Having created a mighty buzz on the back of one official single, the anticipation of Beyoncé’s live appearance was palpable inside a Point Theatre populated by screeching teenage masses and hopelessly low-key music royalty.
From the moment that she descended head-first from a cable (Escapology-style), Beyoncé Knowles kept every eye and ear under her irresistibly entertaining spell, leaving the likes of U2 and Ronan Keating to enjoy their own booty-shaking moments from the privacy of the balcony.
Pulling out all the stops on her second night in Dublin, Beyoncé played a seamless, near two-hour set that has cemented – at least in this reviewer’s mind – her position as the incontestable pop diva of our time. Every girl wants to be her and every boy wants to be with her – but knows they cannot. For all her down-to-earth qualities, Beyoncé is untouchable. At age 21, she combines skills in singing, songwriting and dance with an image that combines intelligence and sex appeal. With all her smiles and curves and fist-in-the-air Survivor sentiments, Beyoncé exudes class all the way.
With her troupe of dancers, five-piece band and DJ compare-cum-turntablist, Beyoncé’s performance occupied every cubed inch of the stage. Between five costume changes, glitter showers and a particularly lovely canary swing, it was a truly spectacular night’s entertainment. In top hat, tails and a silver sequined number she treated us to a stunning rendition of ‘Fever’, and later – paying tribute to her favourite record of all time (Michael
Jackson’s Off The Wall) – she pulled off a funktastic version of ‘Rock With You’ and her Destiny’s Child medley delivered all-too-brief morsels of ‘Bootlicious’, ‘Jumpin’ Jumpin’, ‘Say My Name’ and ‘Survivor’, as well as the roof-raising opus of ‘Independent Woman Part 1’. Notwithstanding the quieter intervals of the somewhat ho-hum ballads, Beyoncé belted out the dance numbers with tremendous vocal delivery and choreography. As for her backside – are seemingly with a life force all of its own – she sparked a ludicrous booty-fest throughout the Point, culminating in a sensational ‘Crazy In Love’ encore. Even if we didn’t catch The Edge busting out of his seat, we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that he left with the same resounding mantra as the rest of us. Uh-oh, uh-oh, uh-oh, eh-oh, eh-oh…