SassyBritches said:

Chico,did you go? We're waiting for your review

LAS VEGAS SUN concert review---


Madonna may not possess Mariah's voice,Beyonce's curves,or Britney's teen appeal,but all three younger divas could have learned a few tricks from the 45-year old mother of two Saturday night.

Simply put,Madonna's concert--the first of her two weekend shows at the MGM Garden Arena---was the most entertaining large-scale musical production to come through town in months.

The fourth stop on Madonna's 2004 "Re-Invention Tour" was far more successful than reports out of Los Angeles (site of the first three shows) might have suggested.

Perhaps the headliner had finally shaken a pesky stomach flu that caused her to postpone Tuesday's scheduled performance in L.A.

Or maybe four nights in,Madonna and her army of musicians,vocalists,dancers and acrobats had grown comfortable with the rigors of the high-energy event,which lasted nearly two hours.

Either way,a sold-out crowd of 14,000 appeared all but unanimous in their approval on Saturday,grinning madly as they exited the arena covered in red and white confetti.

All but a few of the vocalist's eldest fans stayed until the last note of closing number "Holiday".That stood in sharp contrast to recent local appearances by Spears and Beyonce,which had hundreds flocking to the exits early.

Madonna maintained her audience's attention even when she was offstage for four costume changes,as her band continued playing while breakdancers,trapezists and even a skateboarder performed.

That live entertainment filled breaks much better than the momentum-sapping video montages utilized by Spears,Beyonce and Cher at their 2004 tour stops in Las Vegas.

Far less sexually provocative than her reputation suggested,Madonna's show instead made it's mark with an unsettling blend of political and religious imagery on three giant screens,and two slightly smaller ones,comprising the stage's backdrop.

Some of the visuals proved quite effective.Sad as it was to see a young girl in the audience bury her head in her father's side as camouflage-clad dancers twirled rifles and explosions sounded during "American Life",she's unlikely to forget the song's anti-war message.

And though it may have been a tad heavy-handed,Madonna's cover of John Lennon's "Imagine"---complete with footage of dead and wounded children in combat locales---elicited some of the night's loudest cheers.

Other times,Madonna's themes were too cryptic to have an impact.Hebrew lettering---a symbol of the singer's devotion to Kabbalism,generally referred to as "Jewish mysticism"---accompanied several numbers but was left untranslated.

A shot of Israeli and Palestinian youths walking together with arms entwined was moving,but a doctored photo of George W.Bush and Saddam Hussein smoking cigars together only seemed to confuse many in the crowd.

And images of Jesus on the cross during "Mother And Father" seemed depressingly out of place at a concert intended to be festive.

Physically,Madonna appeared quite fit,although she sported a black wrap on her left knee and an Ace bandage on her right forearm.She smiled often as she worked through dance numbers,played electric and acoustic guitars and sang songs from all periods of her 21-year career.

As the tour's moniker indicated,the concert featured reworked versions of several of Madonna's biggest hits.She turned 1992's "Deeper and Deeper" into a cabaret-style lounge number and 1983's "Burning Up" into a metallic rocker,while 1985's "Into The Groove" featured altered lyrics and a recorded cameo by rapper Missy Elliot.

Surprisingly,it was Madonna's newer material that often packed the most punch,however.The thumping techno beats of last year's "Nobody Knows Me" and 2002's "Die Another Day" got the crowd moving,while 2000's "Music" even brought two middle-aged women out of their seats for the only time all night.

The show sagged somewhat during it's middle act,as fans sat down during a run of less-familiar numbers."Like A Prayer",Madonna's megahit from 1989,signaled a return to form.

"OK,you people sitting down,this will not do",Madonna announced at the start of that song."I'm spoiled.People do not sit down at my shows".

Vocally,Madonna sounded confident and assured.Though she was almost certainly backed by a taped version of herself at points,she appeared to do most of the actual singing live,as evidenced by a couple of cracks in her voice during 1985's "Crazy For You".

That provided a final lesson for Spears and her lip-syncing clones on the scene today: whatever the outcome,a crowd will always respect an honest effort far more than recorded "perfection".

DavidEye said:

Like what?

damn...i'm really excited about this show. i need to stop reading all of these reviews and reports. i may implode soon.

CinisterCee said:

I think they're referring to songs like "Lament" from Evita...."Mother And Father" from 'American Life..."Bedtime Story"....great songs,but not some of her bigger hits.
[This message was edited Thu Jun 3 5:13:33 2004 by DavidEye]

SassyBritches said:

same here.I wish I was able to stay away from those Madonna forums,lol.

DavidEye said:

oh no, i don't even go to those. i would never get back to org because i'd be reading all the reviews!

SassyBritches said:

I've printed out dozens of reviews,from fans and from the media,lol.I love seeing different perspectives on a show,but the drawback is....now I know practically EVERYTHING that's gonna happen.Some fans have even started posting audio and video clips from the show (which I've resisted so far).When I see her on Sunday,am I gonna be the least bit surprised?

American Life is the version from the "remixed" EP. Totally rocks!!!
Like ehuffnsd, I was right at the point of the stage extension, so
she was about 10 feet away from me as she did the rap. LOVED it!!!
DavidEye -- I think the extension will go beyond where you are in the
16th row.

Yes, Deeper and Deeper was the only drastically different musical
arrangement. It was slow and jazzy, and it worked very well.

I was waiting to cringe at Imagine, and it was beautiful. Incredibly
moving. The woman next to me was in tears, I totally got the
chills.

Justify my Love wasn't performed -- except for opening with
Beast Within, although if I remember correctly, the "justify My
Love" lyrics were gone.

Oh god! I have months until September - I think I'm gonna burst!

Still - I do get to see the queen in beautiful Paris which will be fantastique!

Arrrgh - I'm shivering with antici.....pation.

There wasn't a lot of audience interaction, but there
was some. Enough that it felt like a concert, rather
than a theatre show.

She told us we were a much better crowd than the
Saturday show (SOSGemini's crowd! LOL). And she
also did this:

"I'd like to dedicate this song to my fans.
My fans who have supported me for the
last 20 years!"

Then she launched into "Crazy For You."
Beautiful!!!

DavidEye said:

American Life started as the album version and than changed to the headcleaner mix for the rap and she came out on the catwalked and gave everyone the finger. Deeper and Deeper was great slowed down a little hard to sing along with but still great. She was happy and smiling though the whole show. Asking us if we were enjoying the show telling us not to sit down, she was great! THE BEST TOUR SHE HAS DONE. The projections were awesome

CinisterCee said:

Almost everyone on the floor was standing the whole show, my friends in nose bleed said the say thing

ehuffnsd said:

Pretty much the same at my show. People did sit during the slower
"American Life" numbers, but still seemed to be into it.

She even told people in the very front, after telling them to stand
up, "When I sit down, you can sit down." From that point on, the
whole place seemed to follow that suggestion.

madartista said:

I had a couple behind me that sat down and yelled at my friend and I to sit down but I was like I paid $300 to SEE MADONNA, not to look at her on a view screen and only see the backsides of people standing in front of me

ehuffnsd said:

GOOD for you!!! That's so ridiculous to expect someone to sit down at a concert because
you want them to! Stay home and wait for the video if you wanna sit on your ass!

SassyBritches said:

Well, I'll be jealous of you when you go. Does that make it any better?

DavidEye said:

My review huh? Well...enough reviews have been written. And no matter how many you read; you ARE ORDERED TO SEE IT FOR YOURSELF! But, I will say this; didn't think I was going to remain silent did you?


¤¤¤M A D O N N A¤¤¤

After seeing Madonna's latest work of art, known as the Re-Invention World Tour; I came to the conclusion that it should've been called the Re-Affirmation tour. Not that I need any convincing, but hopefully those who've discredited her as an artist over the years will see that she is the Greatest performer that has ever been or will be. Did I just say that on another artists website. I SURE DID!

To attempt a proper concert review for this show would be an injustice. JUST GO!
Am I biased because she's my favourite artist ever? No. I am not.
"She's not a real musician." "It's only pop music." "She's trying too hard to keep up with the young crowd.." Here's a dollar...go make a couple phone calls to those who care.

In the course of about an hour and a half, the crowd was treated to beautiful and thought provoking imagery, a mini circus, spiritual enlightenment (if you choose to recognize it ), great dancers, acrobats, skateboard show, a 'fire twirler', a pop icon leading the crowd as their fearless drill seargent, and of course ... MUSIC. Rock, pop, r&b, jazz, dance, blues, Latin, traditional Irish..all covered in one show. I won't even begin to talk about the stage. Never seen anything like it. Makes the 'Matrix' movies seem low budget.

Yes! She can sing! Not that there was ever a doubt. Numbers like Deeper and Deeper, Burning Up, & Nothing Fails clearly shows she does not need to compete with the 'other' so called Divas.
So she didn't sing all her hits. Perhaps because if she did, her children would be on their way to college, and I'd still be at the show. I don't know of a performer who sings (live, mind you), plays guitar, dances (ballet, hip-hop, modern, jazz,freestyle), does contortions, changes costumes several times, captivates an entire arena, and makes it seem effortless. Oh wait. Yes I do. Her name is MADONNA !

Bedtime Story Wait til you see the .... nevermind. And when she did Holiday I wasn't expecting to hear it as ... what was I gonna say? You guys will have to experience this yourself. Satisfying almost all the human senses, and maybe some we didn't even know we had, MADONNA proves that she has never, and never will lose her place as the GODDESS of POP. F*ck that...more like the Goddess of ENTERTAINMENT period!!!! Ok..maybe only second to GOD.


DavidEye and Sassy, you are in for it!!! The Greatest Show on Errrrrf!! Starring the Greatest, bad-assest, sho' nuff' gon' make you dance and sing get up and do yo thang, world class, supreme-godddess-diva of the wooooorld! MADONNA.

I could go on and on. NOTE: Buy any memorabilia BEFORE the show. Thank God I did.

And for anyone who wants to trash my opinion here or wants to disect what I've written.






it's called an opinion...and that's mine!

Chico319 said:

BEAUTIFUL!!!!

i forgot got to mention the projections were great... very well thought out

damn...each night i have attempted to sit down and right out my scathing review of this sub-par show and always end up distracted by outside forces..

i shall return....maybe not today...maybe not tomorrow...

but i will!!

Yeah but does she just mime?

sosgemini said:

Well,where's your review?
[This message was edited Mon Jun 7 3:09:05 2004 by DavidEye]

madartista said:

like Beavis:
NNNNN NNNNN OOOOO OOOOO!!!!!

sosgemini said:

you were right that she almost seemed afraid of the guitar at some points,
but the fact that the band was still backing her up made me okay with it --
it wasn't her just out there strumming along, a la Prince -- and at times she
was just holding it, singing -- not trying to prove that she could hold together
an auditorium with her and her guitar.

Chico319 said:

YOU FUCKING ROCK!!!

Chico...

SassyBritches said:

Thanks. I thought I wasn't going to write a review.


Anyway. Bring a few towels with you Sassy. Because she is gonna work your .






I'd love to work Madonna's.

Chico319 said:

And that's always been my favorite version of Bedtime Stories.

Madonna's Re-invention show was one of the best shows I'v ever seen. Her intro to " Vogue " was one of the most beautiful intros to a show I've ever witness. As the two large screen tvs open up as a door, they reveal a beautiful color of sky blue with her majesty sparkling in a crystal bustier on top of her throne doing yoga poses (expecially the arm stand which was amazing). I just wish the show was alittle bit longer and I could afford to attend another one ! Oh Yeah, she rocks on guitar when she played " Burning up", which is one of my all time favorite Maddy songs !

Does she do 'Hollywood" and "Love Profusion"?

I'm going on the 4th of July!