Alien Superstar: We caught up with the Philly Beyoncé fan whose costume earned a shoutout from the singer
More Club Renaissance members tell us what Bey's first American stop on the Renaissance World Tour looked like up close.
The BeyHive was buzzing Wednesday night at The Linc for Queen Bey’s arrival.
Before Beyoncé's first U.S. Renaissance World Tour stop in Philly, fans spent weeks mapping out their pre-show plans and piecing their outfits for the 2 ½-hour spectacle.
Yes, there were Philly celebs in the audience: We spotted Questlove and Jazmine Sullivan. But one unearthly audience member caught Beyoncé's attention. Newark, N.J.-native Tameer Peak, 27, embodied his inner alien superstar, wearing a six-pound UFO mask, as a nod to the “Renaissance” song. His otherworldly outfit even received an onstage shoutout from Beyoncé herself: “Hey alien superstar ... alien in the house,” the singer said to the sold-out crowd. “I really accomplished everything I wanted tonight,” Peak tweeted on Wednesday night.
“I’ve seen the concert three times now, and this was the best concert of all three,” Peak said to The Inquirer. He attended two other shows in London. “America was better because it’s been long-awaited. People had more time to prepare, and because of the section I was in, being so close to Beyoncé made it even more spectacular.”
Peak said one security officer stopped him from entering the BeyHive B area. “It almost failed horribly,” he said. “But once Beyoncé’s team saw me, they instantly loved it and helped me.”
The BeyHive pits are located on either side of the main stage while Club Renaissance ticket holders get to stand in the circle pit at the end of Beyoncé's runway.
Longtime fan Michael Ramirez, 25, arrived 12 hours before Beyoncé hit the concert stage to grab a prime spot at Club Renaissance. And to be that close to the superstar, he said to The Inquirer, was truly a moment to behold.
“She’s famously private, so the chance to get that close to her was really a treat,” Ramirez, who turned up at The Linc at 8 a.m., said. “And based on what she said about this album and [the ‘Renaissance era’] — it releasing all the stress and worries, and the dance floor being your freedom — I really feel like it was very much the vibe of that section.”
While Ramirez’s outfit of shiny button-down shirt, silvery shorts, and rodeo hat was (relatively) simple, the Harlem resident said he plans to go “fancier” when he attends the singer’s New Jersey, Atlanta, and Houston tour stops.
So far, Ramirez’s planned outfit includes a fringe-tipped jacket, black chaps, and matching cowboy boots, in line with the tour’s unspoken dress code.
Philly-native Trev Vanzant, 29, was surprised to see how spacious Club Renaissance was, leaving enough room for her and others to enjoy the “visually stunning” concert experience.
“I don’t think that visual aesthetic can be topped,” she said. “As far as a show at The Linc, there’s an amount of intimacy that can’t happen in a stadium like that.”
While Beyoncé put on a stellar performance in South Philly, Peak had a controversial take on who the real star of Wednesday night was.
“Irrespective of what anyone else thinks, Blue Ivy IS THAT GIRL,” Peak said. “The crowd was enamored by her stage presence. She ate her mother up. [She’s] a true star.”