Beyonce’s Coachella performance in 2018 has gone down as one of the great performances of our time. Not only was it a great show, but Beyonce subtly weaves in pieces of culture heretofore unpraised by the world for their significance. Homecoming merges the concert footage with Beyonce and the performer’s training, so you get a complete understanding of how the concert came together.
Most concert documentaries are very similar in what they are trying to accomplish: make the concert look great, and show how much hard work went into making the concert look great. Homecoming accomplishes both of those tasks, easy as that should be. I mean, this is one of the great concerts of the millennium. The way they filmed the concert does a decent job transplanting you to Coachella, or at least making you feel jealous you were not there. The show Beyonce puts on is pretty amazing, with the homecoming band concept merged with electric stage dancers/performers who all get moments to shine. The cameras all have color refraction, so even though there’s no costume change, the refractors turn outfits from yellow to pink, a pretty cool illusion. Like a great show, this isn’t karaoke either: Beyonce essentially samples her own songs and fuses into them historical African-American music culture (jazz, blues, Caribbean, etc) to assimilate herself into music history, simultaneously celebrating it and moving it forward. There’s even a twist here and there, like when Destiny’s Child shows up.
But the best thing Homecoming does is show you how the success of the Coachella performance was built by hard work, thought, and preparation. The choreographed dances took at least 4 months of work, with constant daily critiquing pushing the crew closer and closer to excellence. Beyonce herself had just had twins, so watching her work herself into concert shape over 4 months is truly impressive. My greatest takeaway is how amazing a dancer she is on stage, which somehow slipped by me, and Homecoming shows how seriously Beyonce prepares to execute those killer dance moves. In addition, the musical selection involves a level of pensive collaboration between artists that proves Beyonce isn’t just a pretty face. She truly cares about representation, history, and culture, and wants to make sure the symbolism evident in her show reflects the statements she wants to present to everyone. So by the time we actually see the Coachella show, it’s importance and power seems inevitable, because of the effort put in everywhere into the performance.
It’s pretty exciting watching one of the great performers of our time put on what will be one of their best shows. Homecoming makes you feel that excitement and marvel at the talent on display everywhere. It also, thanks to light refraction, gives us a new “Is this dress gold or blue” argument specific to Beyonce.