TibKat's Insight's
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Madonna
So I finally went to my first Madonna concert last Thursday night!!!!! Growing up in SL one typically doesn’t have an opportunity like I and my husband had when she announced her tour and was coming to Phoenix!!! (I think she’s been here once before is all!) I just couldn’t pass on it… and was almost in tears when I so diligently was on the phone and internet the moment tickets went on sale and secured what I thought was some great $75 tickets and later found out that it was through a ticket broker and that if I really wanted to see the show the could get me $50 seats for $140.00… The evil of this free enterprise America, your typical “blue collar” gets ripped up the you know what these days when it comes to concerts or even Broadway traveling show’s (Another story all together, still, we can’t wait to see Wicked!).
So any way… a bitter sweet experience… When we got to the show, I soon found out everyone around us had experienced the same thing, so I didn’t feel quite as bad but still irritated with the whole ticket broker, it’s just wrong! Enough of that….
MADONNA was amazing!!!! And a bit of a Diva, as we all know she is. The first half of the show was visually very stimulating, pictures of her in her riding gear and what one assumes is her horse on three large screens, (the whole symbolic thing, you fall you get back up) then to her dancers struggle to get where they are to the children with AID’s in Africa needing homes and security… Then the second half was all dance!!!!! I called all my sisters during the show to let them hear some of the concert and of course Camilla because she was so nice to call me when she saw her in New York on her last tour! Thanks Milla!
Jim and I both had such a great time! If you ever get a chance to see her you truly shouldn’t pass it up. The show went solid for almost 2 and ½ hours! Love her! Madonna Rocks!!
*See article below!
Madonna crucifies herself
May 23, 2006 - 11:14AM
Madonna performs during her first concert in Los Angeles.Photo: AP
Madonna has launched her first world tour in two years, delighting an enthusiastic Los Angeles crowd by hanging herself from a cross, insulting President George Bush, and dusting off some of the sexy moves that have sustained her career for more than 20 years.
The "Confessions" tour will keep her on the road for two months in North America, and then resume on July 30 in Wales for a five-week stadium swing through eight European cities. Shows in Japan are also on tap for mid-September.
The 47-year-old dance diva spent two hours yesterday churning out most of the tunes from her new album, Confessions on a Dancefloor, as well as a few old hits such as Like a Virgin, Ray of Light and Lucky Star.
The audience at the Los Angeles Forum included Madonna's Kabbalah guru Rabbi Yehuda Berg, socialite Nicole Richie, and gay icon Rosie O'Donnell, who upgraded herself to a premium seat on the floor and left her spouse alone in the stands.
The meticulously choreographed Vegas-style routine began 50 minutes late when a giant mirror ball was lowered from the ceiling to the end of a catwalk stretching deep into the floor. Out popped Madonna, in S&M-styled riding gear and whip, singing the new tune Future Lovers as four bare-breasted male dancers writhed around with ball gags in their mouths.
Later on, she donned a crown of thorns and suspended herself from a giant mirrored cross to deliver the ballad Live to Tell. Video screens showed images of third-world poverty and reeled off grim statistics.
During one of her half-dozen costume changes, another video montage juxtaposed images of Bush, members of his administration and British Prime Minister Tony Blair with footage of Adolf Hitler, Osama bin Laden, and Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe. Midway through the new song I Love New York, she deviated from the script and made a crude reference to Bush and oral sex.
Beyond that, she barely spoke to the audience, largely focusing on keeping control of a busy nightclub-style stage that boasted 15 dancers, four musicians and three backing vocalists.
For the most part, she joined in the tricky choreography, her voice evidently not affected by the aerobic workout. She did pause for a few songs during which she appeared to play a shiny Gibson Les Paul guitar.
A disco segment near the end, where she dressed in a Saturday Night Fever-style white suit to perform Music thrilled the crowd, as did the Like a Virgin routine, when she climbed aboard a carousel-style black leather saddle.
There was no encore, and the lights came up as soon as she had completed a medley of Lucky Star and latest hit single Hung Up while sporting an illuminated white cape with Dancing Queen embroidered on the back.
Billboard magazine has forecast ticket sales could reach the $US200 million ($A264.8 million) range, making it the most successful tour by a female artist. Cher holds the record with $US192.5 million ($A254.88 million) from 273 shows on a "farewell" world tour that began in June 2002 and lasted almost three years, according to Billboard.
Reuters
