Renaissance World Tour ReCap: Washington, DC No.1

A day late (and a few dollars short) in getting my weekly blog up, but that is for good reason. I am still recovering from Saturday night. Well actually, Saturday as a whole. I presented at a conference earlier in the day, drove home, transformed, then met up with the bestie and her sisters. I am still in awe of what my eyeballs absorbed for my brain to compartmentalize: The artistry, costume changes, visuals, sound, dancers, band, singers, the beauty that is DC metro people in their finery, and her voice. Not to mention a few surprises along the way that I will not spoil for future concert goers. I have many questions: How does she change so fast while sweating (I could barely get out my dry fit catsuit to pee after the concert from accumulated sweat)? How does she train for three hours of growls, head voice, and operatic shifts and not become hoarse during night two? How does she and the dancers maintain eye contact, their blocking, and not trip while walking down metal stairs? What does she do before the concert? Does her ear monitor ever go out. . ?

My Ticket x Viral Ticket Hack

I'm an older millennial and not on TikTok for privacy and professional reasons. I recently learned via a reposted reel on IG that people wait until the show starts to buy a ticket. These tickets' prices would previously encase a comma. However, due to demand and supply nuances, they drop to 5-10% of the total cost. Maybe folk have been doing this all along. I had no clue. Meanwhile my blood pressure was high back in March when the lottery went live and I was in queue. My original ticket was section 120, row 8, seat 1. Due to not communicating with my girls, I didn't realize they were going until weeks after my ticket purchase. They had floor seats. Cool kids. I did OTR II solo and had a time. I have no issue going to concerts alone (Kendrick Lamar was another). Fast forward to Saturday afternoon as I'm leaving the conference; I get a text. Another person in their party can't make it due to a flight delay. Won't He do it (and sorry to her at the same time)! I sold my ticket via Ticketmaster two hours before the show and will repay her for part of her loss. It wasn't until we meandered through the floor sections and attendants kept pointing forward that I realized we were sitting in the first section stage right. OH. EM. GEE!

Security x Floor Access

Shout out to Fedex Field security and guest attendants serving 80,000 people with a smile (even if grinding their teeth behind it) as we rushed the stadium to purchase merch, find our wristbands, use the bathroom, and get to our seats as we all tried to figure out what time Queen Bey was going to grace us with her presence based on previous cities. That cannot be easy, thank you. As expected, the bag policy was hella strict. Things that were acceptable on their website were being denied, including clear, appropriately sized backpacks (the strap was an issue?) and battery operated fans. My girl received a verbal medical waiver from a supervisor to bring hers in because she's with child. It was 85 degrees with 70% humidity at 8:30pm. My makeshift utility sling passed the vibe check with security and I'm happy about this investment of small leather goods. It was comfortable. I wore it all night. And, I didn't lose anything. There was a locker company making bank outside the gates, but they sold out of lockers by the time we arrived. We weren't happy with the dissemination of floor access wristbands either, as it appeared you were exiting the stadium after already checking in digitally with your tickets. We had to stand in another line; these instructions weren't provided beforehand. As we received our wristbands, the lights dimmed, the crowd roared, and I heard the opening D#m7 C# B A#7 chords of Dangerously in Love. My heart sank. She's never performed this song and there I was waiting on a writstband to be fastened. It is my favorite song of her entire catalogue. The very first album I purchased as a pre-teen with my allowance. Butt hurt. I got myself together. By the time we made it to the floor she was on Flaws & All.

Parking x Madame VP Kamala Harris

Traffic was a curmudgeon. There are several ways to approach FedEx Field. I always come via 202 (Cheverly to Sheriff Road) to avoid the snail-paced 495 off ramps feeding onto Arena Drive. The road we were to turn down to access the green lot, was blocked. Diplomatically so. IYKYK. Madame Vice President Harris and the Second Gentleman were in attendance. My bestie's sister let us out the car near the Red Zone walking path and they went on to find the lot. They never got there. Shout out to the gentleman in the 8000 block of Sheriff road who let concert-goers park in his yard. $40/vehicle hustle. Sitting outside like the Joe Clark reference from CeeLo's I'll Be Around music video when the concert finished.

Celebrity Sightings

H- to the IZZO, V to the IZZAY. I have a video courtesy of my bestie's baby sister of JAY-Z walking by to be seated. You can view it on my IG: @shoppingisnottherapy. Cool as I've always imagined him to be when not performing. Head nod acknowledgements as he coursed through the crowd with his security. Solange and Miss Tina were also there. Blue Ivy performed and the crowd lost it when she came up via what I call the stage's main trap door. Local celebrities, Instagram influencers, and DMV's own were out as well: I saw posts from Dominique the Diva, Noemie Gaines, attorney and wife of colleague, Kier Gaines, Jenee Naylor, and more.

Makeup x Hair

Danessa Myricks broke the mould with her Blurring Balm Powders! I completed my makeup at 4:30pm. No primer (save eyes). No setting spray. I own her setting spray, but forgot to spray due to racing out the door. The ColorFix metallic creams in Iconic and Celebration paired with Sephora's matte black eyeshadow for a cat-eye effect held up until 2:45am. No smears, no transfer, no sweat breaking through. To be fair, I did have a dermaplane facial the day before the concert. This may have helped the makeup's efficacy. I toyed with the idea of doing a rod set but got my whole life when I put into perspective how much time I actually had with regards to the speaking engagement, driving/traffic, and getting ready. Old faithful topknot won over my pinterest board fantasies. I washed my hair Friday night. Detangled. Styled with the Doux's Big Poppa and Bee Girl. I divide my hair into two twists once I get it into a ponytail on top of my head: one swinging around the based of the ponytail and the other one curled on top like the Grinch's heart curl. About two bobbi pins and three hair pins get it done. Tip for my natural, thick hair ladies: buy the thick hair scrunchies by Goody. They do not pop, snag curly hair, nor need to be doubled over before forming your ponytail. I then tie down with my favorite scarf. I normally sit under a hooded dryer but it's too hot for all of that. Wahlah! This will last through upcoming workouts and whatever my work week throws at me.

Jewelry x Outfit

I wore part of my necklace stack: (1) one vintage Austrian crystal necklace; and (2) the Chico's necklace from thrift store as picture in a previous blog. I wore my custom moonstone and diamond earrings from India by way of Etsy. And, for some hand swag I wore an onyx and sterling silver ring opposed from my wedding set on my right hand. My race suit is by Heroine Sport in platinum. They have other colorways and styles with this material. Golden Gals Daybreak Nikes are my tried and true sneaker. They are gold, white and gray. They go with much of my wardrobe. I clean the side sole with micellar water to keep them presentable after a year of ownership.

Merchandise

The selection of merchandise was wider than I noted via social media reconnaissance. The fan, cowboy hat, and Thique shorts were sold out within the opening hour of stadium access. I buy a tour book for every Beyoncé concert. I'm slowly digesting the images but want to share one of my favorites below. As someone who sketched their business logo and then had it brought to life via digitization, the below sketch makes my heart swell. Write the vision and make it plain. Or in the words of Erykah Badu: "write it down and watch shit get real." What I saw Saturday night was epic.

*To those who attended last night (Sunday), I hope everyone is well. I noted the storm caused prolonged sheltering in place, along with a few persons who were medically evaluated after losing consciousness.*

Let me know your thoughts and if you were in attendance!