Beyoncé electrifies Los Angeles crowd

There’s an ear-deafening energy that can only be experienced firsthand from a premier loudspeaker system that can vibrate bass through one’s veins. Digital outlets such as online streaming and social media updates sometimes serve to dampen the concert-going experience. But Beyonce was not made for a computer screen.

 

For fans who missed Beyoncé’s first two performances in Los Angeles earlier this summer, the music superstar delivered a third concert that somehow managed to eclipse those critically lauded performances. Though the concert did not sell out, it drew in some of Los Angeles’ biggest names including Samuel L. Jackson and Magic Johnson. This third and final L.A. run of The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour warmed up a cold Tuesday night with shooting flames, sizzling performers, pyrotechnics and simply raw talent.

Opening performer Luke James commanded attention with an energetic medley of his own songs along with covers of famous R&B hits. His short 20-minute opening ended with an amazing falsetto, creating a memorable, lingering tune that satisfied the fans who were waiting for the star of the show to arrive.

The 40-minute gap between the opening and main performance felt like an eternity. Finally, the lights dimmed and an uproar of cheers echoed throug the stadium as a large video screen descended from the main stage. Beyoncé demands as much energy from the crowd as she puts in. She would not sing until she felt the crowd gave her enough noise, and Mrs. Carter alone would have the power to control when her concert ended.

In “End of Time,” Beyoncé and her dancers switched between subtle sensuality and sharp power moves with suggestive hip movements which eventually gave way to elbow jabs and hair twirls. More importantly, Beyoncé’s mind-blowing sense of rhythm turned the crowd into a sea of screams as she sang “End of Time” while matching her female dancers shake for shake and stomp for stomp.

Videos played during costume changes, but took up too much of the two-hour concert. At the end of the initial video, Beyoncé wasted no time and jumped right into “Run the World (Girls),” a performance that showed her power, humility and Beyoncé’s signature smile.

Despite her status as a diva, the show felt well-balanced as Queen Bey drew attention away from herself, allowing her crew, her friends and her fans to shine in the limelight. Like a true queen, she was fair, kind and humble, giving a shout-out to former Destiny’s Child members Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams during the crowd pleaser “Survivor.”

As Beyoncé emerged for her final song, a hush fell over the crowd as she sang a mash-up of “I Will Always Love You” and “Halo,” dedicating her encore to the late Paul Walker.

Despite critiques, the concert was not Superbowl 2.0. Instead, it was a marriage of a fashion show with world-class choreography and enough fireworks to put Disneyland’s Fantasmic! to shame.

One of the main problems was time. Too many of the songs were shortened to fit a total of 22 songs in under two hours. Her latest songs such as “Run the World,” “End of Time” and “Grown Woman” received full plays but too many of the others were cut too short. Most songs had enough breadth to sing along to but not enough for the crowd to bathe in the afterglow. And though the set list was the same as her summer tour’s, Beyoncé’s revamped visual and vocal performance left Los Angeles “Crazy in Love.”

 

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