Review: Beyoncé gives a queen-worthy performance in Minneapolis

In the spirit of the late, supremely great Tina Turner, Beyoncé started her Minneapolis concert Thursday night nice and easy.

It was not one or two ballads but six subdued selections, including Destiny's Child's unhurried "Dangerously in Love," her own sit-seductively-atop-a-silver-piano "1+1" and ultimately a reimagined down-tempo treatment of "River Deep, Mountain High," the Ike & Tina Turner classic.

But then, in the Tina tradition, Beyoncé delivered the rest of her 2 ½-hour concert at Huntington Bank Stadium nice and rough. Banger after bass-heavy banger, with some lush ballads as well as tastes of tunes by the Jackson 5 and Madonna mixed in for winking fun. It was a resoundingly spectacular extravaganza combining dazzlingly opulent outfits, delightfully over-the-top sets, captivatingly invigorating choreography, strikingly terrific vocalizing, a daring (as in not-necessarily-crowd-pleasing) set list and endless irresistible beats that 35,000 people could dance to. And did.

It was a performance worthy of a queen. Even though it was less fan-fulfilling than Taylor Swift's U.S. Bank Stadium marathons in June or less age-defyingly satisfying as Bruce Springsteen's effort in March at Xcel Energy Center, Beyoncé's show was a real stunner by any standard.

After playing to more than 1 million fans in Europe this spring and summer, Queen Bey, 41, is back in the States this month celebrating "Renaissance," her 2022 tribute to Black and queer club culture. In fact, 14 of Thursday's 34 tunes came from that album, a remarkable collection but far from her most popular solo effort. However, she remixed many numbers to feel freer and more forceful as if to implore "release ya wiggle," as she put it in her hit "Break My Soul."

And who could resist the eye-popping visuals and ambitious presentation? Emphasizing a silver palette, Beyoncé sported a wow-inducing array of outfits from Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney, Loewe, Gucci and Fendi, among others — from a black body stocking highlighted with a silver sequined horse to a black-and-gold bee leotard with black wings on her bee-hind to a crystal-decorated gold catsuit with sewn-in hands covering her privates.

"It should cost a billion to look this good," she sang in "Pure/Honey" in her bee outfit. She got that right.

Ditto for the staging, which included high-tech animation, robotic arms, a ginormous disco ball, a massive inflated horse head, a video wall the size of a four-story apartment building and a mirrored horse that silver-clad Beyoncé floated in on during the finale amid shiny confetti. Hi yo, silver!

Divided into six segments with titles like "Opulence" and "Motherboard," the show featured 22 dancers in such styles as ballroom vogueing, modern dance, contemporary hip-hop and break dancing. When Beyoncé participated in the dancing, her moves weren't as consistently pronounced and athletic as those of the other dancers but that never detracted from the entertainment value.

Similarly, Bey was all over the place musically, supported by 10 musicians embracing R&B balladry, funk, pop, soul, bounce, dembow, various hip-hop flavas as well as techno, house and other styles of dance-club sounds.

With an underappreciated singing voice that was at turns sumptuously soulful and elastically jazzy, she addressed numerous topics, everything from self-love ("Cozy") and racial injustice ("Black Parade") to horniness ("Heated") and hedonism ("Cuff It").

Bey snuck in her version of "Lift Off" by Kanye West and Jay-Z, her husband, but she trotted out their daughter, Blue Ivy, 11, for real for "My Power." The youngster, introduced by her mother as "kinfolk," stepped to the front of the parade of dancers — and she more than held her own in an understated red jumpsuit. She ended with a cute little-girl wave and then busted some pro moves before exiting.

Blue Ivy received arguably the night's loudest ovation. Mom followed that tough act by riding atop a silver tank for "Black Parade." Who runs the world?

The set list may not have included enough oldies for some fans — put your hand up if you missed "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It") and "Halo" — but 2016's riveting "Formation" and the back-to-back punch of 2011's sing-along "Love on Top" (with a bit of the J5's "I Want You Back" bass line) and 2003's aggressively reconsidered "Crazy in Love" with its extended horn flourish were audience-pleasers.

In the crowded-but-fast-moving show, Beyoncé inserted covers of tunes by Rose Royce, Frankie Beverly & Maze, Megan Thee Stallion, Ike & Tina, Jay-Z and Destiny's Child, her own trio from 1990-2006. Her four backup singers delivered Diana Ross' disco favorite "Love Hangover" during one of the five-minute interludes between segments.

Props to Queen Bey for choosing the outdoor Gophers football stadium over the acoustically challenging U.S. Bank Stadium, which is in vogue with other big stars. She's performed in both venues before, and although she had to deal with a rain delay in 2016 at the University of Minnesota gridiron, this show went off without a hitch. And, overall, it was more futuristic, celebrative and exciting than her last effort there, though not as personal, emotional and revelatory.

Proclaiming her renaissance on her first solo tour in seven years, Beyoncé was simply relentless Thursday. Song after song, outfit after outfit, special effect after special effect. Before the encore, she delivered a couple of "Renaissance" tunes, including the gripping "America Has a Problem," which, despite its title, is not overtly political and keeps her fans guessing about its meaning. Ah, people, just shut up and dance.