Last night was the first of “4 Intimate Nights With Beyoncé” at the 2500-capacity Roseland Ballroom in New York City, and for the lucky fans (not including us) who got tickets, Beyoncé didn’t just play her new album 4 front-to-back, as promised—she played a chronology of her hits (as part of Destiny’s Child and solo) first, for a ninety-minute set. Videos are getting pulled from YouTube as quickly as they go up, so we won’t even bother linking any, but apparent highlights included a crowd-sung “Irreplaceable.”
Kicking off with a greatest-hits was a canny, if retrospectively obvious, move for Beyoncé, whose new album is front-loaded with ballads. The hits set hyped up the crowd as an opener would while providing a contrasting lead-in for the energy comedown of the beginning of the album-playthrough. We have seen no mentions of professional camera equipment at the shows, but we suspect that Beyoncé might be taping these performances for a DVD release, simply because it would be such an astonishing missed opportunity if she didn’t.
Beyonce Kicks Off “4 Intimate Nights” In NYC
[Image: Getty Images]
