Photo: Max Vadukul

Continental Airlines Arena; Fri 3
Madison Square Garden; Sat 4, Sun 5

Given that it’s a complicated multimedia production featuring dancers, musicians, backup singers and guys on catwalks risking their lives to bathe destiny’s favorite child in light, it’s unlikely that Beyoncé’s new live show was hastily conceived. But you do have to wonder how heavily the ascent of Rihanna, whose “Umbrella” has replaced B’s “Irreplaceable” as this year’s ubiquitous pop-radio smash, is weighing on Beyoncé’s mind: Just a few short years ago, this independent woman’s reign over the R&B world seemed like it’d last forever. Now, thanks in part to her decision to load up last year’s underrated B’day with gritty designer-funk tracks instead of syrupy all-access ballads, it’s possible to imagine an era in which B isn’t the diva beloved by B-boys and Barbara Walters alike. Of course, as this show will no doubt make clear, that era has not arrived quite yet.

Show up early for a set by Robin Thicke, the onetime soul-rock eccentric who showcases his smooth lover-man skills on this year’s aptly titled The Evolution of Robin Thicke, which features his gorgeous slow jam “Lost Without U.” Thicke’s dad is Growing Pains star Alan Thicke, but his spiritual father just might be Al Green.