Knit to This
Beyoncé Bowl
Prompted by Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show (which blew my mind in a dozen unexpected ways), I’ve been thinking a lot about the line between art and entertainment. And those thoughts bring me back to Beyoncé, who I think about more than you might anticipate.
I’m not in Queen Bey’s prime demographic. I’ve fully entered my early crone years. My knowledge of music from the past two decades consists of asking my kids “who is that?” and promptly forgetting the name they say. If a venue starts a show after 9 p.m. and/or requires me to stand the whole time, it’s a HARD PASS from me.
Which is a long way of saying, I could name ten Beyoncé songs if pressed but am not a stan. Her music is great, don’t get me wrong. It’s not what pulls me in, however. What I find compelling is how she does what she does on the biggest stages of the world.
My early working days were backstage, usually dressed all in black while wearing a headset. I know how the sausage is made, which means I am a terrible audience member. I am hard to dazzle. My jaw almost never drops. Ninety-nine times out of 100, my socks remain on.
Beyoncé always delivers. Always.
She makes the magic the hardest way possible: by grinding it out in rehearsals so that every cue, gesture, and note is what she wants it to be. Her Coachella performance is a masterwork. Homecoming, the making-of documentary for that Coachella concert, shows just how much work everyone on the team puts into making an experience look simple when it is anything but.
What Team Bey does is really, really hard. Every single human involved needs to know exactly what to to when and how to make it look as if every single thing has been hasn’t been rehearsed so many times that it’s as natural as breathing.
If you don’t have time for Coachella or Homecoming, the Beyoncé Bowl gives you all of that wonder in a mere 12 minutes. I’ve watched it a dozen times now and still marvel. One mental lapse would throw it into chaos. And yet.
And yet.
Focusing merely on how these performances happen ignores what makes them more art than entertainment. While they are entertaining, there are layers of storytelling and meaning that make them more resonant. They transform from a spectacle into statements about what it means to be human in a place that fights against seeing you despite being built on your labor.
I am certain there are dozens of enterprising PhD students working on their thesis proposals about these two halftime shows. Many other cultural critics are better positioned to comment on what is being said and placing it in context. I’m happy to let them do their thing. The universe does not need my hot take on the semiotics of a cowboy hat and a hoodie.
What I am certain of is this: I can watch these creations, with my knitting in hand, and feel like a part of the conversation while also be in awe of what humans can achieve.
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Great read. This piece with recommendations is a great way to start my day. Thank you!
Beautiful piece. Like you, I spent much of my life in theatre and like you, am a crappy audience member. So I genuinely enjoy those rare moments when I can be swept out of my seat and be moved by what is on stage.
I was also in awe of Kendrick Lamar’s performance and have watched it many times. I will take your thoughtful recommendations and watch them as I rip out and reconstruct my sweater. I will likely then force my husband to watch said videos as do our best to understand the rich and deeply layered stories behind them.
Thank you.
Well, I haven’t seen either of these shows, since I habitually boycott the Super Bowl, but I guess I’m gonna have to seek them out now with these recommendations in hand. Kudos on another great piece of writing and on demonstrating again why this is such a great community!
❤️
What a great essay. I am in the elder generation but keep up as much as i can with contemporary arts and culture. I appreciate your backstage perspective on these amazing artists- both Kendrick and Beyoncé. I have been to Beyoncé’s concerts – last one was Renaissance – and i can say they are like nothing i have ever experienced- like clockwork but overwhelming experiences- joyful, soulful and inspiring.
Oh and yes- I am on my feet dancing through the whole experience.
Thank you, Adrienne for a great column. I am not a fan of Beyonce’s music, but I am in awe of her artistry and grace.
I just scored tickets (nosebleed) to the Cowboy Carter tour! Time to start watching and listening to All the Things while I inch through my Bolin.
If I can recommend another extraordinarily thoughtful artist who’s touring soon: Rhiannon Giddens. She plays on Texas Hold ‘Em, in fact.
I love Rhiannon Giddens so, so much. So much.
I too loved Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show. And I am officially an elder. I will have to rewatch the Beyonce halftime show. I am in awe of her talent.
I couldn’t agree with your sentiments more and so well put. Thank goodness my kids keep me in touch with current musical geniuses.
Really good POV about her performing artistry. Another to marvel at is Doechi. Definitely check out her performance on Colbert (available on YouTube). It is so fine to see women of such talent and intelligence. And to see them be successful.
Also her Tiny Desk Concert!
The Beyoncé Bowl was sensational ! Thank you for elevating my day my week end in fact. Now maybe I can get the gumption to weave in those ends.
Well, I guess I’m in my late crone days because I still have to ask: who?
One of the BEST concerts that I’ve ever seen was in a very small theater with folding chairs and Emmylou Harris singing. She was working so hard and she succeeded into bringing the audience with her on her journey. It remains one of the most moving concerts I’ve ever seen.
That would also be a wonderful evening. A completely different sort of musical event but also moving.
Thank you for this. I would not have seen it without you highlighting it. It was amazing and beautiful.
Love this! Thank you.
As a 76 yr old African American woman, I find her performances, her personality, her work ethic, her music unprecedented. I am so proud of her as a woman, a mother, a wife and an artist. She is fearless!
As someone who still has an all black wardrobe as well (multiple layers for cold studios and light linens for outdoor venues) your review resonates ❤️. Thanks for the shout out to all the professionals that make the magic happen