Pop Concert Report - Grade: 300 PDF

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For this assignment, I watched Beyoncé Knowles Carter at the Chime for Change concert in 2013. The whole concert included performances from John Legend, Jennifer Lopez, and Madonna, but this video specifically showed Beyoncé and a small orchestra and band. She played - A Change Is Gonna Come, At Last, If I Were a Boy (remixed with Bittersweet Symphony), Grown Woman, I Will Always Love You, and Halo in that order. The songs build in intensity and popularity, thus coming to an apex of the audience freaking out and singing with her. She kept the audience engaged the whole time by changing up the songs, singing remixes and mashups, bringing out Jay-Z, and talking to the crowd intermittently. As a Beyoncé fan, I found this assignment particularly intriguing. I hadn’t seen or heard her performance at the Chime for Change concert, and I was thoroughly impressed with her remixes, covers, and mashups. I really enjoyed this assignment, and I think it’s helpful to critically analyze popular music rather than just listen to it. The concert took place in London at the Twickenham Rugby Stadium. The event was held to help empower girls and women around the world. The venue is much more of a concert venue than the Philharmonic’s concert hall performance. The rugby stadium is outdoors, and the stage was set up with massive light boards and screens behind it, tons of spotlights, and a tiered stage for backup dancers and musicians. Beyoncé plays classics that the audience will know, but she changes them up and mashes them with other classes to keep it interesting. The audience definitely sings along with Beyoncé and participate in singing back and forth with her. The whole audience dances as much as they can in such a packed audience. They jump up and down and do the single ladies hand dance. I think Beyoncé did a great job of literally moving the audience. The energy is really high and in close ups of audience members, they seem to be having a really good time. I think the emotion of the concert is just happy. Everyone there is supporting a good cause, and Beyoncé sings exciting songs with exciting dance numbers. Opening her concert, Beyoncé sings “A Change is Gonna Come.” It is an old song originally performed by Sam Cooke. It seems to be an homage to the title of the concert, Chime for Change. The song is slower than the rest of the setlist; it includes violins, cellos, and violas in a little mini orchestra behind Beyoncé. This makes for a more intimate moment between Beyoncé and the crowd. She seamlessly transitions to “At Last,” by Etta James, staying in the older, slower theme. She keeps both of these pieces pretty class, as they are classic songs. Next, she moves to “If I Were a Boy” mixed with “Bittersweet Symphony.” This seems to be something unique to pop concerts. The artists make spontaneous remixes. Next, she mixes two of her

biggest hits, “Crazy in Love” and “Single Ladies.” She even brings out her husband, Jay-Z for his rap part. This, again, shows the spontaneity and surprises that can come with pop music, but not necessarily with classical concerts. Next, comes “Grown Woman.” At the time, this was an unreleased Beyoncé song. It came out on her Beyoncé album in December of 2013, but the concert took place in September of 2013. She played the music video behind her, and this is what sparked rumors about her self-titled album coming out. Lastly, Beyoncé performed “I Will Always Love You” and “Halo.” The former is an obvious classic and well-known by most everyone. The latter is Beyoncé’s biggest hit, and also known by most everyone. The crowd went wild for both, and I’m sure everyone enjoyed the artful combination of the two. I think there is much more of a sense of community and social boning at a typical pop concert than at a typical classical concert performance. I would argue that this is because of the way the performers interact with the audience. In a classical performance, the musicians are more focused. They have to read their sheet music and watch their conductor or musical director. In a concert, the musician may just be singing along with a track or even lip-synching. The classical performers don’t really have time to make eye contact with the audience, much less address them. People are attracted to modern-day musicians because of the celebrity that comes with them. It makes the experience very special when a fan interacts with a celebrity on a personal level. In other words, the concert is more about the musician than the music. In classical music, the music is more important that the performers. For one, the original composers/performers are not the ones performing. There isn’t really a celebrity factor, unless you are a modern-day orchestra fanatic....