Concert Recap: The Mrs. Carter Show

On Tuesday, July 2nd, 2013, I was able to fulfill one of my lifelong dreams — to see Beyonce live in concert. My friend and I had floor tickets (standing room only), but we also go VIP early entry passes for an extra $30, so we were able to get decently close to the stage, especially considering that we got there at 5:30, and there had been people waiting since the morning.

Anyway, we waited in line for about an hour and a half, and got to go in, and basically stood in one place for another 4 hours. But, time flew especially with Bey’s set, and it was one of the best days of my life, and definitely the most amazing concert I’ve ever been to (though I haven’t been to many — Demi Lovato, Bruno Mars, One Direction, Glee, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis). She basically performed 2 hours straight of her hits with a few mini breaks in between when either her dancers danced or she showed us a short video.

I have always watched Beyonce perform on award shows, on her TV specials, and I’ve watched full length concerts on YouTube; But seeing her live in person, in the flesh, it was UNREAL how REAL she was. What? It’s hard to explain. It was mind-blowing to see her execute the same routines as seen in videos, on TV, etc. Watching her live in concert, it was hard to fathom that someone could be even more beautiful than seen in magazines and online, that someone can actually dance that well and SANG at the same time. But Beyonce is that someone, she is this unreal performer, and I am so blessed to have been able to witness such greatness. I added in some photos that I was able to take during the concert — she would not keep still though haha.

Opening Act: Luke James

I was one of the few who had actually heard of this guy before this concert. I really like his single “I Want You, and he is a fantastic live singer, definitely with a more 90s-00s R&B vibe, the kind that isn’t very popular with the mainstream anymore. But I really like him. He gave a solid performance filled with medleys, throwbacks, and some of his own songs. Most of the girls around me, once they saw him said that he is CAYUUTE. By the end of the set, he is shirtless — and I don’t think anyone was complaining haha. He kept on re-introducing himself throughout the set — which kind of got on the nerves of some people — but it’s understandable that he wanted to keep reminding us, since most people tend to forget the opening act (especially when this guy is the only thing keeping us from seeing Beyonce), and are only there to experience the headliner.



Headliner: Beyonce Knowles — Carter

If I Were A Boy

Uh oh uh oh uh-oh! (Crazy in Love)

Bey flying over us

• Run the World (Girls) into End of Time — BAM! What a way to start off the show. High energy, ridiculous dancing, and Beyonce singing RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME. We stood kind of close to the speakers, so the bass was ridiculously loud to us, we could feel it in our chests — almost about to explode of bass-ness.
• Flaws and All — A really great song. Beyonce goes on before about how everyone has flaws (even herself — whiffing the air underneath her armpits haha). But after this concert, she is still flawless in my eyes and I’m sure everyone else who has seen her live. She kind of dedicates it to her fans, for accepting who she is “flaws and all.”
• If I Were a Boy — after a quick-change, Bey is raised up from the stage,
• Get Me Bodied -> Baby Boy -> Diva — what a combination of songs to get your blood flowin’ and to get your dance on!
• Naughty Girl — Flames, sexy dancing, and errythang, Beyonce is HOT.
• Party — cuz Bey likes to partay-ay-ay-ayy!
• Freakum Dress — First of all, I’d like to say that Beyonce and her dancers looked absolutely gorgeous in their freakum dresses. I can’t really get over it.

• Her Freakum Dress
• I Care — one of my favorite songs from her latest album, and she sounds like she swallowed the recorded version — WOW WOW WOW
• I Miss You — a song written by Frank Ocean, and Bey emotes this song as good as Frank would have.
• Schoolin’ Life — an awesome bonus track from “4”, Bey says that this one is for her Beyhive, her longtime fans who most definitely would know how this song goes. A really fun and catchy song. Except it kind of makes me feel like I’m not “schoolin’ life” since I’m in college to get a degree — while the song says “who needs a degree when you schoolin’ life.” Personal problem, but I still really like the song and the fun performance with it.
• Why Don’t You Love Me — OMG, I LOVE THIS SONG. So much sass.
• 1+1 — Beyonce sings this song on top of a grand piano, BAMF, at one point, she lies down on it and still hits the runs and ad libs flawlessly
• At this time, Queen Bey FLIES over us (the floor crowd) to the “Bey Stage” which was in the back of the floor area. This way, the people in the back and around the arena had a better view of her, rather than having to look at the screen a lot.
• Irreplaceable — To the left to the left! Irreplaceable has turned into a classic Beyonce hit, it’s always fun song to have the crowd help sing :)
• Love on Top — Probably considered her most recent hit. Key change on key change on key change. Ridiculous.
• Now, she flies back to the main stage! Yay for us!!! :)
• Survivor — The only Destiny’s Child song she sang, would’ve liked a medley but we got a throwback and that’s definitely better than nothing. Also, one of the most anthemic tunes of the time.
• Crazy in Love — The Countdown music video starts to play and you think she’s going to come out and sing it, BUT NO, suddenly you hear the very recognizable brass instruments that start up CRAZY IN LOVE.
• Single Ladies — That’s it. Nothing much needs to be said. Everyone knows the dance. Loads of fun, especially for this single lady right over hurrrr hahaha.
• Grown Woman — Beyonce’s newest single, that you might recognize as the song she sings in her Pepsi commercial. The one where she dances with past Beyonce’s (i.e. Crazy in Love Beyonce, Single Ladies Beyonce, etc.) and then breaks mirrors in the end and says “Embrace your past, live for now.” Beyonce is a GROWN WOMAN and she can put it down like that.
• OMG CONFETTI — we are literally doused with an excessive amount of gold confetti. It was awesome at first, but it just kept coming, we ended up with piles on our hair, clothes, shoes, etc. Therefore, it was a great chance for me to collect a pocketful of Beyonce confetti to take home with me :)
• I Will Always Love You (cover) — Paying homage to the great Whitney Houston, Bey slayed it.
• Halo — A heartfelt performance. You could truly see how much her fans meant to her. It was pretty emotional.

• Flaws and All

• Halo
• Outro — Shoutouts to her awesome dancers, including the Les Twins (the only men on the tour), and her awesome band and back-up singers (the Mamas).

FIN

What a concert! I had a fantastic time, even though I was dead tire after, I’d say it was definitely worth it to see the Queen Bey kill it on stage. She is the best live singer/dancer out there today, it’s amazing how she was able to do so much in 2 hours and still have crystal clear vocals that sound darn close to her recordings.

All Hail Queen Bey.

P.S. She’s coming back to the Bay Area in December and my friend and I are thinking of going again! This time with our other roommates who will be in town at the time. But this time, we are getting seats!

P.P.S. In a couple more weeks, I’m going to go see Beyonce’s hubby Jay-Z with JT in San Fran! I’ll try to write another recap of that one too. :)