Miss America

Baby's first Beyonce concert did not disappoint. Even the people-watching was epic.

So...

Last night I saw Beyonce Giselle Knowles-Carter in concert for the very first time. For a second there, I wasn't sure it was going to happen. By the time my co-conspirator and I arrived at Mercedes Benz Stadium and got to what should have been our seats, we noticed that they were covered in black tarp. An usher told us that the seats were not available and we had to go to guest services to get it sorted out. About 150 other fairly irate people were outside guest services too, one of them a pregnant woman who had bought a ticket just for herself. It was hot. It was disorganized. Beyonce was supposed to take the stage at any moment. Someone started crying because they wanted to see Beyonce's big entrance. My co-conspirator was posting about it on Instagram and people were leaving her comments like "oh shit, I'm going tomorrow...what section were your seats in?" You know, that's about how it was going. Chaotic.

I politely cornered a young man from guest services (I swear I was polite) and did not say what I would have normally said, which was, "would you please tell me what in the actual f*&^ is going on?" Like a very calm librarian, I asked him what had happened and did he think we'd be able to actually have seats for the show. He said "we're working on it" which is little consolation when you hear the actual queen beginning to sing her face off, and people screaming with glee. As hot and concerned as I was, it was not lost on me that what I was hearing was beautiful. I was just missing the visuals. I mean, really. Beyonce and her visuals are next level. If you are at her concert, you need them paired with the music for the ultimate experience. Eventually, a woman from guest services came out and asked us to follow her to another section where we would be seated. Everyone was hustling behind this woman, who ushered us to a couple of rows of seats. And then...we were officially able to sit down – or stand up – and enjoy the show.

Oh man did I enjoy this show. I really, really did. Beyonce is a powerful vocalist who does not miss a note. She growls, coos, waxes operatic. Her rap game is fierce. And she somehow manages to control her voice, even when she is busting through some serious choreography. And that choreography? No one is missing a beat. Every dancer is perfectly in sync and stopping on a dime. A lot of times I realized I was standing there and gawking at what I was seeing. It was amazing.

As you've probably read by now, Beyonce is making a statement with Cowboy Carter, both about Black people's undeniable place in country music, and in American history. The way she wove this idea across a three-hour show, and knitted it to the context of her own life, career, and countless hits made me feel like she was saying "this is mine, and it makes perfect sense when you look at everything I've ever done and how I've done it. But it's also yours too." And to paraphrase James Baldwin, when something like America is yours, you reserve the right to criticize it when need be. And Beyonce is saying the work here is unfinished, so hop to it.

But also, she's saying embrace joy when and where you can. Take pride in your bloodline – Blue Ivy and little Rumi were absolute scene-stealers – and build them up because the children really are our future. And good things come to those who wait; after an incident in Houston where the Cadillac she rode over the crowd while singing "16 Carriages" tipped, she nixed the song for a few shows until she got to Atlanta AND RODE OVER US IN A MECHANIZED GOLD HORSE WITH SPINNING RIMS. The crowd went insane and other Beyonce fans flocked to social media this morning and said "Atlanta, how does it feel to be her favorite?" Honestly, it feels great, though I have to say my back is a little sore and I do have a touch of PTSD from the fans that were snapped near my ear. An aside: There's a social media video of a young man dancing around the kitchen with a fan as his mother cooks. Every once in a while, he'll snap his fan near his mother, who is visibly perturbed and clearly about to snap his body in two if he does it again. I sent this to my sister and told her that I was going to do that to her the next time I visited her in Utah. After last night, I have changed my mind.

Still, I regret not buying a fan. I really wanted one of those BANG fans she's selling, because I liked the idea of tormenting my sister with it. I also wanted to try her Sir Davis Whiskey, but that didn't pan out. I don't have an outfit to show you because the most remarkable part of what I wore were the red and blue cowboy boots I bought in Austin while on a book tour for The General's Niece. I need to wear those boots more.

Here they are:

A friend of mine who has seen every single solitary one of Beyonce's tours messaged me: "Omg! I am always excited for a first timer."

Another Beyonce fan said that you need to go once to take in all the details and make sense of them, and a second time to enjoy what you've processed and let loose. There was a time when I was like well that just sounds financially irresponsible. Boy do I get it now.

I got home after 1 a.m., thanks in part to the kind Lyft driver who waited patiently for me and my friend after the show. Her son told her she shouldn't be out so late, but she said it was fine because she trusts Beyonce fans. Once I got home, my brain was whirlygigging about like Honey Balenciaga until maybe 3 a.m. And so here I am.

Here's hoping you've had a wonderful week. I know I'll be spending the weekend resting and recovering from this, but hit reply and let me know what's new in your world and what you've got going on.

Until next week,

Paige

Writing prompt: Write about your favorite concert experience. What made it so good?

To sit alone or with a few friends, half-drunk under a full moon, you just understand how lucky you are; it's a story you can't tell. It's a story you almost by definition, can't share. I've learned in real time to look at those things and realize: I just had a really good moment.

-- Anthony Bourdain

Endnotes

What I hope you'll read

Writer Nneka M. Okona's excellent feature for The Guardian about the challenges – and sheer cultural necessity – of preserving the homes of black literary giants. She writes: "Thinking about seeing [Langston] Hughes’s home in Cleveland years ago and others attached to Black writers, thinkers and culture shifters – spaces and places scattered throughout this country – remains an amalgamation of anguish and hope. Anguish for how displacement, dispossession and rejection of personhood for Black people is commonplace. But hope for how writing down these narratives in this piece itself is a reclamation and can’t be erased even if obscured. Perhaps through communal effort, collaboration, funding and public awareness, preserving these legacies aren’t as fraught as it seems." For the rest of this piece, please visit this link.

What I've been watching

As usual, some Tour de France, but only for the scenery, not the cycling. The Netflix documentary "The Mind of a Dog" which was truly delightful.

What I'm excited about

My kid's friend took one look at the Lego lighthouse I referenced in last week's letter and immediately knew how to fix it. Now it spins and all is right with the world.

Where I hope you'll donate this week

Devastating flash floods killed more than 100 people in Central Texas this past week. Charity Navigator has compiled a list of trusted nonprofits that are actively participating in emergency response and recovery. Please visit this link for more information, and consider a donation if you're in the position to provide one. Thank you.