Live at Roseland: Elements of 4

I viewed the standard concert-only edition offered at Wal-mart and on-line for a limited time the beginning of the week before receiving the Deluxe in the mail from Amazon, and overall I must say it's nice for the price no matter which version you buy. The cinematography was excellent and you get the feel of the venue and the intamacy everyone behind the production was intentionally trying to create. Her voice was top notch where it counted, but to see her not necessarily at her best and vulnerable vocally especially given her pregnancy (which you will see support early reports back when the show started after watching this) was to be admired because she knocked that show out with style, grace, and glamour like only she could. She just can do no wrong. Period.

Off the top as the show begins to progress, you notice that it is being set up like the Vegas "I Am...Yours" one week stand back two years ago with the dialogue and script. Thank God it changes when she begins to do the songs from "4." Technically, like another reviewer mentioned, the editing and special effects on some of the songs like "Countdown" and the fact that various clips from her career and personal movies were mixed in with the songs can be a little jarring, but hey...she's clearly not going to tour in 2011 and who knows what 2012 holds, so this is your best bet. I myself was one of the lucky fans who snapped tickets up to this show when they went on sale and waited outside in the cold rain for 3-plus hours before the doors opened almost 2 hours after the intended start on the tickets, so for me it did hold a bit of sentimental value attending the first night and having to wait for this once in a life time opportunity. The DVD producers clearly wanted to play on that. However, it's quite clear that the DVD presentation is a culmination of all 4 nights as the stars such as Betsey Johnson and Lady Gaga didn't come until subsequent nights, some noticeable wardrobe issues, and the fact that the night I was there the young guy didn't give her the painting he made of her. And though she performed the songs in order save for "Start Over," they are out of order here which I don't quite understand but it is what it is. I would've preferred them in order since the album builds track after track emotionally, and to see her sing it in that order, you really get the true power of "4."

As for the features on this Deluxe Edition, on Disc One "Roseland: Behind the Scenes" serves more like a 7-minute trailer than really an in-depth look into the show. Alot of the footage was featured at the show as teasers on the screens before it began. Disc Two's "Beyonce: Behind the Camera" is a little more what the Disc One featurette lacks as it appears like a documentary chronicling the behind the scenes of the album and videos. Much better piece and highlights Beyonce's newfound passion as producer and director. The packaging is similar to digi-pack and includes a book of glossy photos and writings.

If you're a fan of Beyonce like I am or didn't get to attend this show back in August, this is a must.

Similar to the I Am...Yours concert from Las Vegas, Beyonce peformed songs from her latest album 4 at the Roseland ballroom in New York City (for a more intimate peformance). The diva definitely knows how to work the crowd and the ballroom while being backed by an all female band, orchestra, and dancers. I bought the Wal-Mart edition (which only came with the DVD of the concert) so I am solely basing my review off of the performance.
The setlist:
Beyonce performed all of her old Destiny's Child hits and songs from her solo projects (all of the performances were shortened because the main focus of the show were the songs from 4). The DVD was intertwined with clips from her childhood, previous performances, and never before seen footage (similar to the I Am...Tour DVD). After she performed her previous hits, she went on to perform the songs from 4 (except Start Over).
Act I: The Journey B 4
1. Intro
2. I Wanna Be Where You Are (Jackson 5 Cover)
3. No, No, No (Part 1)
4. No, No, No (Part 2)
5. Bug a Boo
6. Bills, Bills, Bills
7. Say My Name
8. Jumpin', Jumpin'
9. Independent Women
10. Bootylicious
11. Survivor
12. 03 Bonnie & Clyde
13. Crazy In Love
14. Dreamgirls
15. Irreplaceable
16. Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)
ACT II: 4
17. I Care
18. I Miss You
19. Run The World (Girls) [with "Can You Feel It" intro]
20. 1+1 (with a clip from an acoustic performance in her dressing room)
21. Party (with clips from Beyonce's 30th birthday party)
22. Love On Top
23. Best Thing I Never Had
24. Countdown
25. Rather Die Young (featured clips of her portraying Charlie Chaplin)
26. End Of Time (intertwined with clips of different perfomances [one from the Glatonsbury festival])
27. I Was Here (intertwined with clips from performances to offstage footage)
Overall, a great performance from B. What more can I say? She knows how to put on a show(up and coming artists: take notes!). Ladies and gentlemen, get ready to be entertained!
Lil' Radio's Top 5 Performances:
1. Love On Top
2. Rather Die Young
3. End Of Time
4. Crazy In Love
5. Run The World(Girls)

I'll get the basics out of the way now; this is a short concert, as all of the pre-4 songs are shortened [the Destiny's Child era tracks get the most severe cuts - the backing singers and audience do the majority of the singing]. As the concert is short, there are no costume changes and no fancy stage setups, and although there is dancing, there wasn't much space to perform and Beyonce was already pregnant, so there is less then is usual at a Beyonce concert.

It wasn't a problem for me, but some people may not like, is that various footage of Beyonce is inserted throughout the songs. Again, this wasn't an issue for me, but if you want to simply sit back and watch Beyonce sing, this isn't the best DVD to get.

***

This Beyonce performing live, so yeah, I'll call this a must own, but I'll admit that I had a few niggles, so it isn't perfect for me:

The run of concerts at Roseland was to celebrate the 4 album, so it was disappointing to find that Beyonce only sings four non-singles from the 4 album; I Care, I Miss You, Rather Die Young and I Was Here [End Of Time is going to be a single]. I love I Care and I Miss You, but would have adored to see her perform Start Over live.

I do really like the single Party, but it doesn't have the same spark to it without the Andre 3000/J Cole rap in it.

As I already mentioned, this is a short concert and the earlier songs all get shortened considerably.

***

Now for the highlights;

I never really liked 1 + 1 and I Was Here before now, but her live performances have sold me.

I Care and I Miss You are two of my favourite songs on the 4 album and her vocals on the live versions are out of this world.

I think that the music videos made for her 4 singles are her best and they're all [except End Of Time - maybe it's not been filmed yet?] on the second disc. All the way from the epic choreography in Run The World (Girls), to the just-been-released Dance For You - which is jaw droppingly smoking and has left me rethinking my heterosexuality...