Well,I think it's just about time for another Madonna thread...lol...and as her biggest fan in the world,I thought I would start it

What do you guys think of her 'Drowned World Tour' DVD? I was watching it the other night,and it ALWAYS brings a smile to my face.I remember back in 2001 how excited I was about this tour.The DVD is a wonderful souvenir from an amazing tour that I will never forget.

What are your highlights of the show? What were the weaknesses? To those of you who actually attended one of the shows,do you think the DVD perfectly captures the show?

Btw,you can clearly see Moonbeam and TRON in the front row,jumping up and down during "Beautiful Stranger" and also during "Candy Perfume Girl" (you lucky bastards!).

I went to one of the London shows and nearly walked out. Dull as dishwater.

Ellie said:

Elaborate a little more.Was there anything you liked about the show?

Btw,I found a few weaknesses with the concert...


***"The Funny Song"---This was the low point of the show,imo.It's a silly country song that sounds like Maddy wrote it in five minutes.It was supposed to be funny,but it just made me cringe.

***The Japanese porn cartoon segment---wtf??

i don't have the dvd, but i saw the hbo special...

overall, i remember liking it a lot... i enjoyed most of the songs... and madonna was hot as always...

the thing that i remember most about it, unfortunately, was how much i hated the "la isla bonita" portion of the show... i can not think of a single madonna song that i hate more than "la isla bonita"... so, i remember totally getting into the concert and then that song killed the momentum... so, i got bored and started doing other things around the house... then, when the song ended, i had to work myself back up into it...

otherwise, i thought it rocked...

DavidEye said:

Noone is going to watch that overblown, overproduced, boring ass concert!!! Except for DavidEye of course.

These are the highlights for me...


***"Impressive Instant"---this is the song that really got the crowd going.I love the gas masks and the slick choreography during this number.

***"Frozen"---I love the long,long,long "wings" that Maddy is wearing at the beginning of this song...lol...and I liked the overall performance.Madonna sounds GREAT on this song.

***"Don't Tell Me"---this part was alot of fun!!

***"Holiday"--- the crowd went NUTS when Maddy did this song!! This is one of the few old songs she performed and it was exciting to see..."when I say "pimp",you say "ho".

gman1966 said:

If you wanna get Gman1966 to post on this site,all you gotta do is start a Madonna thread,and he will be there

DavidEye said:

Highlights for me...

That woman has no stage presence...

That woman cannot sing...

That woman definitely cannot dance...

Strictly a video artist...

Listening to Ray Of Light now, as it happens.
The only album of hers that i still own.

DavidEye said:

LOL

Cloudbuster said:

Be sure to listen to the track "To Have And Not To Hold",it is such a beautiful,moving song.

Yeah, the fact that I was there didn't hurt.

There are so many reasons that this show was the best.

It was the first day I spent with my brother after his graduation from college. It set the tone for us living together for the next year.

It was her hometown crowd so the energy level was hype! The combination of already crazy Detroiters, an HBO camera crew and a hot summer night was perfect for a filmed show.

We were told that we had 3rd row tickets from the scalper who sold them to me. They were quite expensive but they were what we could afford. Some of the 1st row ones were going for $2500! But to our surprise, the first 2 rows were only in the middle. The left and right were carved out with tiers for her to go out on so that she could be closer to the audience. Actually, this was the closest anyone could get to her. Because the front row in the middle was about 15-20 feet away from her. Where she stood in front of us was only about 5 feet away.

The song selection was killer as this is my favorite phase of her career so far. I love the fact that she played guitar during the show (always a dream of mine) and that she didn't cater to everyone's wishes of a greatest hits show. That's where Prince got in trouble.

Each set had its own energy and allowed for a full experience. The first "punk" set made everyone totally crazy. The "asian" set was hypnotic and spectacular. Very impressive. The "country/folk" section was endearing, fun and the most crowd friendly. And the "latin/pop" section made you admire the sound and vision of the show. Finally, the encore of "Holiday" and "Music" brought it full circle with everyone begging for more by the end.

Some of the special highlights could've never been planned. Madonna actually interacted with Ian and I more than anyone in the entire audience. I'm not joking. It doesn't really capture it on film but she was really digging us. I think because we're so insane at shows and were bouncing up and down, she really appreciated the excitement we were giving back. We got our whole section jumping and dancing. I can count at least 5 or 6 times when she came over and made long eye contact with us. Sometimes for almost a minute at a time. To have your idol and sexual fantasy since childhood stand right above you, looking you right in the face is quite an experience. And I don't get star struck easily anymore. But this was different. This was Madonna. We were like a couple of screaming little girls at a MJ concert.

Also, just to our left at the lower part of the lower bowl (about 25 feet away) were her family. I could see in plain view her father, her stepmother and Lourdes. Lourdes actually looked over at me several times smiling. God, she's pretty. Madonna's got a run for her money. It was so cute to see her singing along to all the songs. And midway through when it got a bit racey during the anime part, they took her to bed. Rosey O'Donnell who took the photos of the show and the cover of the DVD sat not too far to our right and actually passed right in front of us to get to her seat.

It was so cool to be able to get tickets like that for us. My brother had never seen her before and I wanted it to be a special night. And we'll never be able to top that. And I had only seen her one time before. Back during the Girlie Show. But at the time, my mom hated Madonna and I had to lie to her to actually be able to sneak out to the show. I think I told her I was working on a group homework assignment at a friend's. So this was the first time I could enjoy myself, no strings attached.

Finally, the day of the show was a very special anniversary. I can't get into it on this site but it might've been the most meaningful part of the whole thing. And that night, we got word that Aaliyah had died. So it was a very up and down week for both us. Especially when we went to her vigil. But the extreme joy and sadness of that night were two of the moments that brought us closer together than we'd ever been that year living together.

-FIN-

DavidEye said:

I'd say a lot of the enjoyment of a concert is the way people around you in the audeince react. The fact that EVERYONE was sitting down, and people were leaving to go to the toilet was a huge letdown. Holiday, Music, Impressive Instant, Sky Fits Heaven and Secret were my personal fav performances. The rest I could take or leave. It was all very staged with the "f**k off muthaf*ckas" yelling, the guitar "playing" and the overhyped buck on Human Nature (which had been a highpoint in all the write-ups of the show I'd read beforehand - it was such an anti-climax).

DavidEye said:

It is a beautiful song, indeed.
I actually like the entire album.

When the remasters were released i consisered buying them all again but Ray Of Light is the only one i listened to regularly. Still, maybe one day.

I went to the same concert that the DVD taped. While I've owned the DVD for a while, I haven't bothered to watch the whole thing through, which is odd considering I'm a very big fan. I'll watch it one day. I really enjoyed the concert ("Impressive Instant" was mind blowing) but really hope that she does a greatest hits tour. That would make the damn world stop!

TRON said:

Perfect reflection of my thoughts.

Yeah a great DVD.Madonna's second best tour ever after the girlie show.And at her age she hasn't lost her magic, has she?

High points:Candy Perfume Girl, Frozen, Beautiful Stranger, Secret, What It Feels Like For A Girl, Sky Fits Heaven, La Isla Bonita, Don't Tell Me, the non-performance of American Pie and so much more

Low Points:The Funny Song and Don't Cry For Me Argentina

and i loved the video for Paradise (not for me)

By the way:will we ever see the blonde ambition and virgin tour out on dvd? It's stupid not to have those two out and to have the horrid ciao italia

I wasn't feeling the HBO Show at all really.I enjoyed "Holiday" but I can't stand "Ray Of light"&that Vibe.I think Garbage did that Vibe better than She did IMHO.

yioryos said:

The "Blond Ambition Tour" DVD is supposed to come out sometime this year.

TRON said:

Wow,TRON,that is quite a summary...lol...I'm glad that you and your brother had such a great time.

the other day i stepped into a recordstore and they were playing madonna's live album from the drowned world tour. so, being interested in what this 40+ singer sounds like live, i listened for a couple of minutes. now, i don't know if i'm the only one with this opinion, but it sounded like madonna was constantly out of breath. this resulted in her singing off note, being unable to finish sentences properly and sounding pretty much awful in comparison to former live shows i'd heard. i know she's getting older, but there are ways to avoid these "problems"..

purpleone said:

I think the one on the DVD was not representative of the whole tour. The main plus point of the show I went to in London was her voice. It was still better than her vocals on Blonde Ambition, which while was visually stunning from a theatrical point of view, her vocals were just terrible - I have a live bootleg album from an Itlaian show and it's simply unlistenable without watching the show.

Ellie said:

we already know that about you. how was the show?

TRON said:

That was one beautiful post, Mr Tron.

purpleone said:

A "Live" album from the Drowned World Tour?? Was it a bootleg?

DavidEye said:

i got to admit i'm not such a big fan of madonna, so maybe i was mistaking about the album. but when i heard the album in the store i immediately searched for it in the cd racks: the cover of the cd had that cowboy look from the 'music' video. if the drowned world tour has been her last tour, then it must have been that one..

purpleone said:

Hmmm,must be a bootleg recording from the tour.I wish I could find stuff like this in MY local record stores...lol...

TRON said:

Divine post TRON...

I loved her Drowned World Tour, it was spectacular, and watching you and Ian have such an amazing time was too special...

I am beyond envious, wish I could of experienced it...

The Detroit Show is sooo dull. It doesn't do the Tour justice at all. She should have gone with a Euro gig, much more NRG from the crowd and far better vocals. Detroit Looked like a run through dress rehearsal. U should watch the Paris bootleg video, it's much better even without the fancy editing and stuff...