Beyoncé and Jay-Z: Crazy In Love as tour opens in Cardiff

For all the reports of trouble in their marriage, Beyoncé and Jay-Z's joint On The Run II tour, which opened in Cardiff on Wednesday, was a two-and-half hour display of affection.

As they raced through more than 40 hits - from Crazy In Love to 99 Problems - the couple flirted, teased and held hands - not just when the spotlights were on, but deep in the shadows, between the songs.

At one point, Beyoncé sidled up to her Jay-Z and started twerking, giving him the giggles. When he rapped about "the rock on your finger" in Upgrade U, she flashed her wedding ring, a big goofy grin spread across her face.

The show didn't shy away from Jay-Z's infidelity, which was dissected on songs from Beyoncé's Lemonade album, and atoned for on his own 4:44, but the overall message was one of healing and redemption.

Stadium-width video screens showed images of the couple being torn apart and separated, their house on fire, before reuniting in a church and renewing their wedding vows.

"Endless love," read a message on the screen. Jay-Z's pendant put it more prosaically: "Bling for love."

"Urgh," you might be thinking, and rightly so, but the lovey-dovey stuff was just a backdrop to the night's soundtrack: A thrilling joyride through the stars' back catalogues that covered feminist anthems (Flawless); hip-hop classics (Dirt Off Your Shoulder) and the obligatory display of Beyoncé's vocal force (Resentment).

The stars traded control of the stage throughout the show, which allowed for some clever transitions, as when the Arabian riff of Beyoncé's Naughty Girl bled into Jay-Z's Big Pimpin'.

However, the show lacked the conceptual and political strength of Beyoncé's recent set at the Coachella music festival.

Where that concert presented radical and powerful statement of black resilience and feminine power, the On The Run II Tour largely failed to settle on a theme, mixing up religious iconography with a confused metaphor about love and crime.