BEYONCE:Even a force of nature has its highs and lows

[KiwiCoromandel]

BEYONCE/Acer Arena, April 21...

I confess that before seeing her perform live, I was pretty indifferent to her work.

Sure, her songs Crazy in Love and Bootylicious (with Destiny's Child) are first-class dance-floor fillers, but there also seemed to be a lot of indifferent R'n'B featuring interchangeable rappers and that insufferable trilling that Idol contestants aspire to.

There were also plenty of crossed messages, politically speaking. Was she really an Independent Woman, or did she just want a man to pay her Bills? Her videos, heavy on skimpy outfits and trademark booty-shaking, seemed to suggest the latter.

I take it (almost) all back. On stage, she's a force of nature.

Rarely has an artist been so suited to the image-obsessed video age of pop. But unlike almost every other pop starlet, Beyonce doesn't need the airbrushing or the prerecording. Underlining that, she swapped the high-sheen digital production of her records for a raw, sweaty 13-piece band: three drummers, a three-piece horn section, two keyboardists, a guitarist, bass player and three backing singers. That was great and unexpected, but even more fabulously, all the band members - arranged on a lit-up stepped stage - were women.

They had plenty of opportunity to show off their virtuosity, too, during Beyonce's several costume changes - from one glittering ballgown to another, from crystal-laden satin leotard to champagne-coloured baby-doll dress and gold shorts. Note-perfect all the while, Beyonce dropped effortlessly into formation with her 10 dancers, strutting in sparkling heels. Talk about working hard for your money.

After the opening-set high of Crazy in Love, the pace proved unsustainable for the almost two-hour show. The costume-change shifts were disjointed (and occasionally just bad - as in an E! news-style video montage of her red-carpet appearances).

There was a surfeit of showy, belter-style ballads, but such is her voice that they weren't totally unbearable. Set highlights such as a 10-minute Destiny's Child medley and the Middle Eastern-feel version of Naughty Girl made it all worthwhile.

It was a show reminiscent of Prince at his peak: a consummate entertainment professional who knows every trick in the book to push an audience's buttons, but makes it look natural and easy.

source:AP/Kelsey Munro

image:Domino Postiglione:BEYONCE...Costume drama...the vocal highlights made up for some of the outfit changes.