EXCLUSIVE I attended Beyonce's Cowboy Carter tour and what I saw shocked me... now I want my $700 back
I'm the first to admit that I'm not the biggest Beyonce fan, but it's hard to deny her talent.
She's rightfully cemented herself as one of the greatest performers of her generation and even her naysayers have at least one Beyonce song they like.
When I saw that the star, 43, was struggling to sell tickets to her Cowboy Carter tour, I thought it would be the perfect time to finally see the Queen Bey live in concert.
I mean, how bad could it be?
Despite the controversy around her authenticity as a country music star, I'm actually a huge fan of her eclectic Cowboy Carter album.
The production and vocal arrangements are breathtaking with a level of artistry rarely seen from Bey's pop peers.
If any Beyonce concert was going to transform me into a card-carrying member of the Bey Hive, it would be this one.
Unfortunately, it turned out to be a waste of money and the worst concert experience of my life.
From the eye-watering cost to the distorted sound quality and being blindsided by the worst seating imaginable, everything seemed to go wrong at the show.
Unlike the many people who snapped up tickets in the nosebleed section for the same price as a McDonald's meal, I went for the much pricier first elevation, just above the floor section.
Sure, the tickets were over $350 each, but I wanted to be close to the action and had been advised that these would be better than floor seats because I'd get an amazing view of Bey's blockbuster stage production.
While I was tempted to get something cheaper that was more in my budget, I was confident I'd found two of the best seats in the house and that it would be worth the splurge in the end.
I couldn't believe that I'd spent $700 for me and my friend to see Bey live, but she is the most awarded artist in Grammy history and has been lauded as the greatest performer to ever grace the stage.
I was ready for the concert of a lifetime.
It was impossible to see Beyonce performing from behind the big black box and scaffolding that blocked my section
An usher took me to my seat at SoFi Stadium as Bey kicked things off with American Requiem - and I was shocked by what I saw.
Not only was there gigantic scaffolding in front of me blocking half the stage, right next to it was some kind of huge box-shaped structure with people on top that blocked another chunk of my view.
Surely there was some mistake?
I'd spent hours researching these seats, not only on Ticketmaster but also on various third party websites. I'd poured over photos from previous concerts to ensure the view was clear and had read customer reviews of my section. I did everything to ensure that I wasn't wasting my money.
I frantically checked my tickets again to see if there had been some mention of an obstructed view that I'd missed - there wasn't.
I felt completely bamboozled. How had I been sold these expensive seats and not told that I'd be staring at big black box and hulking scaffolding?
I've been to plenty of concerts and they always warn you about obstructed views and the ticket price usually reflects that.
To try and mitigate the issue, Bey's team had set up a television screen on the back of the black box.
When I saw it, I realized that I'd just traveled an hour (don't even ask me how much the Uber cost!) and spent $700 for me and my friend to watch Beyonce on a TV that was smaller than the screens some people have in their home theatres.
I also noticed that half the seats in my section were empty even though it had been sold out when I'd checked Ticketmaster a few hours earlier.
Apparently people who had arrived early had complained and were moved. I tried to do the same and asked a staffer, but it was so loud we could barely communicate.
She directed me downstairs towards the floor section, but then the floor staff wouldn't let us through.
I tried to ask somebody upstairs again, but it was too loud for them to hear my pleas for help.
Oh yeah, and the stadium speakers were pointed directly at our section, making each one of Beyonce's hits deafeningly loud and distorted.
I'm not trying to sound like the quintessential Karen that complains that the concert is too noisy, but the audio from my seat was so blown out that Bey sounded like she was wailing into a toddler's plastic karaoke machine at full blast.
People who had arrived early had been able to get staffers to move them, but myself and the others left in the section weren't so lucky
And did I mention the freezing air conditioner nearby, blasting an ice cold gale designed to cool a stadium of 70,000 people but somehow only landing on my section?
I would've been warmer watching the show in an igloo. I'm sure the sound quality would be better too.
Eventually I gave up and just tried to enjoy the rest of the show with the other poor souls stuck in the dreaded corral with me.
I'd already missed Bey riding a mechanical bull on stage so I didn't want to spend more time shouting over the music at confused staff members.
I've seen almost every pop star from Beyonce's generation in concert - Alicia Keys, Rihanna, Britney, JLo, Justin, Miley, Pink, Christina - and this was by far the worst concert experience I've ever had.
I felt like Helen Keller, unable to see or hear a thing. If I'd just stayed home, I could've watched the concert on YouTube from the comfort of my bed and saved $700.
When I wasn't staring at the tower of twisted metal blocking my view, I looked out at the concertgoers in the other areas.
They all seemed to be having the time of their lives.
Fans, dressed in their best western-themed attire, danced up a storm to Texas Hold 'Em and sang along to every word of Irreplaceable.
Although I could barely see the show and was busy trying to fight off hyperthermia and tinnitus, the bits and pieces that I caught were impressive.
Beyonce is a master on stage and effortlessly powered through song after song with pitch perfect vocals and flawless choreography.
It's easy to see why she's considered one of the best divas to ever do it.
The fact that she was so good made it even more disappointing that my night had been ruined by SoFi Stadium's shady seating.
I tried to get a refund from Ticketmaster after the show, but was told that there was nothing they could do and that their fineprint states that they're not responsible for the venue screwing up my view.
Ticketmaster were at least nice enough to refund the $114 'service fee' that had been tacked onto my tickets, but that doesn't exactly make up for the cost of the tickets, transport, and wasted time.
I'm not the only person who complained about the Cowboy Carter tour either.
Viral clips on TikTok from the night of my show reveal multiple technical difficulties, from screens malfunctioning to a crew member missing a vital cue on stage.
Another fan complained that she'd forked out full price for floor seats, only to have the price slashed considerably before the show due to sluggish sales.
When I got home after midnight, I listened back to a few clips that I'd recorded on my phone.
Despite the audio being abysmal at the show, my phone played Beyonce's crystal clear voice back perfectly, as if the concert had been designed for an iPhone instead of the human ear.
I'm sure this is how she probably sounded to those further back who weren't being assaulted by the speakers like I was.
I guess to see or hear anything at the Cowboy Carter tour you had to be in the nosebleed section.
If you plan on going, do yourself a favor and get the cheap seats. Trust me.
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