One day I was minding my own damn business and browsing the internet when I came across a post from one Beyoncé Giselle Knowles announcing her joint stadium tour with Blue’s Daddy. I was clearly over the moon when I saw it. I was even happier to see that they would, in fact, be heading to Florida. There had been a huge boycott of Florida after the whole Trayvon thing and I was just happy they had abandoned their beliefs so that I could have a chance to bask in their glory. Leading up to the concert was the whole Solange attacking Jay in the elevator at the Met Gala afterparty fiasco. Were the pair splitting? Would the tour continue? These were the question that had zestleman all over clutching their pearls waiting to hear the answers.
The day for the concert finally arrived yesterday and I couldn’t have been happier. I had a beach moment with my bestie and then came home to take a nap as I was sure I would need all energy so I could sing and dance as if I was on payroll of the tour. Even after allowing for an extra 20 minutes of traffic on a 25 minute drive, we ended up being hella late. The show was slated to start at 8, at which point I was in bumper to bumper traffic that showed zero signs on letting up. My Uber driver had some soothing music on, which did nothing but fuel the rage that was building inside of me. Did I just spend far too much money on a ticket for a show that I was about to miss? Would Jay open, giving me a chance to maybe catch the Beyoncé set? Was my tank top too low cut or not cut low enough? Again with the questions!
Chip and I ended up deciding to walk the last mile and a half to the stadium. Best decision ever. After being in a taxi for over 1.5 hours and being already 30 minutes late, we had had it. Luckily we knew someone already at the show who told us that it had yet to start. I had kind of let go and let God at that point and he came through. We arrived to the Sun Life Stadium and found our seats. Apparently Miami was on some bullshit and everyone was late as hell, as the stadium was empty. We sat for another 30 minutes or so and the show started right around 10ish. Bey and Jay are all about that CPT! (Unlike a very White and timely Justin Timberlake who started at 8:00:00 EST) I couldn’t even be mad, as their tardiness allowed me to see the full show. Plus would they really have wanted to perform for 150 people?
In keeping with the On the Run theme, they started with a little vignette leading up to the whole Bonnie and Clyde thing. They both came out and launched in “’03 Bonnie and Clyde” Bey looked sickening in a fishnet-y facemask thing. She ripped it off and went into “Upgrade U” and then “Crazy in Love” I figured Bey would be the first set. I was wrong. Jay came back and for the rest of the night they went back and forth with each other. The transitions were seamless and well thought out. For instance, Bey remixed “Love on Top” with The Jackson 5’s “ABC” which lead right into Jay’s “Izzo/H.O.V.A”
I must say that I was way more into Jay that I really thought I would be. I am a casual fan. He had me out of my seat rapping right to his impressive catalog. Sometimes I forget just how many classics the man has. He pretty much won be over when he busted out “Wipe Me Down” So many rappers rely on a DJ and a hypeman and simply shout along to their record. Jay took command of the audience and never let go, just with him and a mic. I mean, two hours of just that might have been boring as hell, so it was a good balance to Bey and her stunts and shows.
Beyoncé pretty much stayed consistent. Her wardrobe is all new (and pretty ridiculously amazing to say the least), but the choreography and vocal arrangements were almost all recycled from her past tours. Somehow that didn’t bother me. Yeah, it’s cool when Madonna comes along and totally changes how she performs “Vogue” or another classic, but part of me likes to sing along and dance and be right. I <3 consistency. She performed most of her latest album along with some of her standards. Vocally, she sounded pretty damn perfect. I didn’t love her rendition of “If I Were A Boy” but I think that had something to do with a delay in her earpiece and not hearing the music. Something was off. I’m sure Solange was sent in to kick someone’s ass over that.
Overall, the show gave me what I needed. It lasted about 2 hours and had me entertained the whole time. There were plenty of “aww” moments like new footage from their wedding and Blue. We also got to see a powerhouse couple come together and display a great amount of synergy. They are both great on their own, but together they make magic together. I literally caught chills during “Holy Grail” I don’t know the state of their relationship, but I know they made me believe in the Carter dream, if even just for the night.
