Concert review: Madonna
Disenchantment with Madonna?
Toronto, October 18, 2008
Photo courtesy of the NY Daily News.
I’ll never forget seeing Madonna live for the first time in 2004 on her Re-Invention Tour. There are certain things in your life that you never forget, and that evening was one of those experiences. When she emerged in a full on Yoga position, I was entranced: Just a few feet away from me was the Queen of Pop. I was in the presence of true royalty that night.
Since that evening I’ve seen Madonna again (in 2006 for the Confessions Tour) and since then I’ve been lucky to see many great performers on stage. When I bought my tickets for Madonna’s latest extravaganza, the Sticky and Sweet Tour, it was almost a non-event. Gone was the frantic excitement of trying to secure tickets I felt on the two previous tours. In 2004 I was worried that my parent’s were going to kill me after I put a $300 ticket on their credit card when I was told to spend no more than $150. In 2006 the ticketing system crashed due to demand and the Montreal show sold out leaving me without a ticket. I then bought a ticket for Chicago instead. I ended up selling that after I found a lone ticket for the Montreal show. I lost a great deal of money but I didn’t care. I was going to see Madonna again! This time I bought my ticket and that was that. Was I disenchanted with Madge?
Sure, this new show is gorgeous looking. The show began with a massive screen displaying a video of a Willy Wonka-eque candy manufacturing plant, which began separating into almost an accordion, revealing a smaller screen, which rotated to reveal the Queen of Pop herself. Sitting on her throne with one leg draped over one of the arms, she started with the infectious Candy Shop, from her latest release, Hard Candy. No, it wasn’t the grand entrance she made on the Confessions Tour, but it was still pretty good.
Next up was The Beat Goes On, a fairly forgettable track also from the new album. I’ll admit that while I didn’t care for Hard Candy overall, those tracks did sound much better live. In the first nod to her back catalogue, Madonna did a rock remix to one of my favourite songs, Human Nature. This new remix removed all the naughtiness of the original, and quite frankly, I was bored. I spent more time staring at the background video of Britney Spears being trapped in an elevator. I have always questioned why Madonna is often compelled to re-invent her songs to an almost unrecognizable level.
One instance where this actually works is Vogue. Setting her famous dance track to the music of Hard Candy’s first single, 4 Minutes, and employing Techtonik dance moves, it was perfection and easily the most memorable song of the evening. I think the fact that the song used a beat that the audience new well allowed the updated track to resonate with the audience. But as the track reverted back to the music of the original classic for the last few seconds of the song, it resonated even stronger with the audience. As fun as the remix was, we all loved the reminder of the original masterpiece—even if it was fleeting.
I’ve been harsh on Madonna for not doing enough oldies in her show. I was wrong; it’s a fairly good mixture of old and new. The problem I have is why she recycles to keep songs like Music, La Isla Bonita, and Ray of Light on the set light. We’ve heard them countless times on previous tours, and it would be great to give other songs their time to shine. Even Hung Up, from her last album, should have been replaced with something unexpected. Yes, this is the point where someone will remind me that Janet Jackson does the same songs in all her shows, but with Janet she really gives you everything you could hope for. Madonna is very selective of what she performs, and to get the same few over and over is disappointing.
The three Hard Candy songs that shone the brightest live were She’s Not Me, Devil Wouldn’t Recognize You and Miles Away. Madonna was joined by the ghosts of her past for She’s Not Me. Dancers dressed as Madonnas as the Marilyn inspired Madonna from the Material Girl video are roughed up by the real Madge as she rips pieces of their costumes off, symbolically telling the audience that those relics belong in the past. This, like her desire to remix her old songs, proves yet again to her audience that she’s of the present. She’ll never be like Cher, who takes her fans back through her music and fashion of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Cher has no problem dusting off her old fur vest and boots from the 60s, or the naughty Turn Back Time outfit from the 80s. People waiting for Madonna to don her cone bra again someday will be disappointed. It just ain’t gonna happen folks.
For Devil Madonna was atop a piano, trapped inside a circular video screen at the end of the catwalk. It was very theatrical and perfectly executed—even if Justin Timberlake used similar staging for his FutureSex/LoveShow. My other favourite, Miles Away, was dedicated to “the emotionally retarded,” again sounded great live.
The smash hit, 4 Minutes didn’t translate to a great live performance. The show closed with Give It 2 Me. This song, Madonna’s second single off the new disc, fared much better, and actually turned out to be a good finish.
I was prepared to write a negative review for this show. No, Sticky and Sweet wasn’t as good as her last two shows, and yes, I was disappointed that some of the oldies were reworked to a point were they were almost unrecognizable. But you’ve got to hand it to Madonna. Unlike so many other artists, she is constantly re-inventing her image and her sound—even if it is a tad contrived at times.
