SoulAlive said:

I was so scared about you reading that review.




I just dont want to give the wrong impression to anybody; if anything , I think you - especially - will enjoy it. I hope so. And, yes, the 'Confessions...' tour was AMAZING! Thrilling to watch.

In retrospect, maybe that's what I missed about it; perhaps if you go just for a fun night out, no 'big concept', it's amazing. So maybe it was me, perhaps. She certainly seems like she's having a lot of fun.


And I love the way you always mention 'Miles Away'... That was a very simple, but effective, part of the show. I have a terrible memory for detail but, if I remember correctly, she was on top of the piano (at the end of the runway) with that circular light that comes down from the ceiling around here. I think...!

Actually, I got that wrong:



'Miles Away' was Madge standing at the end of the catwalk with a guitar.

Before singing 'She's Not Me'., Madonna introduced it as a song about your man having a female friend that tries to steal him away from you. And, just before 'Give It 2 Me', Madonna said 'Any requests?'. My mates down the front said a load of people were chanting 'Gambler'. Instead, she sang a few lines of 'Express Yourself'... then cut it short, saying 'F*ck requests... I'm in charge'.


.
[Edited 8/24/08 10:42am]

One other (stupid ) titbit of information from last night... the dancers were in the gay club that I ended up in after the gig. I didn't see them - I would've exploded, probably - but one of my mates spent ages talking to one of them, and even managed to get his business card. My mate said he tried not to grill him and get all fammy but he managed to ask what Madonna was like and was told she's the best person they've ever worked with. Maybe they have to say that.

onenitalone, i don't think you need to apologize for your opinion of the show. no doubt some will think its her best tour and other will think its her worst and, still, others will fall somewhere between. no biggie.

i can say, looking at the pics, i'm not anymore excited about the show. when i saw images from confessions and reinvention, it really hyped things up for me and got me psyched. this looks...blah. just another tour with fancy dance and lights. the screen images even look uninspired whereas the images on the past two tours were actually cool to watch.

we'll see. if i end up at the show, we'll compare notes! in the meantime, thanks for the review!

onenitealone said:

I'm so excited *janet voice* cuz it will be my first Madonna show!

sassybritches said:

You're welcome - and thanks!


You hit the nail on the head, there. Compare the visuals and backdrops of the 'Re:Invention' tour to the ones featured in 'S&S' and there's NO contest. That opening sequence, in particular, on the 'Re:Invention' tour was spectacular. This tour seemed a bit... cheap. In comparison. I don't think Madonna *needs* the visuals, as such, but she's set such a high standard previously... it was a bit of an anti-climax. Madonna skipping on stage. Watching her awkwardly strum a guitar for 10/15 minutes... um. I just expected a lot more; especially under the new LiveNation deal.

I'll be interested to see what other fans think.

Matronik said:

THAT is where I get excited for you! I'm sure you'll have an amazing time.

Where are you seated/standing?? If you can get a Gold Circle upgrade, go for it. My mate managed to get one on Ebay for £30 cheaper than what I paid through the official channels...

onenitealone said:

I'm going to Lisbon. The show will be in summer festival scenario. Still there will be areas of Golden circle.

I got my ticket together with transportation (it's almost 400 km from were I live) for 80 Euros, which is cheap.

Matronik said:

Enjoy... and, obviously, we all want to read your review.

onenitealone said:

Actually I'm wanting more to see Robyn, because she's the opening act

Matronik said:

Lucky! We didn't get an opening act.

onenitealone said:

That's wack!

how comes theres only 1 london stop????? on here last tour she played about 7 nights there, tickets are so expensive, they always are though, i saw her at live earth and she was brilliant really want to see her perform the new album, itd be cool if wendy was there to play guitar for the song she played on

I just got back from cardiff and all i can say is WOW! Like a prayer was the best performance of the song EVER! I dont want to spoil anything but my god! it was special! Shes not me worked the best out of the Hard Candy songs and sooooo much fun! Just pure campness although it was similar to the confessions tour towards the end of the song (let it will be). Into the groove, Vogue, Human nature and Beat goes on were also pretty fucking great! dAMN! this woman has ENERGY! she's damn 50 and moves better than most! Her voice was also pretty damn good! This was my first Madonna show and damn i was impressed!

what about the concert merchandise? Were there some cool items for sale?

Madonna Beats Midlife Crisis With Tour, Sexy Disco: Mark Beech

Review by Mark Beech

Aug. 25 (Bloomberg) -- The Queen moved her conquering army of 250 courtiers from England to Wales, where she appeared on a throne and flaunted the $2 million crown jewels she had bought for the occasion.

U.K.-based Madonna, the American ``Queen of Pop,'' started her ``Sticky and Sweet'' tour in the Welsh capital Cardiff. She kept 40,000 subjects -- sorry, fans -- waiting 90 minutes to see her in best regal mode. Of course, she didn't apologize. Royalty never says sorry.

Madonna turned 50 this month. Her idea of ``how to avoid the midlife crisis'' is to plan a crusade of pop domination -- taking by force Europe, the U.S., Canada, Chile and Brazil.

At one point in the first gig, she joked that she was open to singing requests. Before anyone could suggest ``Like a Virgin,'' the family woman was reminding us that actually only she had the power to select what went on.

And forget about an encore. When Madonna was finished, bright lights came on saying ``Game Over.'' She meant it.

It's that queenly attitude, and arrogance, that help explain why she is the world's most successful female artist with 200 million record sales and counting. Madonna kept her talent bubbling through the two-hour gig.

``My sugar is raw,'' she reminded us on ``Candy Shop.'' Madonna's double entendres remained to the fore. Her sexy dancers wore bondage leather, see-through panties and often little else.

Madonna's stamina is astounding. She can run, pole dance, do sit-ups, skip with a rope and sing without getting out of breath.
http://www.bloomberg.com/...refer=home

I just watched most of the show on Youtube


From watching these clips,these are the performances that I really like:

"She's Not Me"---the ending is insane! the bit with "Last Night A DJ Saved My Life" is cool too.
"Vogue"---I think it tops the Re-Invention Tour performance
"Heartbeat"
"Into The Groove"---again,this tops the Re-Invention Tour performance.Alot of fun,and she's singing the real lyrics from 1985!


it's impossible to judge a tour based on some Youtube clips with bad audio (lol),but I'm liking it so far.

onenitealone said:

During the Confessions tour,her dancers were often seen hanging out in front of the venues before the show.They were very cool,accessible people.My friends and I were chatting with them.The two guys who look like twins,but are really cousins.....those guys are COOL.I'm glad they're on this tour too.

I think Vogue and ITG top RIT full time!! period!!

But I'm a bit dissaponted by the Heartbeat performance. I cdon't see the connection between the song and the performance yet?!

some pics taken from the front row:

regarding the merchandise there were mugs which were pretty cool, two posters, t shirts and some hooded jumpers. the madonna sticky and sweet bags that are given with the purchased are pretty cool.

I still cant get over Like a Prayer. Visually stunning! dramatic! dance moves! everything you would hope for in a LAP performance. it worked so well! especially with 4 minutes just moments before, it just had a sort of apocolyptic feel to it. 4 minutes was the end of the world and LAP was apocolypse! loved it! Also a special mention to the devil wouldnt recognise you. it looked beautiful! You have to see it to really appreciate this one. the whole water rainfall thing was stunning! ahhh i need to see this again!

more photos from the front row:

mrexperiance said:

Was the "Confessions Photo Book" by Guy Oseary on sale at the concert? On another forum,a fan said it was,but I thought the book won't be released until October 1st




I've read alot of positive feedback about the "Like A Prayer" performance.Alot of fans have been saying what you just pointed out: this show has to be seen multiple times,to "take it all in".Like the last three tours,there seems to be alot going on in the show,sometimes all at the same time.That's why I'm going to the show twice,lol.

some of the items being sold at the concerts:




poster...

mrexperiance said:

yes the confessions book was on sale but i didnt get to see it properly i was far but im pretty sure it was on sale, also Hard candy cd was like £20 uk price! thats like more than twice what it costs in the shop. i purchased the 2nd t shirt in the pics you put up.

You are sooo lucky going twice! it is a very visual experience, im thinking of going to the wembley date now. ive been watching it on youtube ever since. Shes Not Me was also camp as hell and a lot of fun and a close second for highlight of the night. loved her crazy moves towards the end. Also enjoyed Get stupid the interlude, i want that on my ipod! only dissapointments were spanish lesson which didnt work well and the 3rd act which lack cohesion. it didnt make sense as it started out with devil and then broke into spanish lesson as i recall. weird stuff. la isla and ray of light were great even though they were just rehashed from confessions and live earth.

Vogue worked very well especially when it sort of broke down into the 1990 version for a little while. lots and lots of great moments! screw it, im going again!

mrexperiance said:

that's right.....get another ticket and see the show again! this is MADONNA we're talking about here!!

graecophilos said:

I thought that. I loved the performance though. In the end I thought it must be about people who try and hold her back but underestimate how much the music and dancing are in her soul. So the throwing people off to dance was a metaphorical thing. Especially as she says 'I don't want you to save me, don't mean to disappoint you I've never felt so free' - seems to be a reference to people not wanting her to carry on being like she is??

mrexperiance said:

I got the vest that had hard candy in pink glitter on the front.

I have to say though it's not brilliant quality! I wouldn't have paid the £32 for it but my drunk husband went and got it for me as a surprise. Very nice but really not worth the money.

I adore my programme though - it's gorgeous!

to those of you who saw the show,was "Beat Goes On" as exciting as it looks in this clip?