Opening night of the tour... ten minutes away from my house... Cardiff Millennium Stadium, Saturday 23rd August...

Gold Circle Tickets, baby!!

onenitealone said:

you got tickets?

PatrickS77 said:

She played there in 1993.She didn't have any problems bringing her "Girlie Show" stage to Australia in 1993.If she did it then,she could surely do it now.



I was born in Detroit,but I actually like Chicago much better.It's a livelier city.But with the high cost of gasoline these days (not to mention other expenses),making that 4-hour drive might not be so appealing to many fans.

SoulAlive said:

Yup!

I can't wait!!

I went to see her at the same venue on the 'Confessions...' tour (her first time in Wales ) and managed to blag a wristband. I was *this* close to the stage. I never spoke about it on the Org but it was AMAZING!! I know everyone says this but - at one point - we stared directly at each other. It was absolutely mindblowing being that close; if it's as good as that experience, bring it on.

By the way, David - my mate's a policeman and was responsible for escorting Madonna to her helipad straight after the gig.

I was asking him all these questions afterwards and he told me about this cute image of Madge coming straight off stage, getting in the back of a black people carrier, slumping in the back seat (like you do after a hard day's work) - all dressed in the 'Hung Up' pink leotard.


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[Edited 5/16/08 2:09am]

onenitealone said:

Congratulations! In addition to having excellent seats,you also get to see the first night of the tour! That's gotta be exciting.

onenitealone said:

that's cool

I just got 2 standing tickets for the first night at Wembley.....but no Golden circle....booooo. Fuck it - itll be amaaaazing anyway. If that rock version of hung up is in the set list i may have to reconsider the whole thing however. In fact i hope she doesnt do ANY "rock" versions of her stuff - its like 3 tours in a row now.....what happened to shaking things up each time.

CrozzaUK said:

"standing tickets"? I guess there's a section with no seats? Is it close to the stage?

SoulAlive said:

Yep, but she did a pay per view down there... so that probably off-set some costs... she made her main money back then with album sales, that's probably different now... also things have gotten more expensive since then, like you point out in your next segment!


Hmm, same probably applies to her overland costs of moving her equipment around, she also has costs getting the stuff around, like you... many people in Europe also have to make 4 hour drives to see her... and nowhere is the gasoline (still) as cheap as in the US! So you wanna see her, it's only a 4 hours drive... go see her and spend a nice day in Chicago!

Considering how much money Madonna has (and continues to make),she can't say "it's too expensive to play Australia" and use that as an excuse She could snap her fingers,schedule three dates Down Under,and still make a healthy profit.

VoicesCarry said:

That's what I keep trying to tell him.

Wow, you searched this 8 page Madonna thread to comment on something relating to the Jacksons?? Truely pathetic!

PatrickS77 said:

Yeah, I searched this whole thread looking for Jackson comments. What else would I be doing here?

SoulAlive said:

Well its not really clear. Ticket master was giving options for saeted (the plus £100 ones) and standing. You could get a standing in the Golden circle for £85, which leads me to think the whole floor will be standing, just as it used to be. I feel pretty sure this is what will happen, but as no seating charts have been released we dont know. There are no standing areas in wembley around the sides - so i feel fairly sure ill at least be on the floor.

CrozzaUK said:

cool

I wanna see some more dream setlists and any ideas/concepts you come up with This is mine....

MADONNA 'STICKY AND SWEET' WORLD TOUR 2008

*ACT 1---
Candy Shop---a long,extended,over-the-top version complete with a call and response segment..."My sugar is WHAT?? (crowd: sticky and sweet!!),"My sugar is WHAT?? (crowd: sticky and sweet!!)....you know,have some fun with this song!

Give It To Me

Dress You Up---a really fun,disco-y version.

Dance 2Night---this performance should be some kind of throwback to her early 80s New York nightclubbing days.The song definitely sounds like that era.

Incredible (instrumental version) dance sequence---Madonna is offstage changing clothes for Act 2.Her dancers perform a routine to the second part of this song.You know....the electro/synth part,only it's an instrumental,no lyrics at all.


*ACT 2---

Deeper And Deeper---Not the slow,jazzy version we heard on the Re-Invention tour.A really fast,disco-y version with an updated arrangement,so that it doesn't sound like 1992.

Justify My Love---a funky,R&B version of this song

Secret

To Have And Not To Hold---Madonna picks up a guitar,sits on a stool,and does a mindblowing acoustic version,which leads into...

Miles Away---another acoustic performance,with the audience singing along during the breakdown part.Now it's time to liven things up again....

She's Not Me---a lively,campy,funny,outrageous performance of this song


*ACT 3---

Hung Up---Madonna plays guitar on this rock version.

Angel---Still playing guitar,Madonna plays a "lite rock" vertsion of this song.

Borderline

Like A Prayer---a powerful,urgent version of this track.This is the "serious" part of the show where things get spiritual,which leads into....

Devil Wouldn't Recognize You---a very scary,haunting performance of this track (remember "Mer Girl" on the Drowned World Tour? The vibe is similar to that).The dancers "act" out the lyrics and it's all very eerie and thought-provoking...some would say controversial.

Video interlude: Voices---a new video for this song


*ACT 4---

4 Minutes---Just like in the video,we see the gigantic clock in the background,ticking away as Madonna dances and sings the song.Justin and Timbaland appear in a video screen.At the end of the song,everything explodes,signaling the end of the world.Or is it?

Causing A Commotion---Nope,the world didn't end so the party continues.Only a brief part of this song is performed (chorus and first verse,then chorus),before leading into....

Heartbeat

Into The Groove

Beat Goes On---We see Pharrell and Kanye on the video screens.This is a spirited finale/encore.

PatrickS77 said:

Detroit is her hometown...she should come back here and represent.

SoulAlive said:

And to hear the idea that it's too expensive to play Detroit is absurd! She is playing red states for God's sake! Who does she think she is? The more I think about it, the more pissed it makes me! I don't care anymore.

applekisses said:

No, she should represent in Texas and Florida. Attempts to make an hip-hop album and skips Detroit....speaks volumes!

SoulAlive said:

Thanks! Oh - and very exciting.

I *was* a little concerned that, being the first show - and we know how big Madonna's are - we may have to deal with the 'glitches', etc. but... it's quite an honour. The fact she came here last time was good enough; to return and make it the opening gig of the tour... wow. She's such a perfectionist, I'm sure it'll be flawless to the audience (even if there are things they need to work out). I can't wait to come and post my report!!


That last gig, though... it was so funny. The gig was on a Sunday and a group of us had been out the night before. We were debating whether we should get up early and queue - we only had general standing - but we stayed out until 2/3am , then thought 'Sod it! We'll just go in the afternoon and enjoy it wherever we are'. We got home and went to bed. Meanwhile, two of my mates - who were also out - turn up at my house at 8am, totally dishevelled , I give them their tickets and they went off to queue at the stadium. (The doors didn't open until 6:30/7pm). I went back to bed, got up later, the rest of us had breakfast, lunch, mooched about, talked crap, played a load of Madonna albums and decided to head for the stadium about 4:30pm. It was a really chilled out day. We get to the stadium and my mates are standing no more than yards from us, the gates open, everyone floods through (I was running like a maniac, with these stewards telling me off ), get RIGHT to the front of the first barrier... then looked across, saw this throng of people huddled in a corner... and they're giving out wristbands to stand RIGHT in front of the stage. WTF??! So we ran over, all got wristbands and were literally inches away from Madonna. It was crazy! My two mates, who'd queued since 8:30am, weren't at all happy - and they looked exhausted. But all of us had an amazing night... seriously, one of the best concert experiences I have ever had. I never realised how being up *that* close could make all the difference. On the 'Re:Invention' tour, I was quite far back and had to leave halfway during the last song to catch a train; as my first experience of seeing Madonna, it was a little disappointing. But that last gig... I can't tell you how much all of us were buzzing that night - we still laugh about it now. It really was incredible.



The other good thing about being in the inner circle is that, with wristbands, you could come and go as you pleased. If you needed the bathroom, you went out, and could come back in. If you needed a drink, just go and get it, come straight back. If we'd stayed at the barrier - which *was* a great view, we'd either have had to stay there and suffer all night (no toilet breaks, nothing) or lose our place. With the wristbands, you could walk in and out, past this army of people facing you, feeling half guilty, half smug. They'd be looking at you like they wanted to kill you.


And to have Madonna staring you in the eye... how often does that happen??

AMAZING night.



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[Edited 5/16/08 12:28pm]

SoulAlive said:

Does that ticket price say $354.00?

Yep,the good seats are $350.Add on a few more bucks for the service charge.The other prices are $55,$80 and $175.

sextonseven said:

I know what it doesn't say..."Palace of Auburn Hills". And it never will!

VinnyM27 said:

I'm so pissed about this. I do think there has to be some personal reason that she's not touring here anymore.

applekisses said:

Maybe there's some painful childhood memories she's trying to forget? Maybe Detroit makes her sad and wistful....thinking about her mother? Who knows?

I recall in 2004 when she was considering bringing the Re-Invention Tour to Detroit...there was a rumor that the stage (with the massive catwalk) wouldn't be able to fit into any of the Detroit venues but I don't believe that story.

Sure enough, more shows were added this morning. I got cheap seats for Oct. 11th in NYC.

sextonseven said:

I remember a few years ago,you mentioned that you were going to see Madonna on the Confessions tour.I think you said it was your first time seeing her? How did you like it?

How much did you pay for your tickets? Did you get the $80 tickets?

So basically, if I actually want to see her it’s about $200.

SoulAlive said:

Reinvention was my first time so this will be my third show. I loved both the Reinvention and Confessions shows. NYC cheap seats are $64 before Ticketmaster fees and about $76 after.