TEven by pop diva standards, Beyoncé's entrance at the Continental Airlines Arena on Monday was over the top. She was carried through the crowd on an elevated bed, scattering rose petals over her adoring fans.
Her set was part of the lone New Jersey stop of the "Ladies First" package tour, which began March 12 and is currently scheduled to end April 21. The tour, also featuring Alicia Keys, Missy Elliott and Tamia, was conceived as an urban version of the more laid-back, Sarah McLachlan-led Lilith Fair, which packed amphitheaters from 1997 to 1999.
It comes at a time, though, when Beyoncé has risen from the ranks of ordinary pop stars and become, unquestionably, the leader of the pack. Plus, it offers some of her fans their first opportunity to see her in concert without her original group, Destiny's Child. So the female-bonding aspect of Monday's show became a secondary issue. The main question became: Could Beyoncé justify the hype?
And she did, more than anyone who witnessed Destiny's Child's stiff, overly choreographed (albeit glamorous) shows would have predicted.
She didn't stint on spectacle. She used pyrotechnics and confetti, and backed herself with 10 dancers and nine musicians (including a DJ). She sang part of "Be With You" from a swing suspended high above the stage. During "Dangerously In Love 2," smoke streamed artfully behind her, looking like something from a music video.
For the show-closing "Crazy In Love," she welcomed a high-profile guest: her boyfriend, rapper Jay-Z. The crowd cheered so loudly the first half of his rap was inaudible.
Her frequent costume changes slowed the set's momentum, but when she was onstage, she never settled for going through the motions. And despite the hoopla, she came across like a real person. She danced with abandon. She emoted fiercely on "Dangerously In Love 2" and "Say My Name." Attempting to give the show an uplifting spin, she asked women in the crowd to recite "I love myself" before she performed "Me, Myself and I," and asked, "Where my survivors at?" before launching into "Survivor."
Keys couldn't match Beyoncé's glitz, though sometimes she seemed to be trying to do just that.
She opened with bombastic thunder-and-lightning special effects. She spent almost as much time at the front of the stage, dancing, as she did behind her grand piano. One moment she was standing on a podium, conducting her band; the next, she was sprawling across the top of her piano, seductively. During "You Don't Know My Name," she picked up a cell phone and pretended to call a man, asking him for a date.
Whatever show-biz trappings she has adopted, Keys proved -- as she did on her two albums, 2001's "Songs In A Minor" and last year's "Diary of Alicia Keys" -- that she's also capable of making stylish neo-soul music. Stripped-down versions of songs like "Butterflyz," "If I Ain't Got You" and The Jackson Five's "Never Can Say Goodbye" were highlights, but full-band renditions of "Fallin'" and "A Woman's Worth" weren't far behind.
Elliott's performance was the musical equivalent of a video viewed on fast forward. Her half-hour set included excerpts from hits like "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)," "Get Ur Freak On" and "Pass That Dutch"; dance interludes; magic tricks; a sprint around the arena floor during "Work It"; several costume changes; and a tribute to deceased hip-hop stars like Tupac Shakur, The Notorious B.I.G. and Jam Master Jay.
Thanks to Elliott's giddy personality and sharp rapping skills, it felt like a full show crammed into a shortened span, rather than a superficial glimpse at what she is all about.
Tamia, who took the stage at 6:50 p.m. (10 minutes before the show's scheduled starting time), had only 15 minutes to work with, but made a strong impression.
Unlike the evening's three co-headliners, she had no theatrics to offer, but still captivated with explosively emotional versions of songs like "Officially Missing You" and "Stranger In My House."
Breaking from Lilith tradition, the show's performers never took the stage with each other, though they were seen together once -- during a backstage, pre-taped video segment used to stall for time during one of Beyoncé's costume changes.
BY JAY LUSTIG,
Star-Ledger