{blackbabes} Beyonce wows in first post-baby performance

ATLANTIC CITY – "I gotta say," Beyonce told the crowd of 5500 fans who packed Revel, "it feels so good to be back home on stage."

It was first of four soldout shows marking the opening of the swank new beachfront resort — and, more significantly, the 30-year-old superstar's first performance since she and hubby Jay-Z welcomed daughter Blue Ivy Carter in January.

Blue's papa was on hand to see his wife return to work. (Other attendees included Smash star Megan Hilty, model Selita Ebanks and Beyonce's old Destiny's Child cohort Kelly Rowland.) But predictably, Beyonce didn't dwell on her personal life; the only reference to Blue in her two-hour set was during a video montage shown at the end, featuring a brief flash of the proud mama cradling her daughter.

The singer was all business — that is to say, warm and gracious, glamorous and relentless. Backed by an all-female band and a tireless posse of dancers and backup vocalists, Beyonce reasserted her unique pop persona; she was at once angel and seductress, cool diva and woman of the people.

She first appeared (after an opening set by the operatic R&B belter Luke James) in silhouette, a large screen hanging over the stage tracing her trim curves. For the first batch of songs — among them a feisty End of Time, a retro-soulful Love on Top and a giddy Crazy In Love— she wore a cropped, spangled top and micro-mini skirt. Several costumes followed, naturally — all showing plenty of leg, some offering a peak at the new mom's taut tummy.

The pace grew more languorous as Beyonce segued from a spoken-word segment about female sexuality into a sultry Naughty Girl. Girl power was, not surprisingly, a recurring theme, though the singer made a point of giving equal attention and affection to her male dancers and audience members. During Run the World (Girls) and Irreplaceable, she engaged the fans in playful competition; the latter became an exuberant singalong, with Beyonce leaving the first verse and chorus to her fans.

Another string of songs played down the flashy production, focusing on Beyonce and individual members of her band. She sat at the piano for an exuberant 1 + 1, while If I Were A Boy became a jangly guitar-pop number, in which she inserted a bit of the Goo Goo Dolls' Iris.

Toward the end, Beyonce made another artful transition — from the opening of Whitney Houston's megahit I Will Always Love You, performed in tribute to the late singer, to Halo. She closed the show, appropriately, with Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It), at once reaffirming her solidarity with all her fans and confirming that this diva plans on sticking around for a good long time.