Destiny's Child at Mt Smart Supertop

By RUSSELL BAILLIE

The suspicion was, given how meticulously studio-buffed their songs and videos are, that live the giant R&B-pop girl-group might well be cut down to size.

Not a bit. Destiny's Child were terrific, visually dazzling and altogether larger than life.

Yes, it was choreographed to a T, and probably interchangeable with all the shows on their Australian tour last week.

But that didn't matter to an every-age crowd of 13,000, whose high spirits contrasted with the perpetual embarrassment of a venue they had paid good money to sardine themselves into.

Some may have grumbled at a lack of video screens - the absence of which should surely be noted in concert advertising and tickets - which would have made life easier for the parent-and-kid contingent and perhaps eased the worrying crush at the front.

But still, it sounded marvellous, and it seemed that most everything we were hearing was being sung or played on stage - something that couldn't be said of unknown support act, Australian duo Shakaya, who had to scamper off when their backing tape-machine caught hiccups.

With 10 dancers and a five-piece band, Destiny's Child looked quite the modern rampaging soul revue - one with an unavoidable ogle-factor, right from when the minimally-clad trio of Beyonce Knowles, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams strutted determinedly down the stage stairs on opener Independent Woman part 1.

But throughout, Destiny's Child rode a fine line, one that suggested that sexy doesn't have to mean shameless, and slick doesn't have to mean soulless.

Yes, there were the inevitable fireworks and displays of vocal technique, Knowles giving off the biggest sparks in her ballad solo spots.

Just before that, the trio had emerged frocked demurely like 70s soul divas to sing their version of the Bee Gees' Emotion.

After the solo numbers they performed a gospel number for the man upstairs that, although pretty unedifying, at least made people feel better about any impure thoughts the balance of the show might have triggered.

It has been songs of sassy pop hooks aligned to gymnastic harmonies and whiplash funkiness that has been the making of Destiny's Child, and the best of those hits delivered the show's most memorable moments.

They introduced Jumpin Jumpin with a nod to Tina Turner's version of Proud Mary (complete with Ikettes' dance moves).

On the infectiously silly Bootylicious, they sported a single spangled glove while the song deviated into a few bars of Jacko's Billie Jean.

An unnamed song tied to Knowles' appearance as Foxy Cleopatra in the next Austin Powers movie brought something fresh but old-school funky to the mix, and no doubt it will soon be everywhere.

By the time they reached the encore and a strident version of Survivor, Destiny's Child had proven themselves as phenomenal live as they are on the charts.

Their hits have made them the girl group its okay for us pop snobs to like. After this show, any guilty-pleasure appreciation gets an upgrade to fully-fledged profound admiration.

The other support was the mighty Che-Fu who, although limited to a band-free, hip-hop set heavy on the guest MCs, including King Kapisi, provided an early magic moment of this New Zealand Music Month - 13,000 or so people singing along to Fade Away.