Beyoncé is on a tour cryptically titled “I Am,’’ an open-ended reference to the good-vs.-evil theme of her latest album, “I Am . . . Sasha Fierce.’’ Mohegan Sun was the tour’s only New England stop after her July 22 show at the Comcast Center was canceled months ago because the venue wasn’t equipped to stage the production.
And it really was an outsize production, brought to life by a relentless entertainer and her hard-driving, all-female band full of swagger and stage presence that split the difference between Labelle’s space-age funk and the Runaways’ biker-chic rock. Yet for all the flaunting and teasing - at one point, Beyoncé was lifted high above the crowd and lowered down to dangle like a carrot above their heads, her sparkly gold heels almost within reach - she was surprisingly accessible.
Midway into the show she performed on a much smaller stage in the middle of the arena. As the house lights came on, Beyoncé surveyed the crowd and tried to make a connection. “I see you up there in the white dress, and you in the suit over there,’’ she said. Sure, she was sticking to the script, but it felt like a sweet and spontaneous moment in a show light on them.
During an encore performance of the hulking ballad “Halo,’’ with Beyoncé professing her admiration for Michael Jackson, she went into the crowd and shook hands. The video screen captured the faces of ecstatic adults and children and at least one young man crying. It was hard to tell who was happier - Beyoncé or her fans.
Even with a treasure chest of hits - “If I Were a Boy,’’ “Irreplaceable’’ (rendered a tender audience singalong), a brisk Destiny’s Child medley - the show had its share of dead weight. A cloying cover of Sarah McLachlan’s “Angel’’ and “Ave Maria,’’ sung in Italian at full operatic throttle, were a bit much.
The most inspired bit of visuals, however, was the lead-in to “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It),’’ featuring an amusing montage of the countless YouTube homages; it nearly eclipsed her own version a few minutes later.
As a parting shot, Beyoncé ascended an illuminated staircase and finally revealed the meaning of the tour’s name. “I am,’’ she repeated a few times, “I am . . . yours.’’
