5 reasons to see Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s OTR II Tour
The couple that sings together, stays together
A few things have changed for Beyoncé and Jay-Z since the last go-around of this globe-trotting mega tour. In 2016, Beyoncé released Lemonade, a global smash concept album about infidelity and revenge. In 2017, Jay-Z dropped 4:44, his 13th studio album, which debuted at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200. Many saw it as something of a response to Lemonade.
Jump ahead to 2018 and the two, now recording as The Carters, release Everything Is Love. Guess we know how all this back catalogue questioning resolved itself now, don’t we? Time to, as the title of the first single from the Carters suggested, go Apes**t.
Truth is, between the two of them there is such a legacy of great modern pop and hiphop music that it would be next to impossible to play everything you want to hear. But that doesn’t mean they won’t be trying.
Here are five things to know about On the Run II tour:
1 BEYOND A WELL-OILED MACHINE
Both Beyoncé and Mr. Beyoncé are famed for putting on fantastic hi-energy performances. Many local fans will recall how fierce the Ms. Carter Show World tour was or Jay-Z owning the first Pemberton Music Festival. The OTR tour has been going for a few years and the two came off tours when it started. Expect a very fine-tuned concert experience.
FIVE THINGS 2 CAREER-SPANNING SET LIST
The typical set list for the tour has run 37 songs. You want 99 Problems, you want 03 Bonnie and Clyde or Crazy in Love? You’ve got them. And a whole lot more as well. The Carters album is not being ignored, with about half of it making the set too. Reports are there will be a good deal of mixing it up too, as 60-plus tunes were rehearsed pre-tour.
3 BELLS, WHISTLES, EXPLOSIONS, ETC.
Writing about the OTR II opener in Cardiff, Wales, The Guardian’s Rachel Aroesti gave the gig a score of four out of five, noting how the show focused in on the singers’ undying devotion to each other. Nineteen dancers, four backup singers, full backing quintet and more make for a big event.
4
SHOULD WE BE PUTTING BEYONCÉ BEFORE JAY-Z?
While nobody is questioning Mr. Beyoncé’s considerable success, many reviewers have noted that his material has been getting favoured over her hits in the set lists and wondering if that might be to put some new shine on his diminishing star. There is no doubt that Lemonade was bigger than 4:44, by far. And the Carters’ album flows on her increasingly seamless raps, vocal chops and megastar appeal.
5 FUN IN THE COVERS
It wouldn’t be a tour by two of music’s biggest stars without them throwing in some of their favourite tunes. Among the covers that turned up earlier this month in Houston were Nicki Minaj’s Feeling Myself, Kanye’s Clique, J. Balvin’s Mi Gente, and some recorded interludes. Come prepared to be surprised.