The first post-pandemic summer marked the hedonic return of obsessed fans to overcrowded concerts, especially for the Swifties and Beyhive, who spared no expense to express their adoration for Taylor Swift and Beyoncé, respectively. Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour was a true homage to the disco days and club era, complete with futuristic visuals and amazing vocals. You could say “I’m That Girl” who got to “Move” to the “Virgo’s Groove” during her “Summer Renaissance” with all the “Energy” at the Ford Field stadium in Detroit. While the concert was a visual and sonic masterpiece, two noteworthy elements took away from the experience: the volume and concertgoers’ behavior.
Walking into the indoor stadium, I was hit with a glittering silver sea of humanity. Dazzling cowboy hats, shimmering fringe and chrome sequins adorned the crowds, filling the space with a metallic glow. Long lines coveted tour merchandise, glitzy concertgoers posed for pictures and countless conversations surrounded me. Excitement permeated the air—as did, unfortunately, the nauseating smell of vapes and marijuana.
As the start time for the concert came and went, with Beyoncé nowhere in sight, the crowds grew more and more restless. The tour had no opening act to entertain them. There was only an empty stage displaying colorful bars to look at and repeating background tracks to listen to as we bided our time. Raucous cheers intermittently arose from the audience, numbing my ears while seemingly urging the vacant stage to bring out Beyoncé. After a long one-and-a-half-hour wait, the performance finally began.
It was worth the wait. With powerful vocals, breathtaking visuals and beautiful choreography, Beyoncé truly brought it all to the show. She opened with a few older ballads before getting into Renaissance, interspersed with some fan favorites. Her outfits were stunning, resplendent with jewels and sequins. And during her costume changes, no time was wasted; video interludes full of rich imagery were projected onto the stage, signaling the start of a new segment of the show, and her backup dancers showcased their dynamic moves to a couple of her dance hits. Though Beyoncé did not dance as much herself, her dancers more than made up for it with their impeccable choreography. Blue Ivy even graced the stage at one point, moving along to a few songs. The audience couldn’t help but dance, too, though perhaps with too much enthusiasm: One concertgoer passionately twerked on my neighbor’s head, all the while shrieking her love for Beyoncé.
Despite the fantastic performance, the show was too loud for my liking. The bass thrummed through my body, vibrating my internal organs. Audience members screamed directly into my ears, fervently expressing their adoration for Beyoncé and striving to be heard over the music. Even with brand-new earplugs lodged in my ears, the noise was dizzying, making it difficult to focus on Beyoncé’s performance. It was impossible to even hear my thoughts; the sounds pounded my brain to mush.
Those without earplugs undoubtedly damaged their hearing that night. Between the deafening music and shrieking audience, nobody’s ears stood a chance, regardless of where they sat. But fixing this issue was easy: Beyoncé’s team just needed to lower the volume of her live music, and concertgoers needed to be more mindful of the people around them.
Yet, as Beyoncé says, “America Has a Problem.” It is not just the Renaissance World Tour that is too loud; all concerts and even movies have become head-splitting and hearing loss-inducing. Concert etiquette is declining everywhere, affecting both fans and artists. Just this past summer, concertgoers have thrown objects at and assaulted multiple artists, including Drake, Bebe Rexha and Ava Max.
Concert personnel need to lower the volume of their shows. Earplugs shouldn’t be a requirement for enjoying live music. And we must be mindful of the people around us at concerts. Smoking drugs in an indoor stadium and shouting into concertgoers’ ears is egregiously rude. Not everyone wants to breathe in drug-laden air, be attacked by somebody’s behind or develop noise-induced hearing loss from another’s frenzied screaming.
Still, the concert was a “Cozy” love affair between Beyoncé and her Beyhive, rocking with her to pulsating music, where Beyoncé proved, “Who run the world? Girls.”
