Review: Beyoncé at State Farm Stadium

A day before Beyoncé brought her highly buzzed-about Renaissance World Tour to State Farm Stadium, the singer posted to her Instagram story asking fans to wear silver for the remaining dates.

Despite the short notice, news travels fast within the Beyhive, and many in attendance on August 24 got the memo. Though the thousands in the arena did not make for a sea of silver, many fans came decked in their shiniest attire, with others showing their creativity in other ways.

The show itself was a spectacle, and minus a minor setback in the form of technical difficulties that paused the elaborate production for several minutes early on, it ran like a well-oiled machine.

The show was divided into six chapters comprising complete and abridged songs showing the different sides of Queen Bey — Opening Act, Renaissance, Motherboard, Anointed, Anointed Pt. 2 and Mind Control — with detailed video presentations and elaborate outfit changes marking each transition.

A high-budget production, it was backed by videos weaving live-action footage and images of Beyoncé with animations showcasing robotic, alien- and angel-like figures as well as an eclipse, Saturn and more. Fireworks, pyrotechnics, lasers and a confetti finish amplified the excitement, while disco balls and a giant horse statue were brought out at other moments.

A lengthy circular runway jutted into the crowd in front of an opening and closing stage backdrop, with the singer joined by a large crew of dancers including French duo Les Twins and a special guest in the form of her and Jay-Z’s 11-year-old daughter Blue Ivy Carter.

No, this was not a hits show going through the motions of the singer’s two-plus decades as a solo artist and as one-third of the core Destiny’s Child lineup. As such, a number of songs could be pointed to as having been left out, like “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It),” “Halo,” “If I Were a Boy,” “Drunk in Love” and “Irreplaceable.”

Rather, the set was crafted with intention, primarily evoking the constantly evolving R&B and pop superstar’s 2022 effort “Renaissance” — which itself draws heavily from house music and other dance genres.

As such, the Renaissance World Tour also celebrates the LGBTQ+ and ball culture that inspired the album of the same name, with drag terminology and voguing peppered throughout to tie it all together.

The Renaissance and Motherboard segments almost exclusively showcased that album. With vibrating bass that could be felt in one’s core, Beyoncé ran through songs like “I’m That Girl,” “Cozy,” “Alien Superstar,” “Cuff It,” “Energy” and “Break My Soul,” the latter of which combined the album version and its “Queens Remix,” which samples Madonna’s 1990 classic “Vogue.” Beyoncé also made time in the midst of that run to throw in Kanye West and her husband Jay-Z’s 2011 “Watch the Throne” collaboration “Lift Off,” on which she features.

Though “Alien Superstar” was interrupted by the aforementioned technical difficulties — which at first seemed almost purposeful, with the audience belting out the lyrics as the singer continued to dance around the stage — it became apparent this was not the case when Beyoncé smoothly exited the stage, her dancers in tow. However, after an uncertain several minutes, the issue was resolved and the show went on.

Toward the back end of the show, Beyoncé rolled out in a seashell bed for the Anointed Pt. 2 segment and performed “Plastic Off the Sofa,” “Virgo’s Groove,” “Move” and “Heated,” with “Naughty Girl” from 2003’s “Dangerously in Love” added for good measure.

The subsequent and concluding Mind Control section was kicked off by a Jim Morrison quote, “Whoever controls the media controls the mind,” with Beyoncé performing “America Has a Problem” as part of a newslike presentation, complete with stock trading prices scrolling across the screen. “Pure/Honey” followed with a climactic bout of voguing from her dancers, while Beyoncé concluded with “Summer Renaissance” from atop a sparkling horse before being hoisted above the crowd and thanking those in attendance.

Still, the singer found time to keep some variety within the set list. The show opened in a rather stripped-back fashion that was focused more so on voice than spectacle, with Beyoncé, a pianist and the rest of her band creating an intimate vibe that paid tribute to the fans who made the show possible and an icon who influenced the singer’s career in the first place.

After kicking the evening off with “Dangerously in Love,” which she has recorded both solo and as part of Destiny’s Child, Beyoncé continued on with cuts like “Flaws and All” from 2006’s “B’Day,” “1+1” and “I Care” from 2011’s “4,” as well as a cover of Rose Royce’s 1976 song “I’m Going Down.”

The aforementioned icon is the recently deceased Tina Turner, whom Beyoncé celebrated as a queen and an inspiration and paid tribute to with another cover, Ike & Tina Turner’s 1966 song “River Deep - Mountain High.”

The Opulence segment began with “Formation” from 2016’s “Lemonade,” which was built up piece by piece, leading to a satisfying burst of energy when the beat kicked in. “Diva” from 2008’s “I Am… Sasha Fierce” and “Run the World (Girls)” from “4” followed. Blue Ivy joined as a dancer for “My Power” and “Black Parade,” both from the 2019 soundtrack “The Lion King: The Gift.” The segment concluded with Beyoncé’s remix of Megan Thee Stallion’s “Savage” as well as “Partition” from 2013’s “Beyoncé.”

The Anointed section, on the other hand, ran through tracks like “Church Gurl” from “Renaissance,” “Get Me Bodied” from “B’Day,” a cover of Maze’s 1981 song “Before I Let Go,” “Rather Die Young” and “Love on Top” from “4,” and “Crazy in Love” from “Dangerously in Love.”

With an attention to detail and satisfying hardcore fans, Beyoncé gave a nod to an extensive list of other tracks she would ultimately not perform, “Green Light” from “B’Day” being mixed in during “Crazy in Love” as one example. She also interpolated other artists’ material, from her backing band flipping the script and performing the instrumentals to Dynasty’s “Adventures in the Land of Music” during “Flaws and All” and the Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back” during “Love on Top” to a sample of Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright” during “My Power” and “Black Parade.”

Though its status as arguably the event here of the summer caused notable traffic jams and there was a momentary hiccup in the technical department, it ultimately seemed worth it, all things considered, when seeing fans dancing, singing along, and filming on their cellphones to capture a key memory for years to come.

Set list

“Dangerously in Love”

“Flaws and All”

“1+1”

“I’m Going Down” (Rose Royce cover)

“I Care”

“River Deep - Mountain High” (Ike & Tina Turner cover)

“I’m That Girl”

“Cozy”

“Alien Superstar”

“Lift Off” (Kanye West and Jay-Z cover)

“Cuff It”

“Energy”

“Break My Soul”

“Formation”

“Diva”

“Run the World (Girls)”

“My Power”

“Black Parade”

“Savage (Remix)” (Megan Thee Stallion cover)

“Partition”

“Church Gurl”

“Get Me Bodied”

“Before I Let Go” (Maze cover)

“Rather Die Young”

“Love on Top”

“Crazy in Love”

“Plastic Off the Sofa”

“Virgo’s Groove”

“Naughty Girl”

“Move”

“Heated”

“America Has a Problem”

“Pure/Honey”

“Summer Renaissance”

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