“It reminds me of how Tina Turner could travel around the world, sell out a venue, and people would talk about that performance forever (and she’s in her 70’s!). We can easily see Beyoncé doing the same thing.”
Last night, July 15, the On The Run tour made its stop in Atlanta. It was a day that everyone had marked on their calendars and brought many fans from out-of-state to catch a glimpse of the concert. Jay Z and Beyoncé put on a show that can only be described as “remarkable.” The duo’s arrival was such a big deal that in the days leading up to the show, local news channels suggested all attendees take Marta to the Georgia Dome (as opposed to driving). Even with the construction taking place for the new stadium, the Georgia Dome is the only logical place to host such a concert (Jay Z sold out Philips Arena, Beyoncé sold out Gwinnett Center).
As seen above, the two came out together, to a thunderous sold-out crowd. The audience was extremely diverse, spanning all ages and races. We saw people being assisted with canes/walkers and even parents playing as chaperones hosting hoards of children. Everyone from miles around came to catch a glimpse of Jay and Bey. The amazing thing about this concert is that you will leave feeling like your money was well spent.
They performed on their own and as a duo, making each performance special. In between their performances they had movie clips playing on the large theatre-size screens on-stage. The stage was huge and had speakers in the form of a tower on both sides of it. There was one huge screen in the middle towards the back of the stage, and 2 large one’s on each end in the front. A nice addition was a walkway that was created so they go into the crowd. Once they left the main stage, the walkway took them to a platform in the middle of the floor audience. At first nobody could see where they went, then all of a sudden a spotlight comes on and they’re standing in the middle of the audience! The crowd was electric.
Jay Z performed a myriad of old classics such as What’s my name, Dust your shoulders off, Big Pimpin, and Hard Knock Life. He’s ruled rap music for so long, you really didn’t have a clue which collection of tracks he would perform. He also performed songs from his last project Magna Carta Holy Grail. Tracks such as Tom Ford, Beach is Better and F***WithMeYouKnowIGotIt. There were lots of epic moments when he performed but the most notable (for us anyway), was when he performed Show Me What You Got. The crowd response was amazing. Looking all around to see the Georgia Dome respond to his directions “and wave…. and wave… and wave… and wave,” was incredible.
There really is no competition when it comes to Beyoncé. Her performances are on such a high level, it will be eons before anyone comes close to it. It reminds me of how Tina Turner could travel around the world, sell out a venue, and people would talk about that performance forever (and she’s in her 70’s!). We can easily see Beyoncé doing the same thing. The dancing, the singing, the high-energy, the vast array of outfits, lighting effects, you name it; she puts on an amazing show. Aside from her background dancers, singers, and her band, during multiple performances she featured French duo Les Twins. Les Twins are identical twins from Sarcelles, France who dance and choreograph. They’ve been on the scene in France since around 2008, but their presence rose in the U.S. via YouTube from video a few years ago (that now has 22 million views). From standing around Bey acting as personal escorts from shooting up from underneath the stage to dance, their addition was a nice touch for entertainment.
Beyoncé performed songs like Flawless, Yoncé, Naughty Girl, and Drunk in Love. During her Pretty Hurts performance she had a video playing on the screens that was pretty powerful. Everyone loved her performances and as I said before, she is easily on her way to having her performances become legendary. Her standout moment (in our opinion) came when she returned to the stage amongst the crowd with her dancers and performed Love On Top. The Dome went crazy and immediately you saw the flashlights from camera phones lighting up everywhere. The duo also surprised the crowd by covering Lauryn Hill and Jackson 5/Michael Jackson songs.
For entertainment value you will get your money’s worth out of this tour, seeing that you’re able to find a ticket. Individually they’re a force, but when performing together, it’s just constant energy being fed to the masses. Many people never sat down. It was almost like, “why are there seats?” The Georgia Dome honestly could’ve let the floor area serve as a massive pit and people would’ve been ok with that. The experience was awesome: amazing show, great music, and tremendous stage presence. The only constructive criticism we could give would be the random crosses, angels, and having the crowd “hail” Jay Z with their hands (could’ve done without that). Those moments were few, but overall, a tremendous performance and an amazing night.
Out of all the times the city has suggested “take Marta, its Smarta,” ATL residents chose last night as the time to heed the warning. It was just a sea of people everywhere you looked. Nothing got out of hand and people were generally nice, it was just the lines were out of this world. But as they suggested, we were happier in that line than those trying to leave in their cars. The storm from Monday brought in cool weather, so walking around at midnight in 70 degree weather made for the perfect close to the evening’s festivities.
If you want to see the rest of their tour schedule you can see our post from OTR
-TPR