Let's all pause for a moment...

... and talk about Beyonce. Because seriously guys, we need to talk about Beyonce. On Friday night I was lucky enough to attend the Beyonce + Jay-Z On the Run Tour show at MetLife Stadium and Beyonce freakin BLEW.MY.MIND.

Here's the thing - we all know Beyonce is a Queen... we know she has a voice from the heavens and a body from the Gods (which she endearingly confesses to working like a madwoman to maintain), but seeing her live was a whole other situation. Because Beyonce is absolutely nailing it when it comes to being an age-appropriate, sexy as hell, hard hitting pop icon. Unlike her less vocally talented contemporaries (I still love you Britney) or the "can't leave what I wore in my 20s behind me" female artists (J. Lo and Mariah I'm lookin at you!) Beyonce looks and sounds hotter than ever as a married mother of 1. She exudes mature sexuality, she sings empowering lyrics and she somehow still moves around the stage with the energy of a teen Destiny's Child member. Beyonce's performance makes every woman in the audience believe in her own fierce, sexy, powerful self. There's nothing trashy or schticky, it's just Queen B bein Flawless and it is incredible to watch. So I bow down to you Mrs. Carter for making all us independent women look so damn good.

Super Loud Concert Guy

That guy.

On Saturday afternoon, Dr. H and I adventured up to the Great Lawn in Central Park for the Global Citizens Festival. This awesome concert (Kings of Leon, Alicia Keys, John Mayer and Stevie Wonder) is organized by a non-profit whose goal is to end extreme poverty by the year 2030 (lofty, but completely possible, learn more HERE). As with most general admission events, we arrived early and attempted to secure a nice little perimeter of space for ourselves to sit and stand as the afternoon and evening required. When the first act, Kings of Leon, came out, we were unsurprised that the crowd got a lil up in our personal bubble, such is the vibe of outdoor shows and that's cool. But then the singing started...

Just behind us, as the band began to play, a Kings of Leon superfan appeared and proceeded to belt out every word, of every song, at a significant volume. The young 20-something was clearly proud of his vocal prowess and seemed to want everyone around him to know that HE was a Kings of Leon lyrics expert. We couldn't help but turn and give the occasional "holy cow" glance... part admiration (for his bold belting), part annoyance (that we'd come to hear famous musicians, not fan boy, sing). These powerhouse vocals continued throughout KOL, were silent during most of Alicia Keys (though he jammed hard to her hit, "Fallin") and re-emerged with avengeance during John Mayer (not entirely surprising). I loved his enthusiasm and his reckless abandon... I hated that he sang continuously and loudly, in my ear, the entire time.

Eventually our need for water led us to change our location, so I'll never know how Super Loud Concert Guy's rendition of Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" sounded, but I'm sure it was epic. Because even though this dude was loud and kind of annoying, he was having a blast and that's awesome.  So in the end, I say "way to go Super Loud Concert Guy!!" Way to throw yourself into a live music experience so whole-heartedly that you have no awareness of just how loudly (and mediocre-ly) you're singing directly into the ears of those around you. Sing on my friend.