When Destiny's Child was at its peak, the trio appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine in paramilitary style, as if they were enlisted soldiers in "booty camp." In retrospect, Beyonce (who was in the center of the picture, naturally) should have been wearing a five-star general's uniform. This is a woman who was born to command.
Saturday night at the RBC Center, James Brown himself could not have been more in charge of the stage than Beyonce was. She's less a performer than a multimedia platform, and the two-hour show seamlessly integrated Beyonce's songs, videos, movies and merchandise into a sensory overload of synergy.

"Give it to mama," Beyonce growled at one point as she departed the stage for a costume change, and the urge to reach for one's wallet and hand it over was overwhelming. And when she stopped mid-song at one point to demand more audience enthusiasm, everybody piped right up.

Saturday's show began with a quick 10 minutes from British singer Katy Shotter, followed by an agreeable 45 minutes from Robin Thicke -- although it was hard to tell too much about his ability, due to a godawful sound mix that turned his vocals into an unintelligible roar. From a distance, Thicke also looked disconcertingly like snarky "American Idol" judge Simon Cowell. Still, anybody who passes a technical-difficulty interlude by riffing on Michael Jackson's "Rock With You" gets a pass.

"Don't you wish every song sounded like a Michael Jackson song?" Thicke asked afterward; would that more of his did.

A half-hour after Thicke's set ended, Beyonce made her entrance in full-on diva mode, rising up in windswept silhouette and wreathed in smoke as sparks showered the stage. Then the curtain lifted to reveal an army of backup singers, dancers and musicians as they started in on her signature solo hit "Crazy in Love."

Of particular note, the only men onstage were dancers. All the singers and players were women, including all three drummers -- an impressive bit of female power, because the band was killer. Every musician got ample solo-spotlight time, in part because there was time to kill during the star's numerous costume changes.

The 21-song set was generous enough, but it concentrated almost exclusively on songs from Beyonce's two solo albums. That gave short shrift to the Destiny's Child material.

Self-empowerment was the theme of the show, with Beyonce testifying that she wants what she wants when she wants it ("Freakum Dress," "Get Me Bodied"), that she doesn't need anybody else ("Me, Myself and I") and that she can kick you out of her world as easily as she lets you in it ("Irreplaceable").

When she ordered the crowd to sing "Irreplaceable," the audience responded by singing the entire first stanza -- perfectly.

By David Menconi,
The News & observerr