Destiny's Child Review

As promised, here it is... The picture above is not from the show in Dubai, couldn't find any online and I didn't take any shots.

I went with friends from Dubai, and we got there around 8.30 pm to pick up the tickets from the box office; they were purchased online. That was not a pleasant experience, since the box office was surprisingly unorganized. One of our gang suffered in line, while we passed away the time watching the crowd coming in and I admired Dubai Media City wishing I had a corner office in the MBC building.

We finally went in while lame-ass opening act Darine was doing her Arabic hip-hop shtick. Man did she suck! We staked our spots on the grass lawn which reminded me of summer concerts in the States. Our view was alright, but could've been better.

Around 10pm, Destiny's Child came on stage with "Say My Name", and the crowd went wild. Beyonce, Kelly and Whatshername looked HOT and sounded great. They then went into "Independent Women" which I never liked much before but it sounded great and unusually funky that night. Their band was pretty tight, although they depended a lot on programmed beats identical to the recorded studio versions.. which is how it should be for R&B performances in my opinion. I was a bit disappointed when after that they ripped through some of their older hits in a "medley" format like they do on televised award shows. It was a crime not to do "Bootylicious" in its entirety!! But I guess all of that was a buildup to the real purpose of the concert which was to showcase their latest album "Destiny Fulfilled" which became evident as the night went on (doesn't that title sounds like "we're done here"?).

Kelly came on mid-way to the show to perform the Nelly duet "Dilemma" which drove us nuts in 2003. Michelle (a.k.a. Whatshername) followed with an excruciatingly long and boring gospel ballad which should've been my cue to run to the men's room if I'd known where it was. And then Beyonce came on in a skimpy sexy white skirt and top to perform her solo hits "Baby Boy" and "Naughty Girl" and she simply ROCKED!

It must be said that the real star of the show was the amazing Beyonce. Yes, you've seen and heard her on TV and radio countless times but nothing prepares you for the sheer force of her awesome talent while she's up on stage right in front of you. The other two girls paled in comparison to her to the point where she reminded me of this legendary perfomer in her prime. When, after a few more songs with the girls, she launched into "Crazy In Love", the crowd - including yours truly - just went totally berserk!!

The audience came in all ages, nationalities shapes and sizes possible. I heard the Kuwaiti delegation alone was up to 2,000 strong although I didn't see that many of them at the show itself. Maybe because I was down on the lawn and not in the VIP seats where they were no doubt being their usual stiff no-fun selves, confusing this amazing concert with the monumentally humorless Hala February!

The flights to Dubai and back were like school buses, they were so packed with groups who all knew each other, including a few bloggers (waiting for your reviews too!). All said, it was a fun weekend in an increasingly fun city... sigh!