Beyoncé's Formation tour: 7 things to watch for
Hold up, they don't love us like she loves us.
Beyoncé's Formation World Tour kickoff in Miami on Wednesday night was a glowing celebration of love between sisters, between idols and their worshipers, and to a lesser extent, between partners.
Because while many spectators likely entered Marlins Park with the saga of Bey, Jay and Becky on their minds, it couldn't have seemed farther from the performer's. Over the course of her marathon 30+ song set, she sang plenty of love songs -- she does make them better than nearly anyone else in pop. But while the dominant narrative of Beyonce's last arena tour, 2011's On The Run jaunt with Jay Z, was the couple's married bliss, the Formation tour's ambitious first night was a thank you present to fans, executed with her new girl gang at her side.
So now that the show's officially on the road, here's what to expect from 2016's most-anticipated tour.
DJ Khaled’s "opening set" is a loose concept
Besides being the king of Snapchat, Khaled makes his money from helping produce big rap/R&B ensemble tracks, and then yelling his name over them.
Don’t expect anything different from his opening set, which thankfully featured a parade of his famous friends at the Miami showincluding Rick Ross, 2 Chainz, Yo Gotti, Lil Wayne, Future and more. While it’s safe to assume that Khaled pulled out all the stops for the tour’s opening night, hopefully his sets at future tour dates also feature a surprise or two.
No Jay -- but it’s okay
Khaled’s circus of A-list rappers only highlighted the completely solo affair that was Beyoncé’s set, which unfolded sans Jay Z. Beyoncé, master of controlling the message that she is, managed to drop enough hints that all’s well in the Carter-Knowles household, introducing the lovey-dovey anthem All Night, describing it as her “favorite song on Lemonade.”
And at the concert’s end, she shouted out “beautiful husband” before closing with Halo -- “Boo boo, I love you so much.”
Bodysuits!
Black, white and red; leather, latex and crazily bejewleled; paired with her brimmed hat from Formation, with thigh-high boots for dance sequences or with no shoes at all for Freedom’s puddle-jumping; Beyoncé couldn’t have made the Formation tour’s dominant fashion trend more obvious.
We loved the wild fashion show of flowing gowns that was the Lemonade visual album, but it’s hard to be upset with one-pieces as audacious, sexy and fun as we saw in Miami.
A life-giving team of backup dancers
Beyoncé’s live shows were never solo affairs, and some of her most iconic moments are notable for the dancers at her side, from Single Ladies’ three-person routine to her incredible gear-shifting Ring The Alarm performance.
After digesting the imagery of Beyonce’s Lemonade, which beautifully celebrates the sisterhood among women of color, her insanely talented squad of dancers (who were nearly, if not entirely WOC) feel even more like an essential force. They weren't dancing behind Beyoncé but with her -- often literally as they rock and twirl in line.
Lots of Lemonade
The vast majority of the new album found its way onto the night's sprawling setlist, kicking off with a blazing version of Formation and coming to a jubilant climax with Freedom, as a water-covered walkway emerged in the middle of Marlins Park for a stomping dance routine.
The Lemonade visual album was also a regular presence, as clips showed up during interludes. And more broadly, the concert roughly adhered to Lemonade’s narrative arc, sweating its vindictiveness out early, raising trouble in its middle stretch and celebrating empowerment and love at its coda.
Hit after (abbreviated) hit
Bey covered nearly all of her basics, and rather than performing full songs, she’d do a verse or two before flipping it into another hit to maximize her discography’s insanely deep bench.
Also fun were the Easter eggs of other songs hidden throughout her set, from her guitarist sneaking Kanye’s New Slaves riff into the intro for Don’t Hurt Yourself to Bey seamlessly inserting a line from D’Angelo’s Untitled (How Does It Feel) in the middle of the similarly smoldering Rocket.
Merch you actually want to buy
The Formation merch tent is full a pleasant surprises. There were cute pins and glossy posters for fans looking for something less expensive, a gorgeous bomber jacket for the big spenders, and the Beyhive's instant favorite item -- the Boycott Beyonce tees.
More about the Formation tour here: