest images ever seen in a live concert.
Apart from the spectacular talent of the band, dancers and Beyonce herself, it was the incredible stage design that really set this apart from all the rest. Every move was meticulously planned as perfectly symmetrical formations appeared on the various screens.
No harsh white house lighting to light up the crowd at this show. Instead, the stage which jutted out into the crowd gave a soft glow to the otherwise stale environment of Rod Laver Arena.
Video interludes were entertaining ways to distract the audience for a few minutes while Beyonce slipped into another one of Thierry Mugler’s creations.
Strangely enough, you probably don’t have to be such a huge fan of Beyonce’s music to get caught up in this show, but for those who are the set list doesn’t disappoint.
The show opened with a bang, bursting into the pumping ‘Crazy In Love’ and aside from a small slump with just one ballad too many, that energy was kept up for over two hours.
The ballads included ‘Ave Maria’, where Beyonce showed off her vocal gymnastics, ‘At Last’ where Beyonce showed off her soul (she was wearing the same dress as she was wearing when she sang that for Obama) and the show’s closer ‘Halo’ where Beyonce showed off her power. The emotional ‘If I Were A Boy’ was mixed up with a cover of Alanis Morrisette’s ‘You Oughta Know’, which showed Beyonce’s diversity from emotional balladeer to head banging rocker.
The tirade of hits were barely distinguishable from the lesser known songs when it came to crowd responses. The audience lapped up her every move, whether it was the not-for-epileptics ‘Video Phone’ or the crowd singalong to ‘Irreplaceable’.
Destiny’s Child hits ‘Say My Name’, ‘Survivor’ and ‘Independent Woman’ were explosive, but it was ‘Single Ladies’ that drew the biggest reaction - largely because of the brilliant montage of YouTube clips showing fans dancing away in their living rooms/offices/Picadilly Circus to the hit.
There is a reason why this tour has grossed over $48 million dollars to date. This is an incredible show from one of the most talented singers in the world today. Do yourself a favour and see it.
