I Am... tour SPOILER

Spoiler:

1. Sweet Dreams
2. Crazy In Love
3. Scared Of Lonely
4. Baby Boy
5. Naughty Girl
6. Freakum Dress
7. Get Me Bodied

COSTUME CHANGE

8. Smash Into You
9. Ave Maria / Sarah Malachlan "Arms of An Angel"
10. Halo
11. If I Were A Boy / Alanis Morissette "You Oughta Kno"
12. Broken Hearted Girl
13. Me, Myself & I

COSTUME CHANGE

14. Diva
15. Video Phone
16. Radio
17. Upgrade U
18. Ego
19. Hello
20. Deja Vu
21. Unknown Song (Maybe Check On It Here)

COSTUME CHANGE

22. Bootylicious/Jumpin Jumpin
23. Say My Name
24. Independent Women Pt I
25. Bills, Bills, Bills
26. Some DF Songs
27. No, No, No/Survivor - Not sung only by pre-recorded vocals (She was offstage)

COSTUME CHANGE

28. At Last (Obama footage)
29. Listen
30. Irreplaceable
31. Dangerously In Love / Anita Baker "Sweet Love" Cover

COSTUME CHANGE

32. Single Ladies
33. Flaws And All

Beyoncé brings the "Fierce"

Beyoncé, in the midst of tours of Canada and Europe, plays one American date this month, Seattle's KeyArena on April 1, touring behind her latest hit album, "I Am ... Sasha Fierce."

Maybe it's the retro black and white. Maybe it's the leotards. Maybe it's just Ms. Fierce herself, swinging those arms and shaking those hips through 3 1/2 minutes of epic choreography.

Whatever IT is, Beyoncé's video for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" is the kind of phenomenon that spawns countless You Tube parodies (and one notable Justin Timberlake "SNL" sketch) while actually maintaining artistic pedigree.

The video was released in October, but it is still very much bobbing around in the pop-culture consciousness. That's a good thing, considering Beyoncé is just kicking off a world tour — landing at KeyArena — the first American date on the tour — on Wednesday.

And Seattle has a little Beyoncé fever.

"Like Michael Jackson's 'Thriller,' ['Single Ladies'] has become a social dance craze," said Hallie Kuperman, owner of Capitol Hill's Century Ballroom, where students have a range of classes to choose from at the dine/dance space. "I haven't met one person who doesn't want to be able to do the choreography in the 'Single Ladies' video."

That's why Kuperman enlisted three local performers to teach a five-week class series so students can perfect those Fosse-meets-dance-club "Single Ladies" moves. Waxie Moon, Inga Ingenue and Lou Henry Hoover — all dancers with ties to the local burlesque and/or theater scene — have signed on. (Classes run until April 28 so you still have time to get on board. Visit www.centuryballroom.com for more info).

But in case you aren't one of the more than 47 million (and counting) people who have watched the video on You Tube ... just go watch it. Any description won't do it justice. But be warned, you'll be singing the chorus all day.

We've seen Beyoncé reinvent herself again and again throughout her 20-year career (which started at the ripe age of 7). She's done the girl-group thing with Destiny's Child. She's proven herself as a totally capable actress in the film adaptation of "Dreamgirls." She's played fashionista and rapper-wife to Jay-Z. She's got diva down pat, evidenced on powerhouse singles like "Crazy in Love." And the "Single Ladies" video is the perfect blend of all of Beyoncé's talents and personas.

Funny, because it's not even supposed to be her.

Beyoncé's new album "I Am ... Sasha Fierce" is a double disc. One album, the "I Am" half, is a stripped-down, "this-is-me" collection of heartfelt ballads. Musically, this side shows her latest reinvention, as Beyoncé weaves in elements of folk and Celine/Barbra-esque soft rock, something we haven't seen before in the singer's two previous popped-up, R&B albums.

The second disc, "Sasha Fierce," is Beyoncé's alter ego, the big-haired, long-nailed, high-heeled Single Lady of the video.

"I have someone else that takes over when it's time for me to work and when I'm on stage, this alter ego that I've created that kind of protects me and who I really am. That's why half the record, 'I Am' is about who I am underneath all the makeup, underneath the lights, and underneath all the exciting star drama," Beyoncé said on her Web site. "And 'Sasha Fierce' is the fun, more sensual, more aggressive, more outspoken side and more glamorous side that comes out when I'm working and when I'm on the stage."

Concert Review: Beyonce
Francois Marchand, Special to the Journal, edmontonjournal.com

EDMONTON - When it comes to Beyonce, Edmontonians should perhaps consider themselves very lucky.

Lucky that the "bootylicious" superstar even decided to grace an Edmonton stage again after her last turn at Rexall Place in 2007 only drew a crowd of 7,800 people, but even luckier that Beyonce would actually launch her brand new tour supporting her latest album, I Am ... Sasha Fierce, in the City of Champions.

Whether it was a momentous occasion or just an opportunity to test out the show and work out the kinks in front of a "modest" audience - because, once again, only 8,000 fans turned out - will be left for those that attended to decide.

If Beyonce's first outing on her I Am ... tour was no major disappointment, it was still a somewhat muddled affair, one that didn't really clear up where the line between Beyonce and her supposed "alter ego" Sasha Fierce is drawn.

If Beyonce is the soft-spoken side and Sasha is the brazenly hyper-confident persona, the whole concept never really spread its wings properly Thursday night at Rexall.

Opening with some momentous numbers - Beautiful Nightmare and Crazy In Love, which were peppered with touches of Eurythmics' Sweet Dreams, DJ Kool's Let Me Clear My Throat and The J.B.'s Pass the Peas - you would have thought Sasha was already in the house.

Add a rump-shaking Freakum Dress and, three songs in, Beyonce - ahem, Sasha Fierce - was already in full-blown party mode, shaking her golden-sequined, bow-clad tush and flailing her hair about wildly.

If only it had stayed that way.

The quieter, more introspective segment that followed was a collection of moments ranging from mildly corny (Ave Maria and an awkward on-stage wedding gown transformation) to supremely boring (Satellite).

Apparently, we were still in "Beyonce" mode.

Sasha Fierce, as we now know from the video bit that introduced her, is actually a robot - a sexy, creepy android not unlike Astar from the old War Amps television ad ("I can put my arm back on ... "), but one unafraid to expose some key parts of her anatomy.

If it took a few moments for Beyonce - uh, Sasha - to regain her momentum, she did manage to pull it off with the help of her 13 musicians and backup singers, a slew of dancers and harder hitting material like Halo, Irreplaceable, Survivor and At Last.

It wasn't always perfect, there were obvious glitches here and there, and it did feel like the show dragged on for a tad too long (two hours and 15 minutes? Really?) before it finally got to the smashtacular Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It).

Road test or not, Beyonce's lucky Edmonton fans didn't seem to walk away disappointed, and that's probably all that matters.

---

Concert Review: Beyonce

Rexall Place, Edmonton - March 26, 2009
By MIKE ROSS - Special to Sun Media

EDMONTON - Why on Earth would Beyonce choose Edmonton to be the first date of her new world tour?

Two words: Paid rehearsal. If something went wrong at Rexall Place last night, who cares? It's Edmonton. Work out the kinks in the hinterland before upcoming dates in places like Vienna, Prague, Paris and London. Makes sense, doesn't it? It may also explain the "no media" rule in force at the show last night. You wouldn't want some kind of bootylicious wardrobe malfunction on the front page of the Edmonton Sun, would you? Or maybe you would.

Well, anyway, media ban or not, we can still buy a ticket - lots were available - and review the show. One word here: Spectacular.

I don't know what she was worried about, if indeed she was. There were no kinks, not a single bad note or missed cue was evident. Drawing just 8,000 fans, far less than is expected at Britney Spears in two weeks, the show had all the high-production bells and whistles you'd expect from the African-American queen of all media. As with her tour in 2007, there was also the extra-large all-girl band, the phalanx of backup dancers drilled in the latest artful choreography, songs spanning a remarkable career - solo and with Destiny's Child - in a wide range of musical styles, not to mention a remarkable vocal range, and of course the riveting presence of the star herself.

The tour is called I Am ... to support her latest double album I Am ... Sasha Fierce. So in addition to seeing Beyonce's alter-ego (that would be Sasha Fierce), which as far as I can tell is just the uptempo side of this ridiculously gifted artist, we can fill in the blanks in that loaded ellipsis at will. I Am ... the new Tina Turner. I Am ... one hell of a singer. I Am ... blessed with a great butt. And so on. Sure, it's a bit of a self-centred title for a tour, but in what was basically a celebration of all things Beyonce, who else would you want in the spotlight the entire time? Her image - in one revealing costume after another - filled the video screens. Her voice filled the arena. The extra-large all-girl band filled the spaces between, buying time for costume changes.

There was little that was subtle about this show, but some of the Canadian musical homages were appreciated - like a snippet from Sarah McLachlan in her a version of Ave Maria, or a blast from Alanis Morissette's You Oughta Know in If I Were a Boy, the latter seeing Beyonce decked out in some armour-plated get-up like Aunty Entity in Mad Max: Beyond the Thunderdome. Like I said, she's the new Tina Turner.


You might also quibble with some of the robotic wrinkles that weighed down the second half of the concert, though the flying through the air routine was entertaining in a Cirque du Soleil sort of way.

Beyonce can sing traditional R&B if she wants. She proved it late last night - wailing on the Etta James classic At Last, which she performed for the inauguration of U.S president Barack Obama.

There weren't a lot of traditional R&B moments like that last night. Based on the new material, she seems more interested in reinventing the wheel and doesn't seem clear on which way she's going to go. With talent like this, it could be anywhere. It just doesn't have to be everywhere.

The audience, which was forced to wait in the concourse for a full half hour while the band finished its soundcheck, got shafted on the opening act. It was just a mere four songs from 2006 Canadian Idol winner Eva Avila. She even seemed to forget the words to her own latest minor hit, from her second, album: Damned, as in "damned if I do, damned if I don't." There's a message in there somewhere.

Beyonce Tore Edmonton out the FRAME! GO BEY!!! - Yes "she was ready"

Thanks to SANDRA bowdown for this great live from the show Twitter
Stop by her page and give her a shout out: http://twitter.com/Sperounes

1. Nine more minutes ... I hope!
2. We're waiting for Beyonce to get on stage ... I've heard she'll be on in 15 minutes.
3. Here go the lights!
4. Smoke. Curtains open.6 minutes ago from web
5. She slinks out in heels and a glittery outfit.
6. "Turn the lights on! Every night I rush to my bed ...
7. Two dancers join her. Smokes like clouds hover on the floor of the stage.
8. Outfit: glittery gold leotard with a bow-type thing on her booty.
9. Female dancers in PVC. Three guys in hoodies.4 minutes ago from web
10. First song: Beautiful Nightmare.
11. Glitter showered the crowd. Now she's singing Sweet Dreams. The rest of the curtain opens to reveal her
musicians. All women, I think.
12. Crazy In Love!
13. Booty shaking!
14. Her musicians are on glass platforms. There's a huge screen at the back of the stage and two on the side.
15. She looks fabulous. Lean, mean and on top of the world. Sax solo now. She's marching across the stage like
a diva. People are going crazy.
16. Glass platforms are erected on stilts.
17. Drums. Naughty Girl. Quick segue to Love To Love You Baby. Her voice is spectacular. Back to Naughty Girl.
Then back to Love To Love You ..
18. Fourth song: "Freakum Dress." Fiery guitar solo. Fifth: "Get Me Bodied" She's dancing with one the male
dancers.
19. Screen is red. Images of fans on screen. She left the stage. Her dancers are posing at the front.
20. Just to let you know: I'm sitting in a luxury suite with my laptop. I'm at the left side of the stage.
21. Water on the screen. She emerges at the top of a staircase. She's dressed in white -- undies, tank top and
a floor-length cape/sweater
22. "I want to run ..."
23. OK, I think that was Smash Into You, right? Next song: Satellites. She's off the staircase and at the front of
the stage.
24. Smoke billows around her. Clouds float on the screen at the back of the stage. She's alone on the stage --
well, except for her musicians.
25. I only have a crappy cell phone camera. My friend will post pics after the show.
26. She's doing Sarah McLachlan now -- In the Arms of An Angel. Beautiful. Ave Maria. Her dancers help her put
on a new costume -- a floaty white skirt and a veil. She looks like a bride.
27. @sweety23 I don't know how else to describe it!
28. Stage is dark. Red L.E.D. lights at the back of the stage. Lights on. Platforms move forward. Halo. (She took
off the skirt and veil.)
29. Seriously -- she's wearing undies and a tank. Oh, and gold heels, of course. A huge-ass bracelet.
30. No, the songs aren't being shortened -- I just can't type fast in the dark. Ha! (Plus, I want to see some of
the show, too.)
31. Halo -- a highlight. Goosebumps.
32. Seriously, you guys, her voice is STUNNING. I am close to tears.
33. She's now clapping along with the crowd. Lots of glowsticks.
34. Now video of her. Patience. Happiness. Compromise. Sadness. Humor. Intimacy. Selflessness. Togetherness.
35. Fist raised in air at end of song.
36. Sex. Commitment. (These are words she says in the video.) Now she's singing If I Were A Boy ... and
wearing a Roman-like breastplate.
37. Her version of If I Were A Boy is rockier than the radio version ...
38. Rockier as in "more oomph"
39. No sign of the glove ... yet. Her hair, by the way, is pulled up into a knot at the back and is flowing down
her back.
40. She's killing it. She's doing Alanis Morissette now!
41. You Oughta Know. AWESOME.
42. She left the stage again. Sexy cartoon robot on screen. In the snow. Next to an abandoned car. Clanky
beats. Leopard strolls up to robot. False ending. She stops. Raises her hand. A few seconds of silence.
Sings one last line of IIWAB. YOK was mixed with IIWAB. Better than the original. Rocked up with
keyboards. Now back to If I Were A Boy ...
43. @RobirobC I'm trying my best! Don't want to disappoint you!
44. Whooshing noises. Sounds like a UFO is going to land on stage. Staircase emerges again. Lit with red and
yellow. Beyonce is on top.
45. Vintage footage of Beyonce when she was five. Two dancers dressed in gold body suits. I don't know how
to describe what she's wearing. A black cape (with arms). Very goth. A metalic bikini outfit, I think. Song:
Diva.
46. Make that four dancers in gold body suits. Now playing with big-ass ghettoblaster.
47. Teased us with a snippet of Single Ladies. (From the ghettoblaster.) Launches into Radio instead. Love this
song.
48. Beyonce's outfit is painted to make it look like her stomach is ripped.
49. Beyonce's stage is simple -- glass platforms with musicians. A screen and a few LED lights at the back. She
has a smaller stage, too.
50. "I want to thank yall for coming out to the very first show," she says. Explains video of her was from when
she was five.
51. Beyonce is now singing Me, Myself and I. "You can always depend on yourself," says Beyonce. "I love you all ladies."
52. Sadly, it's not a sell-out crowd. Beyonce never does well in Edmonton, sadly.
53. Uh oh, I might be running out of power soon.
54. Her bikini seems to light up. WILD!
55. Piano solo.
56. Ego. Oh, Beyonce's outfit also has leopard spots on it. She and two dancers are writhing along a makeshift wall.
57. Found a socket!
58. The crowd is pretty loud -- not letting us down!
59. Trumpet solo.
60. It's funny to watch Beyonce strut across a dark stage and all you can see is her lit-up bikini. Hee.
61. "You had me at hello, you had me at hello ..." she sings. She's got three soulful back-up singers, plus at least 10 musicians. All women! "This is one of my favourite songs off my new album ... Hello," says Beyonce.
62. OK, I'm powering up now, so I won't tweet as much over the next few minutes. I can't see the stage from where the socket is. Pfft!
63. It's not super state of the art ... yet. Apparently, she's going to use a trapeze to fly over to a smaller stage in the middle of the arena
64. Keytars! Deja Vu. Bass solo. Most of Beyonce's musicians are off their platforms and on the stage. Beatles reference.
65. OK, Beyonce has disappeared again. Just her musicians on stage.
66. She hasn't touched the smaller stage yet. Soon, I hope ...
67. Okay, I'm going to be bold ... #beyonce#
68. Quick video -- two Beyonces on screen, one in white dress, one in crazy gold dress with wild shoulders. Two sides of the coin ... B > Sasha
69. OK, now she's in the air -- lifted by wires -- over the crowd. They lift her up, then take her down, so she's floating over her fans ...
70. She's now doing somersaults in the air. Descends to floor of arena. Surrounded by fans. Her security takes her to small stage.
71. Beyonce was wearing a black dress in the air. Now she's in gold on the small stage. Sings short version of You Don't Love Me (No No No).
72. Lights are up in arena. Everyone is standing. Trying to sing along to Irreplaceable.
73. No, there's no runway to the second stage. "I love playing on her with you guys," says Beyonce. She talks to her Sasha version on screen.
74. Oh, here comes the hand! "I think you can be a little more fierce," says the Sasha version on screen, then waves the metal glove.
75. BOOTYLICIOUS.
76. B's hair is flying like mad. Joined by her dancers.
77. She hasn't worn the glove on stage yet ... just in the video.
78. OK, she's doing a medley -- only did a bit of Bootylicious, then Jumpin' Jumpin, now she's doing ...
79. sorry, guys, I don't know this song. It sounds like she was singing "Believe in me."
80. Yup, she's still on the small stage. First, she was joined by her female dancers. Then, the guys. Now two girls in dresses and white socks. ...
81. OK, I know this song: Video Phone. One of the dancers just gave her a purse.
82. I think the best place to sit would probably be rows 10 to 20 on the floor. Or even on the sides.
83. "Can I do something else from Destiny's Child?" Beyonce asks. Of course! She responds with Say My Name.
84. Nothing was in the purse. (I think.) She was holding a cell phone, so maybe it came from the purse or a dancer handed it to her. Not sure.
85. Choreography is the usual, nothing too groundbreaking.
86. Independent Women Pt. 1.
87. Dancers are back on the main stage. (Beyonce has disappeared again.) The small stage portion of the night is over?
88. Bills, Bills, Bills.
89. Survivor. No, No, No ... Quick snippets of DC songs. (Pre-recorded vocals -- Beyonce is not on stage. Changing again?)
90. I'm not sure I like the outfits of the dancers -- short black dresses and white socks?
91. Beyonce is now singing Scared and Lonely. Modern-dance number.
92. OK, so the last few DC songs she was off stage changing, but the first few I mentioned she did on the small stage.
93. Beyonce is off stage again. Piano interlude. (BTW, she used footage of Obama when she performed At Last.)
94. It's 10:43 p.m.
95. Dangerously In Love is up now. She's back on top of the staircase. (It appears and disappears from time to time.) She sounds perfect. Almost too perfect, perhaps.
96. @Jeyrom Well, you hear about artists using pre-recorded backing vocals to augment their voices. I'd like to think Beyonce needs no help.
97. A cover of Sweet Love.
98. No, Beyonce's pipes sound 100 percent real. She's got the growl you can only recreate live.
99. @sweety23 You're welcome! You got it, AirForceFierce.
100. @RobirobC Beyonce's Sweet Love is exquisite, dare I say ..
101. Stage is black again. Clock is counting down on screen ... More whooshes.
102. The show is now officially over two hours ...
103. Single Ladies!
104. All the little girls are dancing in the crowd.
105. She's wearing black leotard with fake diamonds.
106. @iDamien Crowd could be more hype. No manic dancing. Sigh.
107. less than 20 seconds ago from web
108. Her legs, may I say, look better than ever. Freakin' amazing!
109. Uh oh, here come the thank yous ...
110. "Y'all have been an amazing, amazing, AMAZING first audience," she says. Awww. "Thank you so much."
111. Wait, Beyonce's going to do one more song. "You're the reason why I'm still here," she says. Flaws And All.
112. It's about 75 to 80 percent full.
113. Crazy In Love and Single Ladies got the biggest reactions, I'd say. Edmonton is more of a rock and metal city ... pop acts don't always do well here, unfortunately.
114. "Edmonton, I am ... YOURS," says Beyonce. Aww.
115. No glove for Single Ladies. It only appeared in a video.
116. Thanks for following ... I had a blast. "Good night!" Beyonce leaves the stage, shots of fans on the screen. Band is still playing.
117. Lights are up. Gotta split. I'll answer your questions when I get home!
118. Aww, thanks @RobirobC and @sweety23. I feel like I made new friends!

[quote author=Robirob link=topic=82440.msg2311072#msg2311072 date=1237960438]
[size=40pt]REVIEWS[/size]



http://www.edmontonsun.com/Entertainment/Music/2009/03/27/8901816-sun.html

Beyonce puts a ring on Rexall
By MIKE ROSS, SPECIAL TO SUN MEDIA

Why on Earth would Beyonce choose Edmonton to be the first date of her new world tour?

Two words: Paid rehearsal. If something went wrong at Rexall Place last night, who cares? It's Edmonton. Work out the kinks in the hinterland before upcoming dates in places like Vienna, Prague, Paris and London. Makes sense, doesn't it? It may also explain the "no media" rule in force at the show last night. You wouldn't want some kind of bootylicious wardrobe malfunction on the front page of the Edmonton Sun, would you? Or maybe you would.

Well, anyway, media ban or not, we can still buy a ticket - lots were available - and review the show. One word here: Spectacular.

I don't know what she was worried about, if indeed she was. There were no kinks, not a single bad note or missed cue was evident. Drawing just 8,000 fans, far less than is expected at Britney Spears in two weeks, the show had all the high-production bells and whistles you'd expect from the African-American queen of all media. As with her tour in 2007, there was also the extra-large all-girl band, the phalanx of backup dancers drilled in the latest artful choreography, songs spanning a remarkable career - solo and with Destiny's Child - in a wide range of musical styles, not to mention a remarkable vocal range, and of course the riveting presence of the star herself.

The tour is called I Am ... to support her latest double album I Am ... Sasha Fierce. So in addition to seeing Beyonce's alter-ego (that would be Sasha Fierce), which as far as I can tell is just the uptempo side of this ridiculously gifted artist, we can fill in the blanks in that loaded ellipsis at will. I Am ... the new Tina Turner. I Am ... one hell of a singer. I Am ... blessed with a great butt. And so on. Sure, it's a bit of a self-centred title for a tour, but in what was basically a celebration of all things Beyonce, who else would you want in the spotlight the entire time? Her image - in one revealing costume after another - filled the video screens. Her voice filled the arena. The extra-large all-girl band filled the spaces between, buying time for costume changes.

There was little that was subtle about this show, but some of the Canadian musical homages were appreciated - like a snippet from Sarah McLachlan in her a version of Ave Maria, or a blast from Alanis Morissette's You Oughta Know in If I Were a Boy, the latter seeing Beyonce decked out in some armour-plated get-up like Aunty Entity in Mad Max: Beyond the Thunderdome. Like I said, she's the new Tina Turner.

You might also quibble with some of the robotic wrinkles that weighed down the second half of the concert, though the flying through the air routine was entertaining in a Cirque du Soleil sort of way.

Beyonce can sing traditional R&B if she wants. She proved it late last night - wailing on the Etta James classic At Last, which she performed for the inauguration of U.S president Barack Obama.

There weren't a lot of traditional R&B moments like that last night. Based on the new material, she seems more interested in reinventing the wheel and doesn't seem clear on which way she's going to go. With talent like this, it could be anywhere. It just doesn't have to be everywhere.

The audience, which was forced to wait in the concourse for a full half hour while the band finished its soundcheck, got shafted on the opening act. It was just a mere four songs from 2006 Canadian Idol winner Eva Avila. She even seemed to forget the words to her own latest minor hit, from her second, album: Damned, as in "damned if I do, damned if I don't." There's a message in there somewhere.

---

SOUNDCHECK

MAIN EVENT

BEYONCE

IN THE SEATS

8,000 IN REXALL

NOTE PERFECT

SPECTACULAR TOUR-OPENER IN EDMONTON, OF ALL PLACES, TAKES THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN QUEEN OF ALL MEDIA TO A NEW LEVEL.

RATING

[size=14pt]4 1/2 OUT OF FIVE[/size]

Spoiler: