When I last saw Beyoncé Knowles perform, it was as one-third of Destiny's Child. It was perfectly fine, but seemingly routine and unremarkable.

Since that time she has learned to hold her own onstage with the likes of Prince in an electrifying Grammy Awards performance several years ago.

She learned more from Prince than just how to hold a stage. At the Pepsi Center on Wednesday night Beyoncé surrounded herself with a virtuoso big-band revue – all female musicians at that – that pushed her brilliant vocal performance with plenty of mean licks of their own, be it the three percussionists, the three-piece horn section or whatever.

In one sense it was practical; the band could vamp and thrill the crowd during Beyoncé's many costume changes (the blindfolded drum solo was particularly entertaining). She also learned to deal with her past much the way Prince has; this tour features a medley of Destiny's Child hits that give the fans what they want without distracting from the current hits.

Her public image is still a bit scattershot – the photo on her Web site of Beyoncé dressed in a bikini and stilettos while walking two leashed alligators sends more messages than one can absorb. Onstage, however, the image is strong and sure – this is a woman who can sing with the best of them. Plenty of artists lately have covered Gnarles Barkley's hit Crazy, but few with the full-lunged power Beyoncé put into it.

She was generous with her musicians, including giving guitarist/Denver resident Bibi McGill a spotlight solo that had her friends and family in the audience shrieking with joy. Fellow Denver native and music industry heavyweight Big Jon Platt, who hand-picked McGill for Beyoncé's band, was in the crowd as well.

Those subtleties went past most of the crowd, which was just thrilled to have big hit after big hit delivered with authority and panache by one of the best female singers to come out of the unfortunate musical events of the past decade.

The Pepsi Center wasn't close to sold out, which is a shame. Sure, Beyoncé (and fiancée Jay-Z) get plenty of tabloid attention, but nowhere near the level of certain train-wreck "singers" whose name we don't need to print again. Apparently talent that grows by leaps and bounds and a burgeoning career isn't as interesting as shaving your head.

Robin Thicke, the Canadian version of Justin Timberlake, opened the show with a long set where headliner Beyoncé let him use full lights, effects and big-screen shots – definitely very un-diva-like behavior. He worked his way through sultry R&B such as Teach You a Lesson and higher-energy numbers that left him gasping for breath at times.

Beyoncé

• When: Wednesday night

• Where: Pepsi Center

• Grade: A-