| HARD
CANDY PROMO at Roseland Ballroom, NYC - 4.30.2008 |
| Madonna
at Roseland Ballroom in NYC |
|
| Madonna
performed Wednesday night at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City
to promote her new album, "Hard Candy." In a 2,200-capacity
hall, the show was minuscule by her usual touring standards. |
|
| The show
was part of a fully 21st-century product rollout that involved multiple,
overlapping media tie-ins: It was broadcast live on the Internet by
MSN and on cell phones worldwide by Verizon and Vodaphone. |
|
| Madonna's
fans are faithful: The line outside Roseland, on West 52nd Street,
formed two and a half days before show time. By late Tuesday, the
line had stretched around the block as people stood and sat and slept
and caffeinated themselves for the chance to score one of the 750
wrist bands that would guarantee free admission. |
 |
| In addition
to those 750 spots, about 1,000 were given to radio contest winners,
and 200 to members of Madonna's fan club, which now has a social-networking
component. |
 |
| Madonna
was dressed in shiny black and wore lace-up boots. Backed by a live
band whose members were in the far corners of the stage, she performed
six songs, four of them from "Hard Candy." |
 |
| It is
her last album for her longtime label, Warner Brothers; in October
she announced a new deal with the touring giant Live Nation that will
encompass recordings, tours, merchandising and various other projects,
and is valued at $120 million. |
 |
| At one
point, Madonna, 49, picked up a black electric guitar and picked out
the riff of the Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction." |
 |
| Halfway
through her set, she offered a message of sympathy: her song "Hung
Up," is about the agony of waiting. |
 |
| As she
finished the song, she told the audience: "Anybody who knows
me knows how much I hate to wait." |
 |
| For the
song, "4 Minutes," Justin Timberlake, who is featured on
the song and is one of the writers and producers of it, took the stage
in a sharp white jacket and black scarf, and joined Madonna in some
dirty dancing. |
 |
| Some fans
had waited for more than two days for what amounted to a half-hour
show. But no one seemed to be complaining. |
| Source:
The New York Times / Photo:
Michael Nagle / Posted:
May 01, 2008 - 12:17 AM |
| Back
to Hard Candy Promo Index |
