Beyonce Live in Melbourne - All Hail Sasha Fierce!
16 September 2009
Beyonce Concert Review - Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne - 16th September 2009Jetlag? What jetlag?! But a day and a bit after the Taylor Swift/Kanye incident at the MTV VMAs in New York, Beyonce was introduced to Australian audiences in a beam of white light and smoke, in all her diamond encrusted glory.
B's support came from our dear Jessica Mauboy and the horrible Flo-Rida, who attempted to buy the crowd's love by throwing various pieces of "bling" and autographed towels (?!) out to whoever screamed the loudest as well as inviting several lucky ladies on-stage for a dance.
After a brief distraction provided by superstar guest Suri Cruise...oh and her mum Katie Holmes (we also spotted Phil Jamieson from Grinspoon in the audience - wtf?) it was on to the main event, and Beyonce kicked it into first gear straight away.
There are several things that spring to mind while watching a Beyonce concert:
1. She so purrrrdy.
2. Woah she can SING (no lip-synching here, kids).
3. Um, how many costume changes are there gonna be? (we lost count, but it must have been at least 8)
4. Aww man, she can DANCE too.
And when we say she can dance, we're talking booty to the ground, crazy professional dancer stylez. Ridiculous. For the WHOLE show. Which went for over 2 hours.
These days it seems so many popular acts do the obligatory Aussie arena tour for some extra $$$$ just to go through the motions, so it's so refreshing to see someone pull out all the stops to blow the crowd's mind. Clearly this is a tour that was took months to plan. There was so much thought put into it, from the costumes, to the sound (a FIERCE all-female band = yes please), the choreography (seamless, including her many back-up dancers) and the visuals (crazy).
The show was off to a flying start, with hits like Crazy in Love, Naughty Girl and the absolutely ROCKING show highlight Freakum Dress (from 2006's B'Day). With her most recent album I Am...Sasha Fierce Beyonce officially introduced us to her "sensual, aggressive alter-ego" Sasha, who is responsible for the booty shaking numbers we all love so much.
Unfortunately though, no one is perfect and being someone who is more into the bootyshaking hits that Miz Sasha Fierce brings, Beyonce lost momentum not long into show by taking an extended detour into Ballad Town. B's ballads such as Halo, Irreplacable, et al have been big hits, but the majority of her biggest songs have been of the get-all-your-girlfriends-on-the-dancefloor variety.
We all know she can sing, but at times the set seemed a little self-indulgent, with extended ballads and some long covers (Sarah McLachlan's 'Arms of an Angel', 'Ave Maria', Alanis' 'You Oughta Know') where later on she teased us with short renditions of the songs we really wanted to hear, like Sweet Dreams.
But Beyonce did forget her ego during twice during the performance to indulge the crowd in a couple of very well received 'Destiny's Child' medleys. She also left her latest big hit Single Ladies toward the end, prompting an all in crowd dance-a-thon of the routine that has become a worldwide internet phenomenon.
Our favourite 'Single Ladies' dancer...
Despite her (few) shortcomings, Beyonce sure knows how to please a crowd, complete with the "omg I'm so glad to be back in Melbourne" speech, the get-a-small-child-onstage-routine and the so-appropriate and heartfelt Michael Jackson tribute in the form of Halo, it was a memorable experience, and one that was definitely worth the cash outlay.
All hail Sasha Fierce!
By Rose Callaghan
