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Jun. 15th, 2006 09:17 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vianegativaSay what you like about her, but Madonna puts on a show that can only be summed up in one word:
Spectacle
The real show started outside the stadium doors; I dare say I've never seen so many Wills & Graces in the same square mile in all my days. The crowd wasn't really as young as one might think; it was filled with middle-aged fans and queens with serious commitments to Aveda. The parking lot alone told the tale: it was a sea of Hummers and Beamers and Mini Coopers. Every possible make and model of car that the truly rich yet striving-to-be hip set was seen and being seen.
The line outside was what I like to refer to as the "opening act". As people-watching went it was brilliant. I got to watch all manner of gay hipster and Madonna junkie strut their stuff as though the entire front of the United Center was their own private catwalk. Truth be told, some of them owned it; the lipstick lesbians were particularly fierce and there were a few folks who looked like the exploded out from Studio 54 before the show.
Oh, but there were tragedies. Fixed most strongly in my mind was the woman who was dressed exactly the same as Madonna in the "Hung Up" video... with the addition of one-hundred pounds. The lycra she wore was stretched well beyond all physical tolerance, and it looked like she was two steps away from needing scaffolding to keep it all in. The second one was nearly crushing in its shame. We happened to see a cubbish fellow mincing about in a "Bears Do It Better" t-shirt and a very, very bad kilt. The cringe I had lasted nearly twenty minutes.
We took our seats after scampering up to section 220 with nachos & beer in hand. I took too great a satisfaction from eating nachos and drinking stadium beer at a Madonna concert.
The show started nearly an hour and a half after the 7:30 pm start time, but after Madonna exited from a disco ball that descended from the ceiling and opened up as if she was some glam Venus, the crowd had forgiven any trespass.
The show was amazingly choreographed; I kept wondering how often a simple mistake with all the acrobatics would send someone flying into the crowd. The dancing was wild and seemed barely controlled. Overall it was amazing. The songs themselves blended into a current of light & sound, and I would have a hard time telling you the order in which any of her songs happened. What I DO know, however, is that she had her songs mixed in such a way that even old favorites sounded new and fresh. As an example, she sang "Lucky Star" to the backbeat of "Hung Up", and it worked very, very well.
My favorite part of the concert? Madonna working a bucking bronco onstage while performing "Like A Virgin".
My least favorite part? Seeing her rise onto the stage on a huge cross just before "Live To Tell", which is a my favorite song of hers (or at least the one I know best).
I walked into United Center with an open mind, but unenthused; I left it energized, with a huge respect for Madonna as an artist & performer. I'm still not a hardcore Madonna fan, but the show was simply stunning. The payback for anyone truly, deeply attached to Madonna's music would be immeasurable...
Which leads me to ask![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
backawayslowly, did you cum a little during or after the show? ;-)
Spectacle
The real show started outside the stadium doors; I dare say I've never seen so many Wills & Graces in the same square mile in all my days. The crowd wasn't really as young as one might think; it was filled with middle-aged fans and queens with serious commitments to Aveda. The parking lot alone told the tale: it was a sea of Hummers and Beamers and Mini Coopers. Every possible make and model of car that the truly rich yet striving-to-be hip set was seen and being seen.
The line outside was what I like to refer to as the "opening act". As people-watching went it was brilliant. I got to watch all manner of gay hipster and Madonna junkie strut their stuff as though the entire front of the United Center was their own private catwalk. Truth be told, some of them owned it; the lipstick lesbians were particularly fierce and there were a few folks who looked like the exploded out from Studio 54 before the show.
Oh, but there were tragedies. Fixed most strongly in my mind was the woman who was dressed exactly the same as Madonna in the "Hung Up" video... with the addition of one-hundred pounds. The lycra she wore was stretched well beyond all physical tolerance, and it looked like she was two steps away from needing scaffolding to keep it all in. The second one was nearly crushing in its shame. We happened to see a cubbish fellow mincing about in a "Bears Do It Better" t-shirt and a very, very bad kilt. The cringe I had lasted nearly twenty minutes.
We took our seats after scampering up to section 220 with nachos & beer in hand. I took too great a satisfaction from eating nachos and drinking stadium beer at a Madonna concert.
The show started nearly an hour and a half after the 7:30 pm start time, but after Madonna exited from a disco ball that descended from the ceiling and opened up as if she was some glam Venus, the crowd had forgiven any trespass.
The show was amazingly choreographed; I kept wondering how often a simple mistake with all the acrobatics would send someone flying into the crowd. The dancing was wild and seemed barely controlled. Overall it was amazing. The songs themselves blended into a current of light & sound, and I would have a hard time telling you the order in which any of her songs happened. What I DO know, however, is that she had her songs mixed in such a way that even old favorites sounded new and fresh. As an example, she sang "Lucky Star" to the backbeat of "Hung Up", and it worked very, very well.
My favorite part of the concert? Madonna working a bucking bronco onstage while performing "Like A Virgin".
My least favorite part? Seeing her rise onto the stage on a huge cross just before "Live To Tell", which is a my favorite song of hers (or at least the one I know best).
I walked into United Center with an open mind, but unenthused; I left it energized, with a huge respect for Madonna as an artist & performer. I'm still not a hardcore Madonna fan, but the show was simply stunning. The payback for anyone truly, deeply attached to Madonna's music would be immeasurable...
Which leads me to ask
backawayslowly, did you cum a little during or after the show? ;-)
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-06-15 03:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-15 04:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-15 03:31 pm (UTC)She's old enough to be my mother, in South Carolina maybe!
I'm pleased to read this review, your experience is similar to that of non-fans I've dragged to shows in 2001, 2004 and 2006. Fan or not, it's hard to not be impressed. She sings, she dances, she rocks on the guitar, she works the catwalks, she rides the horsey, she wears an electric cape, she whips her horse-clad dancers -- what more could anyone want? LOL
I agree that the crucifix bit is really lame, btw - and, I, too, was most impressed with her "reinvented" songs, like the layering of tribal beats over "La Isa Bonita" and the VERY tight mix of "Music" over "Disco Inferno" and lets not forget the opener "Future Lovers" which nicely snuck in an excerpt of Donna Summer's "I Feel Love."
Glad you had a good experience. If I ever win front-row Chicago tickets, you can be my co-bitch.
no subject
Date: 2006-06-15 04:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-15 05:24 pm (UTC)I'm glad you guys had a good time...
no subject
Date: 2006-06-15 07:30 pm (UTC)