On the Run Tour
The On the Run Tour instantaneously sold out across the nation as the super couple Jay-Z and Beyoncé set out to entertain audiences with their combined star power. I caught the show in Beyoncé’s hometown of Houston and it was a show. The venue was Minute Maid Park the baseball arena where the Astros play which is technological marvel in itself. It is a 40,000 seat stadium with a retractable roof. The roof was closed due to gloomy conditions of that particular night and despite its massive size and extreme humidity outside it was reasonably cool throughout the concert. My seats where in the club level and a lesson learned from watching football games in Kyle Field the second deck is the best choice for viewing pleasure. The first deck gives you awkward angles and you have a hard time seeing things on the field. The floor is terrible for viewing concerts because everyone is on the same level and seeing through that many people is simply annoying. The second deck on Minute Maid Park is called the Club Zone and has an air conditioned concessions area complete with tables and random Mazdas throughout. There was no opening act simply a DJ to keep us entertained for about an hour after the ticket time of 8. Considering the traffic to park and get through the door it was actually appreciated they started a little over an hour late.
The act started with them performing songs they had duets with such as Bonnie and Clyde and Crazy in Love. Then Beyoncé disappeared off stage and Jay-Z played his hits and then would interchange spots through a variety of stage tricks and perform a duet every now and then. It When they were both taking a break a movie which explicitly states it is not real life depicts the power couple as a modern day Bonnie and Clyde deeply in love riding throughout exotic locations, playing with firearms, and generally living a outlaw life on the run. I found it interesting that they continuously emphasized the movie was real life throughout the movie and even before they started This is not real life was projected onto the screens. So the progression was duet, Jay Z solo, Beyoncé solo, duet, movie and repeat. Individually they have so many great songs and Grammys that their solo acts were worth the admission price themselves. Also they both recently came out with new albums the ambitious and breathtaking self-titled album from Beyoncé and the good, but underachieving Magna Carta Holy Grail from Jay-Z alone have enough hits to keep you rocking for hours. Nonetheless, they both had classic s they played that the enormous stadium was echoing the whole night. Also during the interludes they didn’t just play their own songs I could recognize numerous Kanye beats and other current popular song instrumentals playing to narrate their drama. Beyoncé even performed an incredible cover on Lauren Hill’s Ex Factor. Beyoncé also has another level to her performances that cannot be ignored. Not only does she look incredibly sexy she also organizes some incredible dance routines with an assortment of backup dancers including two twins with afros who near break dancing almost stole the show.
After going through the excitement of the outlaw movie with some of their biggest hits and incredible dance routines the mood shifted to some of their more introspective, deeper songs as it seemed as if they wanted you to relate to them as regular people who have the same problems relationship and otherwise that we do. They went through various ballads, yes even Jay-Z and the movie changed shifts from “Not Real Life” to actual images of their rather extravagant life. There were images of their child some of their vacations and just cozy things that if possible made you like them even more. The show finished with a white dress laden Beyoncé and Jay-Z performing a final duet and that capped off an almost 3 hour performance from 2 of the biggest mega stars on the planet. I had extremely high expectations going into the concert and Beyoncé and Jay-Z did not disappoint.
