Hi Elegant Readers,
To the left! To the Left!
Beyoncé Concert
St. Louis had snow and ice; but that was not going to prevent fans from coming out to see the Queen herself.
Just on the cusp of the release of her new album on iTunes Thursday night, Beyoncé stopped in St. Louis on Saturday, December 14, 2013.
Going to the concert, my hubby and I had to walk with caution because of the ice.
Prior to the show, music was being played over the speakers, and some of the fans were getting their groove on.
One of the songs played was “Wobble Baby Wobble Baby”. A man sitting a few seats below us, who looked like he could be my grandfather, came out of the aisle and started shaking and putting his foot on the railing and causing a humongous stir with the audience. Then the crowd began looking above us and I could see a man is getting down, doing the splits. Mind you, the show had not started yet, but we got a pre- show of moves.
The opening act was Luke James, who actually danced in Beyonce’s video for “Who Runs The World Girls!” He sung his hits “I Want You” and “You Belong To Me”. He incorporated samples of Marvin Gaye’s “Got to Give It Up,” and Michael Jackson’s, ‘The Way You Make Me Feel” into his thirty-minute musical set. He has a good vocal range and was a hit with the ladies when he took off his shirt off.
JT enjoying the Beyonce concert
After James finished up and a quick set change, Beyoncé hit the stage accompanied with back-up singers and dancers. About 17,000 fans packed the Scottrade Arena and the first song was “Who Run The World (Girls)!” She and her dancers did her signature moves to the song of empowerment.
She said to the fans, “You all look really fly tonight.”
She asked the crowd to say,
“Hey Ms. Carter” and the fans obliged.
She followed with “End of Time” and “If I Were a Boy.”
“Get Me Bodied” is one of my favorites because I can work that song. My hubby and I attended the 2007 World Experience Tour in St. Louis and she used the same choreography as before. The difference was they she had the Les Twins performing with her throughout the show and they had a solo dance performance on Why Don’t You Love Me.” You got the feel that this was definitely a greatest hits tour.
There were several mini movie vignettes before and during the concert. The movies during the concert allowed Beyonce to go off stage and change in a new outfit for the next part of the show
Some highlights:
One video talked about Chime for Change, which is a charity that Beyoncé co-founded with Salma Hayek.
Another movie clip showed Beyoncé talking about how she wanted her new album to be visual and she wanted to put it out there when she wanted to.
I have been rehearsing for a Christmas Program at my church. I did not know that she had released a new album the day before so I was going in really fresh and clean. There was rumor of an album but didn’t know when it was going to drop. Surprise to me!
Her hubby JayZ released his last album, Holy Grail, in the same manner; releasing it to Samsung fans before it moved out to the masses. Good marketing tool. It was somewhat of a surprise; but this still was a tool to get the word out. It works well for iTunes too.
She asked for the audience to follow her moves for XO and this was an important week for her. The audience was getting first listen of the song live. That was the only song that she sung from her new album. I was thinking she might have sung a little bit more from her new material but oh well! You can only ask so much.
Fans call Beyoncé a Queen; however she really puts it out there that she wants to be known as one. Some snippets from the earlier released video, “Bow Down,” showed the crown on her head and standing before the thrown with her sepulcher. The royal court and jester were also in attendance with a little twerking going on.
The show also had Beyoncé on a mechanism that had her fly above the fans to the other side where the B stage was located. The Blue cat suit she had own was very pretty and vibrant. She sung Love On Top, Survivor and Irreplaceable. The fans were doing a real good job on Love On Top. The fans were seeing and Beyoncé came in on the chorus and said, “Oops I messed up y’all sounded beautiful. Sopranos in the house!” St. Louis sounded good.
After that she got on the mechanism and fly across the crowd to the main stage. She sang Crazy in Love, Single Ladies and did the choreographed dances moves with the other dancers from the video, new song XO and Halo. She sang one new song from the album. Oh well!
It was done. She thanked the band, dancers, her backup singers the Mamas that include St. Louis’s own Monica Cooper, and the Les Twins dancers. She thanked the crowd for coming out in the cold and snow.
The show in St. Louis was an hour and 45 minutes. When the FIN came on the screens it was done. She’s introducing the band? That’s it? No finale?
Beyoncé rolled through St. Louis and will be on her way to Ontario, Canada.
JT and her hubby on their way home after the concert.
Follow!