MADONNA -OPENING NIGHT - MAY 24TH- REVIEW

[DAME]

Posted: 5/25/04 at 3:12am

WHAT AN AMAZING EVENING. First let me start by saying that I will never forget for as long as I live that I was at the opening night for this fabulous concert. My feet will probaly never forget it either.

The concert was scheduled to beging at 8. At around 8:15 the lights went to black out , the crowd went insane and the huge ( and I mean huge) led screens immediately started projecting the spiritual images that would be the theme throughout the evening. Madonna made her entrance being risen on the stage. VOGUE magically opened the show and set the mood for the rest of the evening. The place was rocking and Madonna sounded and looked incredible. She then went into NOBODY KNOWS ME, and FROZEN. AMERICAN LIFE was sensational. The dancers came out in soilder uniforms and weapons (AND THEY WERE THE HOTTEST BOYS). EXPRESS YOURSELF, BURNING UP and MATERIA GIRL followed . The incredible set consisting of a huge turntable and cage like lifts at either side and a huge platform wich enabled Madonna and her dancers to go out on and above the audience and at eye level of the second level seating was put to good use throughout. Then there was a transition with this skateboard routine and then she appeared with her guitar for Hollywood. Followed by a showstopping HANKY PANKY. ( You all have to forgive me. There was alot of songs packed into the two hours and I am trying to remeber everything) DEEPER AND DEEPER and DIE ANOTHER DAY shook the place up. She then made a very quick change and was raised again from a lift for THE LAMENT from Evita. BEDTIME STORIES was the only number I think I sat for. Don't tell me started things cooking again and then she tore the roof off the place with LIKE A PRAYER. MOTHER AND FATHER was full of spiritualism and images of freedom and anti war sentiment. Then she did a beautiful rendition of the beatles IMAGINE ( It was very moving). Then she wentr back to rocking the place with INTO THE GROOVE, PAPAP DON'T PREACH, CRAZY FOR YOU, MUSIC, and she closed with HOLIDAY. The show was heavily anti-war and anti Bush. But it wasn't anything she said . Actually that was my one minor complaint. She sang throughout and didn't talk to the audience at all except for a brief "Hello LA". Her outfits went from Kilts, to Kabbalah t - shirts. to plain white t shirt. She was on stage for all of the 2 hours. this wasn't one of those sing for 15 minutes and then change for 5 minute concerts. Her very few changes occured in only minutes. MAdonnas voice has never sounded better and she looks beautiful. The woman gave it her all. GO!!!!!! You will want to go more than once. ( I will write more tomorrow. I must go to bed)

There was alot more... but I will put those details tommorrow. I am so tired.

Updated On: 5/25/04 at 03:12 AM

[The8re phan]

Posted: 5/25/04 at 6:03am

Thank you Dame for the great review. Glad you had a good time. But no Ray of Light? La Isla Bonita? Open Your Heart? Beautiful Stranger?? Guess she couldn't do all my favorites or else you'd still be there! Thanks again Dame, & God bless your feet. Long live the Hussys.

Updated On: 5/25/04 at 06:03 AM

Posted: 5/25/04 at 7:23am

Updated On: 10/27/05 at 07:23 AM

[junglered]

Posted: 5/25/04 at 8:24am

Thanks for the review, Dame. It sounds like you had a great time!

[DAME]

Posted: 5/25/04 at 11:45am

No. There was no ray of Light, Isla Bonia, or beautiful Stranger. But she did do open your heart. She also did not do a encore. At the end the lights went to black and the voice of George Bush telling some of his lies filled the place ( and the audience booed). When that stopped the place stated cheerin again and waiting. but she did not come out again.

It was a awesome show. Can't waitto see how the press reviews it. i think it will be unanimous raves.

[DAME]

Posted: 5/25/04 at 11:48am

I also forgot to mention that as part of the staging she also had at the lip of the stage a belt (I don't know what else to call it. Sort of what is used for suitcaes in airports). Which she used in alot of her dancers. You know on of those hings where you can walk and no go nowhere? But it was huge; it went from one side of the stage o the other. And did I mention the pipe player?

Updated On: 5/25/04 at 11:48 AM

[Matt_G]

Posted: 5/25/04 at 12:22pm

Let me first say that Madonna is my God. I love the woman more than life itself. But that said, she ends her concerts terribly. I haven't seen this one yet, but at each of her others, she makes the audience think there will be an encore and than nada. But I still can't wait to see her!

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 5/25/04 at 12:47pm

Wasn't Drowned World the first tour she did that had no encore?

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 5/25/04 at 12:48pm

Well, Matt, always leave 'em wanting more! Dame, did she sing everything live or do you think some was lyp-synced? I can't imagine her keeping up this grueling concert tour the way you so wonderfully described it and keep her vioce 100%. What do you think?

[DAME]

Posted: 5/25/04 at 12:49pm

I agree matt. And it is not like she needed to do another song. She could have just staged it in a way so that holiday would be her encore. But be that as it may; it seems her fans already know she doesn't do encores. It is a 2 hour show and she IS the full 2 hours. It wowed me.

Updated On: 5/25/04 at 12:49 PM

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 5/25/04 at 12:50pm

With Drowned World, by the time it got to the UK, she was still 100% live, but with 2 songs (Sky Fits Heaven and Gone) she was singing over her own vocal.

[Jane2]

Posted: 5/25/04 at 12:51pm

Thanks for the review! As usual, it sounds like she's still the unltimate professional she always was. NO skimping with Madonna. I know that she has an unusually strong dedication and work ethic which is hard to find nowadays. She's had it since day one and that's why she's where she is today, our top rock icon after 20 years of hard work. And at her age and after two children, she's in better shape and can move better than those other teen idols.

I love that she's still ending her show with Holiday. It's a
tradition and I hope it never stops. Glad you had such a good time!

[DAME]

Posted: 5/25/04 at 2:18pm

By the way;
Just because a few of you have pm'ed me to ask. Her background vocalist were Donna De Lory and Siedah garrett. No Nicki as far as I could tell.

[ErikJ972]

Posted: 5/26/04 at 7:54am

Here's a review of the concert by USA Today (it contains spoilers). Seems like the press had been pretty much positive. Rolling Stone gave it a great reveiw as well.

The mother of Reinvention gets Four Stars

She's in vogue. She's in the groove. She's expressing herself.

Who else but Madonna, reinventing her past in a splashy and stylish retro-fitted show (**** stars out of four).
She's dubbed it the Reinvention tour, an unnecessary reminder considering she has been reinventing herself since 1983.
Two decades after threatening to rule the world, pop's unstoppable dominatrix stepped on stage Monday night at the Great Western Forum to flaunt her considerable powers in a lavish and strenuous spectacle of song and dance.


Please click on Full Article to read the entire story by Edna Gundersen of USA Today




It's one of several tours this year by veteran acts, Prince and David Bowie among them, reassessing and reclaiming their hits.

The two-hour career overview arrives amid cynical buzz about ploys to shore up sagging album sales with a quick-buck oldies tour featuring a Kabbalah pulpit.

Nonsense. Aside from Papa Don't Preach, rendered as a saucy romp, and a gorgeous version of Like a Prayer, religious references scattered through the non-stop dance party are arty and mildly provocative. She briefly dons a "Kabbalists do it better" T-shirt and wears the mystic sect's Red String around her left wrist, but otherwise avoids sermonizing, except to wholeheartedly fulfill Kabbalah's mandate to promote a positive flow of energy.

"I'm giving my all," she told the audience.

Now there's something you can believe in. The concert is a rigorous, fast-paced escapade with bold sets, brazen choreography and sexy but age-appropriate costumes, plus a bagpiper, a skateboarder, a fire handler and acrobats on swings.

It's cheeky and challenging theater, from the naughty Victorian caper of Vogue and the harrowing drama of Frozen to the breezy Express Yourself, rocking Burning Up and mock combat of American Life, played out on a suspended V-shaped catwalk. And that's only in the first of four elaborate acts.

A carnival section boasts a waggish Hanky Panky from Dick Tracy and the lovely Lament from Evita.

Deeper and Deeper, the only track from Erotica, gets an upbeat treatment before the mood downshifts for Die Another Day, when Madonna is strapped into an electric chair that rises on a platform. (Contrary to rumor, the switch isn't thrown.)

An acoustic set follows, with heartfelt renditions of Don't Tell Me, Like a Prayer and the show's two low points: a momentum-killing rap in Mother And Father and a cover of John Lennon's Imagine, competent but pointless considering the countless gems that could have been culled from her own catalog (Live to Tell, Oh Father, This Used to Be My Playground, Take a Bow).

The show wraps up with a kilt section that retools Into the Groove, Papa Don't Preach, Crazy for You, Music and her time-honored finale, Holiday.

At 45, Madonna is in fine voice, especially on the vintage tunes, where her silky tone may come as a surprise to fans familiar with the early chirp. She dances energetically with grace and funk, plays guitar and, naturally, has the shape and muscle density of a Barbie doll. Madonna's mini-me's (listening, Britney? J-Lo?) have a long way to go before they match her in vocal prowess or multitasking abilities.

Most notably, Madonna seems to be having a jolly good time. Whereas her last outing had technical strengths but lacked warmth, Reinvention finds Madonna reinvested emotionally. The show doesn't have the degree of flesh, carnal content or shock value that past outings delivered, but this time Madonna is opting for more heart than cleavage and more personality than profanity. And she dances with the bagpiper. You won't get that at a Kabbalah class.


Source: Edna Gundersen, USA TODAY


Rolling Stone Reinvention Review

[DAME]

Posted: 5/26/04 at 12:04pm

Sueleen
She was 100% live.

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 5/26/04 at 2:18pm

I could tell by the clips she was live, good for her. However, I guess she really gave it her all since she cancelled Tuesday's performance!

Updated On: 5/26/04 at 02:18 PM

[DAME]

Posted: 5/26/04 at 3:01pm

The LA times review was mixed at best. But trust me people. It is a great show.

[Greekmusicalfan]

Posted: 5/26/04 at 5:36pm

Thank you for the great review DAME !!! God, September 2, which is when I am seeing her in Paris, seems soooooooo far away !!!

Take care

[rocketman]

Posted: 5/26/04 at 5:51pm

I am seeing this next month...glad to hear Madge doesn't disappoint!

[newyorkuniq]

Posted: 5/27/04 at 12:56pm

oo This post just made me put my Immaculate Collection CD on :P

Posted: 5/27/04 at 2:15pm

As Penny Lane once said: "It's all happening!"!

[Matt_G]

Posted: 5/27/04 at 2:23pm

Dame, Madonna shows have always gotten mixed reviews. But those are critics reviews. I've never met one fan who didn't have the time of their lives at one of her shows. The first time I saw her live will forever go down as the greatest night of my life.

[DAME]

Posted: 5/27/04 at 3:35pm

Hey I heard she added Ray Of Light last night.