Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London
The big hits might be truncated to make way for her latest, country-inflected album – but seen live, these songs sound like a powerful act of protest
It clearly hasn’t escaped Beyoncé’s notice that the meteorological omens auger ill for the first UK show of her Cowboy Carter tour. The weathermen are predicting a thunderstorm, the Tottenham Hotspur ground is noticeably lacking a roof, and she’s no sooner arrived onstage than she’s suggesting that the prospect of rain “ain’t gonna stop the party”.
The thunderstorm never comes, but a cynic might suggest the glowering skies, and a sudden downpour – through which the singer will be required to fly on a giant neon-lit horseshoe – act as a kind of metaphor for the fortunes of the Cowboy Carter tour. It’s thus far attracted the usual laudatory reviews – such is the blanket critical acclaim for everything Beyoncé does, you rather get the feeling that were she spotted using a public convenience, there would be a spate of articles claiming she’d singlehandedly redefined going to the lavatory – but it has also been attended by news reports suggesting all is not well. There is talk of sluggish ticket sales and demands for refunds from fans who shelled out full whack for seats on release, only to see them going for vastly reduced prices as the gigs drew nearer. One headline-grabbing complaint noted that tickets for her LA show were now “cheaper than a McDonald’s Minecraft meal”.
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