Beyoncé w/ DJ Khaled
CenturyLink Field, Seattle, WA
05.18.16
SEATTLE, WA – MAY 18: Beyonce performs during the Formation World Tour at CenturyLink Field on Wednesday, May 18, 2016, in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Daniela Vesco/Parkwood Entertainment)
Nobody’s boycotting BeyoncĂ©. This is the Formation World Tour, and CenturyLink Field in Seattle is sold out, the jubilant all-ages crowd dressed to the nines. Security crew are taking photos for groups posing like this is prom. T-shirts everywhere are emblazoned with things like “Slay All Day,” “I Woke Up Like This,” and “Flawless,” quotes from the master of self-aggrandizing slogans that serve a selfie culture of empowerment for all.
The night opens with a set from DJ Khaled â newly signed to Roc Nation management â who pretty much operates as the best hype man in town, manning his decks with oversized personality. But then there’s more waiting. Waiting for a full house, waiting for darkness, waiting for the “Queen B.”
Finally, the giant, lit-up monolith atop the equally sizeable stage flashes to life with sultry images of the one-and-only Mrs. Knowles-Carter. The crowd ignites as the monolith slowly spins, eventually revealing Bey and her squad of dancers as she breaks out into the cultural pot-stirrer “Formation.” From there, the two-hour-long set revels in a goldmine of BeyoncĂ©’s hits, and hits within hits, as she samples one song into another, bits of “Tom Ford” melding into a fierce “Bow Down.”
The pyrotechnics start early during the explosive “Run the World (Girls)” and then it’s the night’s first costume change. Interludes are filled with additional tracks and video montages â from razor blades and gold grills to fur coats and poetry â all done with the same tight editing and artistic excellence as everything else that comes out of the quality-controlled Parkwood Entertainment camp.
“This next song talks about the most important relationship you have in your life,” says BeyoncĂ©, as she works her way into “Me, Myself and I.” She meanders the stage edges, high-fiving and holding hands with the lucky front row, a bright smile lighting up her face. “Runnin’ (Lose it All)” proves she can still belt out an emotional tear-jerker amidst the pop madness, and then she stops to say, “this next song is my favorite song on the album because it talks about redemption and relief from the fighting. And I’m gonna ask you to sing with me.” And everyone does. “All Night” becomes a stadium-sized therapy session, and not the last of the evening.
There are aerialists, a moving sidewalk, a silhouetted couch-dance. There are red pleather leotards â leotards of all sorts really â and killer solos from her all-female live band. And while it’s certainly a production, Bey herself never feels contrived. There is emotional content writ throughout and whether it is real or just good acting, it’s believable. Her fierceness, her smiles, all feel authentic, as in, yes, she’s actually having a good time up there.
An acoustic rendition of “Love on Top” basically means the crowd just sings it for her, and then “this next song is my favorite to sing every night,” she says, kneeling on stage for the emotive “1+1” as cell phones light up the night. The lights stay on for a cover of Prince’s “The Beautiful Ones” that leads into a memorial “Purple Rain” interlude, the monolith lit in the artist’s signature hue. “Party” sees the stadium bathed in what else, but metallic confetti.
Strewn throughout the set, bits of Destiny’s Child tracks make their appearance, but the back to back strength of “Freedom” and “Survivor” as BeyoncĂ© and her dancers splash through a pool at the end of the stage strut is a killer setup. The show closes with her, alone, on her knees in the water, “I want you to think about who you love very deeply I want you to imagine their faces. And sing it to them. I’ll sing it to y’all,” says Bey. And then there’s a slightly up-tempo “Halo” and a showering of fireworks over a satisfied crowd spilling back into the night.
Undeniably one of the strongest performers and consistent personalities of a generation, with the Formation tour, Beyoncé is tapping into a truly democratic audience, owning the naysayers, commanding the troops, and encouraging each member of the #Beyhive to be as much of a dreamer and a doer as she believes they can be.
To see the beautiful machine for yourself, find a tour date near you here.
Beyoncé Set List
Formation
Sorry
Kitty Kat
Bow Down
Run the World (Girls)
Mine
Baby Boy
Hold Up
Countdown
Me, Myself and I
Runnin’ (Lose It All) / Naughty Boy (cover)
All Night
Don’t Hurt Yourself
Ring the Alarm
Diva
***Flawless
Feeling Myself (Nicki Minaj cover)
Yoncé
Drunk in Love
Rocket
Partition
Daddy Lessons
Love on Top
1+1
The Beautiful Ones (Prince cover)
Crazy in Love
Naughty Girl
Party
Blow
Freedom
Survivor (Destinyâs Child)
End of Time
Halo
Review by Stephanie Dore
Photos courtesy of Daniela Vesco/Parkwood Entertainment
SEATTLE, WA – MAY 18: Beyonce performs during the Formation World Tour at CenturyLink Field on Wednesday, May 18, 2016, in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Daniela Vesco/Parkwood Entertainment)
