The Carters Are Larger Than Life On The "On the Run II" Tour

A pleasant good morning readers. How did you spend your weekends? I hope it was an eventful one. This past Friday I spent the evening with Shawn Corey Carter and Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter at the New Jersey stop of the On the Run II tour.

Before I dive into this post I must preface it by stating it is no secret that I pay very close attention to the first couple in music but I am also very critical of them. When this tour was announced on Monday, March 12, 2018, I was ecstatic. Individually, Jay-Z is a phenomenal guy and Beyoncé is discipline and ambition wrapped in beauty. Despite the hurdles of their past, as a couple, they represent ideals of a gargantuan level when they come together.

As much of a fan as I am of them I do not really care to pay a lot of money to see the same thing more than once, especially since I saw the first On the Run tour in 2014. The funny story about that is I was still living back home in The Bahamas when I saw that concert. I took two sick days off from work and flew all the way up to Foxborough, MA to see them and fly right back. In hindsight, it was the best decision I made because it was my first time seeing either of them live.

I absolutely loved the production of that entire concert. It was a 4-D movie; I particularly loved how cinematic their on stage transitions were. Crazy enough, this first co-headlining tour acted as marriage counseling for the couple; you could feel the raw emotion. It was also the first time Beyoncé fully stepped into the raw and aggressive persona with her cursing up a storm with such conviction. I never thought I would see the day Beyoncé would curse let alone say “Fuck” and “Mother Fucker” with such nonchalance.

Anyway, I steered off topic. I was just trying to let you know that the first On the Run tour was truly a moment. So as I was saying, I do not really care to pay a lot of money to see the same thing twice and that was definitely the vibe I felt after looking at all the social media footage of the On the Run II concert. It felt much less of a proper follow-up and more similar to a Deluxe Edition holiday release of an album. From what I could see, it was the same show with a bigger budget and a handful of updates, here and there. I always love an opportunity to see The Carters live but I was incredibly undecided.

Oh yes, I never buy a ticket before footage of the concert is released. I examine which area will be the best place to sit and also to get up close and personal with the artist(s). Unfortunately, up close and personal is not a luxury many people can afford when it comes to The Carters, myself included.

As the weeks past and ‘Everything Is Love’ was released my interest turned into the stock market; it surged but once I saw the new music was not properly being incorporated into the tour it plummeted. It was now the beginning of the week for the Jersey shows and I had to make a choice. Of course I gave in and purchased a ticket, the morning of August 3, 2018, to be exact.

So I was off to Jersey from Manhattan to be entertained by the powerhouse duo. I missed the opening acts and arrived at my seat ten minutes before the concert started. From the audience’s perspective, I sat in front of the stage’s right catwalk. The OTR letters disappeared from the LED screens, a gulping bass sound blared through the speakers and it was now showtime. We finally got to see what came of the trip to Jamaica in the form of accompanying concert footage.

The giant stage monitors parted like the Red Sea to reveal Mr. and Mrs. Carter dressed in all white as they descended from a platform onto the main tour stage. It was not until I laid eyes on their live human bodies that I was truly happy I made the decision to go to the concert. For a man about to hit a half of a century in age, Jay-Z radiates such a youthful energy and the Texas stunner, well she is just breathtaking. I always forget how petite she is in person compared to her photos. Beyoncé knows what to wear to accentuate her hips and shoulders to give the illusion of a smaller waist which gives the overall effect of a bodacious body.

They kicked off the two and half hour long live performance with “Holy Grail.” Beyoncé took over vocal duties for Justin Timberlake and then again later on for “Young Forever.” They then hit a full circle moment as they performed “Part II (On The Run)” at the On The Run II tour, get it? The power couple then finished up with their first collaboration “‘03 Bonnie and Clyde” before splitting up into their solo acts. Remember how I mentioned a few paragraphs ago how being up close and personal with Jay-Z and Beyoncé is not a luxury easily obtained. Well that stage was massive. I found my eyes looking more at the giant LED monitors than their actual bodies in the far distance. I was however fortunate enough to take in each of their presence twice in very close proximity as I faced the stage’s catwalk. Memories, I tell you, memories…

The concert progressed nicely. Again, I will mention what a massive production this concert was. The two musical artists had so much stage to fill and fulfilled its total landscape through running, walking and being elevated stories high into the air on a giant platform that glided back-and-forth over the Club Carter audience. The Carters were larger than life but I will admit, I think during the production meeting so much unintentional emphasis was placed more on making OTRii bigger rather than better than its predecessor. The giant floating stage was nice but rather than them becoming some unreachable beings it just made them more distant from the audience, literally and figuratively.

With a total setlist coming in at over forty songs, the global enterprise ran through their bonafide hits: half the time worth of songs from Jay’s ‘4:44,’ a few cupfuls worth of songs from ‘Lemonade' and three kisses worth of songs from ‘EVERYTHING IS LOVE.’ Dressed in a custom Burberry print Bey, alongside Jay, performed “NICE.” They then performed “BLACK EFFECT” and closed out the show with “APESHIT.” Oh yes, Beyoncé also packed up her Coachella HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) vibes and brought it along with her on this tour. From the dance breaks to the live band I felt as if I was at Howard University’s Homecoming.

The dynamic of The Carters, their interaction with each other, during this tour was much different than the first tour. This time I could feel that they are a happier married couple. The level of PDA (Public Display Of Affection) has heightened. They opened the show holding hands, something they did not do before. They stared into each other’s eyes for what seemed to be long periods of time and they locked lips and exchanged love fluid several times in front of the tens of thousands of spectators. Even when Beyoncé sang “Resentment” her voice and emotion told of a time past rather than her pouring her heart out in the moment. Unfortunately, the couple’s on-stage transitions into each other’s songs were not as cinematic this go ‘round. It was so seamless before as in you literally would not see the other until the moment you heard their vocals. That can be attributed to the large stage and the simple fact that they weren’t chasing perfection this time around.

They say The Carters are you faves’ fave; they are the celebrities to celebrities. So of course they were a few well known public faces there all nestled up between the Club Carter and VIP sections. Christian Combs walked by me and I saw the legendary Angie Martinez. There were a few other people I did not recognize taking photos with fans. Funny enough it was none of them that I was starstuck by. I however did break my neck as Ty Ty walked perpendicular to me. Yes, Ty Ty, Jay-Z’s best friend of several years… Just hours before I was on the phone with a friend and mentioned, “I wonder if Ty Ty will be there?” I sounded like the last groupie but whatever I admire him because his loyalty is unmatched and he remains unseen unless you go looking for him.

Shawn Corey Carter and Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter put on a fantastic show on August 03, 2018 at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. They were truly larger than life. I personally liked the first On the Run tour better simply because it was a fresh idea perfectly executed, at the time. I also feel the magic (entertainment) they produced the first time around could not be replicated. Mind you, their level of satisfaction is way up there so anything less than that is still of high quality. For so long we have seen the pair as entertainers but this was the first time I saw The Carters perform in unity rather than a Jay-Z and Beyoncé performance. That’s right, Bonnie and Clyde finally made it to the island. They no longer have to run anymore.