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Tel Aviv Tour Reviews


IslandBreeze

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So far I absolutely adore what I've seen, but how Can a journalist rate a show 0 before theyve even seen it???

I've said it's before and I'll say it again, Madonna is the media's punching bag. They LOVE to hate her.

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even gorden smart praised her show..

http://www.thesun.co...icle4350526.ece

i really think people just WANT to see something to criticize, finding excuses etc..

OMG at the hateful comments. I shouldn't be surprised, but I just can't believe what some people will say about her. Nasty.

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To give Madonna 0/5 star for this show you'll have to be a blind tone deft mute. You don't have to LOVE the show but what's 0/5 exactly ?? What a moron.

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Madonna in Israel doesn’t disappoint

Madonna JACK GUEZ / AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Madonna treated tens of thousands of ecstatic fans in Israel to the inaugural show of her “MDNA” world tour on Thursday, performing in a country where she has long claimed a special bond.

The Material Girl, a devotee of a form of Jewish mysticism known as Kabbalah, danced, bumped, grinded and vogued in flashy costumes to a raucous crowd at Ramat Gan stadium near Tel Aviv.

Madonna emerged on stage in a confessional, breaking through its glass window using a rifle, which she then aimed at the audience. She wore a skin-tight black outfit to sing her first song, Girl Gone Wild, accompanied by dancers dressed as monks.

While some artists have opted to boycott Israel because of its policies toward Palestinians, the 53-year-old Madonna’s ties to the Jewish state have only strengthened in the last few years.

She has made personal pilgrimages in 2004 and 2007 along with other Kabbalah devotees. She wrapped up her 2008-2009 “Sticky and Sweet” tour with two shows in the Holy Land, her first in 16 years.

During that show, she wrapped herself in an Israeli flag and called Israel the “energy center of the world.”

Madonna, who is not Jewish, has been dabbling in Kabbalah for more than a decade and has taken on a Hebrew name, Esther. On previous trips to Israel she went to the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem, the holiest site where Jews can pray, and visited the grave of a revered Jewish sage.

Her passion for Kabbalah has sparked criticism in Israel, where some rabbis chide her for venturing into religious study usually reserved for those with a strong background in Jewish law.

She landed in Israel last week, arriving with her children, her boyfriend, Brahim Zaibat and a 70-person entourage. She spent the days leading up to the performance rehearsing for the glitzy show and visiting Kabbalah centers.

For years, violence kept musicians away from Israeli stages. Now, with the ebb of the Palestinian uprising over the last decade, performers planning concerts have faced pressure from activists to cancel their appearances in Israel as political punishment.

A number of artists have heeded the call, while others like Madonna, Paul McCartney and Leonard Cohen have performed to gracious fans in recent years.

After Tel Aviv, the “MDNA” tour moves on to Abu Dhabi and includes stops in Istanbul, Buenos Aires and Cleveland, Ohio.

Her last tour grossed more than $400 million.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/06/01/2828012/madonna-in-israel-doesnt-disappoint.html#storylink=cpy

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Madonna trad rond halftien aan, bijna 45 minuten later dan gepland. Ze maakte haar entree in een gotisch kerkdecor, waarin klokkenluidende monniken, een Hebreeuws gebedslied en een zwiepend wierookvat haar komst aankondigden. Tijdens de intro van Girl Gone Wild hoorden en zagen we Madonna God om vergiffenis vragen voor haar losbandigheid, al zou die gek moeten zijn om daar in te trappen. Gekleed als Bondmeisje in een zwarte jump suit ruilde de onverbeterlijke zondares de kerk immers al gauw voor een gammele motelkamer, een pistool en zelfs een Kalashnikov. Wapenarsenaal dat Madonna en haar dansers op het publiek en op elkaar zouden richten tijdens Gang Bang.

Een stukje verder in dit top spektakel kreeg het publiek Masterpiece te horen, het met een Golden Globe bekroonde nummer uit W.E., de (geflopte) film die ze onlangs voorstelde. Het was al bij al een van de weinige rustmomenten in een show die de allures van een pletwals had. Niet foutloos, maar het overtuigende bewijs dat het nog veel te vroeg is om Madonna af te schrijven. Dit audio visuele spektakel behoort tot de top van de wereld. En laat zien dat Madonna nog steeds de queen of pop is.

Mdna world tour 5 sterren van de 5

bron belgische krant

---

I found this elsewhere posted on a forum but I have no source for it.. still thought to post it for the dutch speaking crowd ;)

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Koningin Madonna blijft aan de top (queen madonna remains on top)

Madonna liet bij de aftrap van haar MDNA-tour in Tel Aviv zien dat ze nog altijd op eenzame hoogte staat. Na-aper Lady Gaga kreeg in het heilige land zelfs een onvervalste sneer.

Kerkklokken, kalasjnikovs en koorddansen gecombineerd met een stevige housebeat: de nieuwe show van Madonna is een visueel en oorverdovend spektakel. De houdbaarheidsdatum van de 53-jarige superster is duidelijk nog niet overschreden. Sterker, ze heeft de handschoen opgenomen. Tijdens de start van haar wereldtournee gisteravond in Tel Aviv laat de Queen of Pop zien dat troonpretendenten als Rihanna en Lady Gaga nog een paar jaartjes moeten wachten voordat ze ook maar een gooi kunnen doen naar haar heerschappij. Vol energie verzorgt de onvermoeibare superster een zinnenprikkelend en bij vlagen provocerend optreden.

Lady Gaga krijgt zelfs een flinke sneer. Tijdens ‘Express Yourself’ zingt ze kort het refrein van haar ‘Born This Way’. Madonna verwijt Gaga plagiaat: de twee nummers lijken sterk op elkaar. Vanaf de openingssong Girl Gone Wild wordt echter al snel duidelijk dat Lady Gaga, die ook in uiterlijk vertoon duidelijk door Madonna is geïnspireerd, voorlopig nog niet in haar schaduw mag staan.

Vergezeld door 22 dansers, inclusief haar 12-jarige zoontje Rocco, zingt Madonna veel werk van haar laatste, enigszins geflopte album MDNA. Maar de dancemuziek van die plaat komt beter tot z’n recht tijdens een liveshow dan in de huiskamer of op de iPod. Het is echter de combinatie van dans en visuals die het hoogtepunt van de show vormen.

Madonna heeft ook plaats ingeruimd voor een politieke boodschap. Onder luid applaus roept ze op tot vrede in het Midden-Oosten. Dat Madonna het eerste concert van haar wereldtournee in Israël geeft, is geen verrassing. De popster is een fervent aanhanger van kabbala, de joodse mystieke leer.

Bovendien heeft ze de Hebreeuwse naam Esther aangenomen. Ze is daardoor zo populair in het heilige land dat ze er tot ‘koningin Esther’ is omgedoopt. Het is na het optreden in Tel Aviv aan Madonna om de rest van de wereld ervan te overtuigen dat ze ook als Queen of Pop nog steeds regeert.

http://www.spitsnieu...ijft-aan-de-top

horrible comments below, but at least the review is good

basically about lady gaga needing to wait a few more years to reach her level, no one comes close etc..

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Swedish newspapers've been really rough on the show, the two biggest ones basically ripped M to shreds... hopefully it won't affect ticket sales too much.

if they use the professional footage and just showed the opening number and the 1st segment like Gang Bang, that would be enough to pull in more tickets...

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Guest ditaluver

http://omg.yahoo.com...-181158159.html

Untitled-1.png

Madonna's adorable son Rocco Ritchie joined his mom on stage to help her kick off her MDNA world tour in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Thursday. Check out his multiple costumes — including a priest's robe! Plus, Charlize Theron shows off her chic style in London, and we're taking a look at some of the best celeb Twitpics of the week. Let us know on Facebook or Twitter which are your favorites — and why!

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review from Madonnarama :blink::wacko:

Our review of The MDNA Tour: Madonna gives an extraordinary performance… for 70 people!

Let’s get this straight: The MDNA Tour is everything you expect from a Madonna concert and more.

She’s taking risks (we love it, dont we?), the show is heavily and amazingly choreographed, she’s dancing more than she ever did in any previous tour, the visual effects and production are out of this world…

To sum it up, it’s probably the most entertaining show you’ve ever seen.

Is there some lip-synching involved here and there? Sure, but a lot of it is live and so many things happen on stage, you might not even notice it.

Madonna is really giving it her all during the whole show, doing what we enjoy the most… performing!

The dancers also do a tremendous job assisting Madonna on stage, in a playful or serious, sometimes even scary way – shout out to the incredible “Best Friend” interlude!!!

Brahim Zaibat is surprisingly good at dancing in high heels and there’s a real chemistry with Madonna during the sensual “Candy Shop vs. Erotica” number. He surely is a great addition to the show.

The costumes are beautiful, especially those designed by Jean Paul Gaultier – a collaboration that always brings the best out of both artists. Arianne Phillips and the MDNA costume department really did a great job on the overall look and feel of each section!

After having watched the show from the very first row at the end of the catwalk, two questions remain: who the hell had the idea of this inadequate stage and who’s responsible for one of the most ridiculous features in the history of concerts aka the Golden Triangle (which, by the way, is shaped like a semi circle)!

The triangle shaped stage has absolutely no use – Madonna isn’t driving a car this time – except for maybe keeping loyal fans, who’ve been waiting days in front of the venue, away from all the action. More than 70% of the performances happen on the main stage.

During her show Madonna stated, “we are all equal, we are all human beings.” Well, the Golden Triangle is everything but equality.

To summarize the situation, 50-70 people including a few fans will be chosen or selected randomly. They will be treated better than the rest of the audience: A lot more space to freely move around and being able to experience the show much closer than anyone else. Madonna also gives them special attention throughout the show, shaking hands, extending her microphone for them to sing, giving them I love you’s…

You might wonder why? Well, no reason really…

Some fans who paid $400 for a Golden Circle ticket in Tel Aviv and waited all day or even slept in front of the venue, told us that they were amazed by Madonna’s performance, but a lot remained frustrated being so far away from the action!

They also complained that multiple times during the show, they couldn’t see Madonna on the main stage with all the hands from the people in the pit jumping up and down. So they had to look at the side screens to get a clear view during the show.

Those of you who got used to getting all the action by being front row might be a little disappointed. To those who bought early tickets or even VIP packages, you’ll wish you had better connections in “higher places”, as the Golden Triangle has become the new super VIP area!

Kind of unacceptable, right?

Also, ICON only gives out 20 Golden Triangle tickets (ten winners, plus one guest per winner), less than a third of its capacity, so you might wonder who Guy Oseary has elected to be added to that list, as we learned that he was the one to decide.

While the pit of the Re-invention Tour was brilliantly designed to give people a special experience in an unusual place located inside the stage, the “Golden Triangle” now creates real barrier between the main stage and the people standing around the catwalk. The front-row experience has completely changed.

Unlike the Confessions or Sticky & Sweet Tour, only two songs are fully performed on the catwalk: “Papa Don’t Preach” (shortest song on the setlist) and “Like a Virgin” with Madonna turning her back to the general public during half of the song, while the pit people are still getting all the goods.

Let’s make a list for fellow fans:

Girl Gone Wild (Main Stage)

Revolver (Catwalk/Main Stage)

Gang Bang (Main Stage)

Papa Don’t Preach (Catwalk)

Hung up (Main Stage)

I Don’t Give A (Catwalk/Main Stage)

Express Yourself (Main Stage)

Give me all your Luvin’ (Main Stage/Catwalk)

Turn up the Radio (Main Stage)

Open Your Heart (Main Stage)

Masterpiece (Main Stage)

Vogue (Main Stage/Catwalk)

Candy Shop (Main Stage)

Human Nature (Main Stage)

Like a Virgin (Catwalk)

I’m Addicted (Catwalk/Main Stage)

I’m a Sinner (Main Stage)

Like a Prayer(Main Stage/Catwalk)

Celebration (Main Stage/Catwalk)

It’s 10 songs fully on the main stage, 2 songs fully on the catwalk and 7 in-between…

So our advice would be to avoid waiting all day or sleeping in front of venues because first or last row, you might end up watching the screens more than you think!

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^ I've managed to enjoy Madonna shows from the dusty rafters of sports arenas when I was 17 years old. If you can't enjoy a show unless youre face first in in Madonna's vagina, then there's no hope for you.

Exactly! :rotfl:

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Guest bluejean

I think the people who wrote that have probably been spoilt in the past by being in the pit. Everything is always better when you're at the very front. But I feel they are exaggerating.

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http://www.hitfix.co...us-the-set-list

What critics are saying about Madonna's opening night, plus the set list

Were they thumbs up or thumbs down?

By Melinda Newman Friday, Jun 1, 2012 2:45 PM

Madonna-breaks-out-the-pompoms-at-the-Tel-Aviv-kickoff-of-her-MDNA-world-tour_gallery_primary_article_story_main.jpg

Madonna onstage in Israel

Credit: AP Photo

Madonna’s “MDNA” tour opened last night at Tel Aviv’s Ramat Gan stadium and from all reports, the two-hour performance was quite the extravaganza.

She also used the setting to deliver a call for peace, telling the audience mid-set: “I chose to start my world tour in Israel for a very specific and important reason. As you know, the Middle East and all the conflicts that occur here and that have been occurring for thousands of years…They have to stop…You can’t be a fan of mine and not want peace in the world, OK?”

The Hollywood Reporter’s Shirley Halperin called the concert “pure spectacle...complete with eight wardrobe changes (including a Gaultier-designed update of her iconic cone bra), 22 dancers (including one Rocco Ritchie), a gospel choir and two slackline walkers.”

Halperin gave Madonna high marks for her vocals, “which, like her physique, were also in tip-top shape,” but criticized Madge for resorting to the trick of featuring only snippets of some of her biggest hits, while right songs from “MDNA” were performed in full. She also questioned the often violent images, including Madonna toting an AK47, in contrast with her calls for peace.

Similarly, the Jerusalem Post noted the show’s violence: “Amidst her opening acts was a particularly violent number, Gang Bang, in which she shot a man as she sat under a large cross and sang, “Bang, bang, shot you dead.” Blood appeared to splatter on a separate screen on stage.”

Perez Hilton’s hyperbolic, breathless review called Give Ma All You Luvin a high point. “ There was a flying marching band! Literally! Her dancers were suspended high above and bangin' the drums! It was sick! The energy during this two-song segment was OUT OF THIS WORLD! It was definitely the climax of the show and a moment that could not be topped.”

Though he had a few problems with some of the song selection and pacing, overall, he concluded “nobody puts on a show quite like Madonna! No one even comes close!”

ABC News reported that the show was not sold out (although other sources said the 32,000-seat stadium was full, and that in addition to Rocco, Madonna’s oldest daughter Lourdes was also one of the dancers.

As we previously reported, the show also includes a mash-up of Madonna’s “Express Yourself” and Lady Gaga sound-a-like “Born This Way.”

Check out our photo gallery of opening night here.

Below is the setlist from opening night, according to Madonnalicious:

First Act:

“Girl Gone Wild”

“Revolver”

“Gang Bang”

“Papa Don’t Preach”

“Hung Up”

“I Don’t Give A”

“Best Friend/Heartbeat”

(Interlude)

Second Act:

“Express Yourself” (Ft. “Born This Way”)

“Give Me All Your Luvin’”

“Turn Up the Radio”

“Open Your Heart”

“Masterpiece”

“Justify My Love”

(Interlude)

Third Act:

“Vogue”

“Candy Shop”“Erotica / Human Nature”

“Like a Virgin”

“Nobody Knows Me”

(Interlude)

Fourth Act:

“I’m Addicted”

“I’m a Sinner”

“Like a Prayer”

“Celebration”

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^ I've managed to enjoy Madonna shows from the dusty rafters of sports arenas when I was 17 years old. If you can't enjoy a show unless youre face first in in Madonna's vagina, then there's no hope for you.

It's absolutely possible to enjoy a show from anywhere in the venue. I think, though, that once you've been in the front row (or thereabouts), you've almost been spoilt. I've been to five Madonna concerts - the first one was the 12th row, the second two were second row (but in incredible positions) and the final two were front row. Nothing beats being in the first couple of rows. I've paid for Early Entry tickets because I know how mind blowingly amazing it is to be up close. For most artists, I really don't care where I am (I'm happy to get tickets at the last minute and leave the mad crush at the front to the die hards), but for Madonna, I want to be as close as I possible can to the stage. Once she's looked you square in the eyes and sung to you, you can never go back ;)

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"The Greatest Show on Earth"-The UAE Press

tgsoe12.JPG

(The "Madonna Bias" is the tag from the blog :laugh: )

Saw these quotes on Twitter:

"Madonna has been hammered for charging large sums but it is certainly worth the money. The Queen of pop is back 5/5 stars"- The Independent

"Madonna kicks of World Tour in Tel Aviv and shows younger artists who is still top dog! Another ground breaking tour!!"- the Daily Mail

"Chart veteran reigns Supreme. Though controversial in places, Madonna proved that she is still the best in the world."- The Daily Telegraph

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I'm sorry, but at a Madonna concert I need to be close to the stage, somewhere in the first rows.

In 2009 I had like 3 TALL guys standing in front of me (I'm about 1,73 m, so not very tall) so my view was blocked the whole show. I had to watch the side-screens the whole time :rant:

I need to be able to see the stage when I go to an M concert, otherwise what's the point? :dazed: I could sit comfortably at my laptop and watch videos on YT and enjoy the concert more instead of paying money and watching some screens.

A spot near the stage or nothing, as far as i'm concerned. I need to see Madonna krumping that pu$$y right in my phucking phace, thankyouverymuch.

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Honestly I want to be close to the stage at any concert.. I want to feel the energy of the artist and the fans. However I think a show like MDNA with those huge screens must be amazing to witness from a distant.. (let's just hope that the vocals come through enough in the far back)

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Great Independent review

The night Tel Aviv got into the groove

Sunday June 03 2012

Religion, ritual, beauty, violence, euphoria and of course sex -- Israel won't forget Madonna in a hurry, writes Barry Egan

'I'm here to see the mother of Jesus sing." The young passport control woman at Ben Gurion International Airport at 3am on Thursday in Tel Aviv -- having asked the nature of my business in Israel -- laughed at my joke and said she didn't need any further explanation.

Seventeen hours later, on stage in front of 40,000 people at Ramat Gan Stadium in downtown Tel Aviv, Madonna feels the need to explain why she is here. "I chose to start my world tour in Israel for a very specific and important reason," the super-toned pop princess of peace begins.

"You can't be a fan of mine and not want peace in the world. We all bleed the same colour," she said as the crowd cheered. "If we can all rise above our egos and our titles and the names of our countries and our religions, and treat everyone around us with dignity and respect, then we are on the road to peace. If there is peace here in the Middle East, there can be peace in the whole world."

The Israeli blogger sitting beside me isn't convinced. He says: "They all give that speech when they come to Israel."

Politics aside -- and it is a very big aside, as politics is so large in the life of Israel -- the show was a convincing display of Madonna getting into the groove and the world seeming to shift on its axis as she did so. More than anything, it proved Madge's unerring ability to put on a concert that holds the attention of everyone present and proves she is still relevant as a show-stopper, agent provocateur and enduring cultural icon. The icon herself was the centre of a performance that was as high-octane as it was provocative: well, this is the shameless tantric-hussy whom Norman Mailer called America's First Lady of Sex.

A hot summer's night in Israel got hotter when Madge -- her backside so tight I could slide a credit card through it -- and the cheerleaders arrived during Give Me All Your Loving and danced breathlessly for 10 minutes. There was definite echoes of an X-rated Glee here.

Elsewhere, Madonna was hardcore -- above her head, images relating to death and horrors past and present flashed up on the giant screen. This was a huge production more on a par with a movie set of David O Selznick than a mere concert stage -- dozens of dancers and backdrops that were jaw-dropping in their size were standard-issue as Madonna showed her star quality with a virtuoso performance that defied the critics who say she's over the hill at 53. No one says that George Michael, Madonna's contemporary, should throw in the men-only sauna towel, to quote Julie Burchill, adding the misogyny that in popular culture women performers are expected to become invisible as soon as they can hold a pencil under their breasts.

Not that Madonna appears to give a damn what people think of her. On I Don't Give A Fuck, as the crowd is in the throes of ecstasy, she sings in the general direction of ex-husband Guy Ritchie, possibly in London or New York: "I tried to be a good girl/ I tried to be your wife/ Diminished myself/ And I swallowed my light/ I tried to become all/ That you expect of me/ And if it was a failure/ I don't give a fuck . . ."

Israel very definitely gave a feck about Madonna. She was the talk of Tel Aviv.

Madge arrived in Israel on May 25, accompanied by her four children and a 70-strong entourage. The Israeli and world media were camped permanently outside her beachfront hotel in Tel Aviv hoping to get a glimpse of the star. I went on Thursday afternoon but no sign. She apparently spent last weekend alternating between visiting holy sites and attending classes on Shavuot at the Kabbalah Centre in Tel Aviv.

The show itself started with a huge religious spectacle. Monks in red hoods and robes opened the night by swinging a giant bell that dropped from the top of the giant stage. For whom the bell tolls is soon evident when the postmodern goddess emerges with six homoerotic dancers in monk outfits that soon fall off to reveal their bulging, polished torsos. Madonna sings Girl Gone Bad and the crowd go mad.

She says: "God, I'm sorry, I have offended thee. Forgive me." She is then tied up and dragged off as if to be sacrificed.

The monks stand around ominously. It is like a the ritualistic orgy scene in Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut. A huge 50-foot cross comes looming out of the fog as Madonna sings Papa Don't Preach.

It is a feast for the eyes as well as the ears. Then, before we know it, Madonna, singing her controversial song Gang Bang, is toting a gun and there is blood everywhere; she is lying on a couch in a seedy motel with the cross over her head, shooting a man who attacks her. Blood. And more blood. Madonna sings "Die, bitch! Die, bitch!" And then: "If you act like a bitch then you are going to die like a bitch." Nurse, the screens!

This is the 50-something star channelling Quentin Tarantino's blood-lust romp Natural Born Killers. Afterwards, there is an image of a graveyard with a gravestone with the words: 'Ascending Souls -- be not afraid.' It is beautiful to watch.

More beautiful and mesmerising than anything is Madonna performing her songs. She does an incredible stripped-down acapella version of Like A Virgin -- a piano and violin join in at the end. Her version of Vogue has the whole of the stadium up on its feet dancing along, as does Express Yourself. Lest we forget, Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone has more hits and classic songs than Lady Gaga, Rihanna and Beyonce combined. Throughout the two- hour brilliantly choreographed show -- with Madonna changing costumes more times than seemed physically possible; backstage must have looked like a Formula One pit-stop every time Madge came roaring in for a change -- there was no doubt that Madonna hasn't lost her magic. She still remains the biggest star of the 21st century, not least on I'm A Sinner and Human Nature. She ends the show -- that comes to Dublin's Aviva Stadium on July 24 with the same religious fervour that she started it. She goes from an evangelical Like A Prayer (with religious imagery on the screen behind her) to the final song of the night, Celebration. The stage is packed with dancers in robes singing Madonna's words back to her. It is weirdly uplifting, like one of those Jean Paul Gaultier bras she used to wear back in the day.

Camille Paglia, the US anti-feminist feminist, once said, "Madonna has made a major contribution to the history of women. She has rejoined and healed the split halves of woman: Mary, the Blessed Virgin and holy mother, and Mary Magdalene, the harlot."

Last Thursday night in Israel, Madonna didn't bring together the split halves of the Middle East, but she did give Tel Aviv a night it won't forget in a hurry.

The last words Madonna said as she left the stage summed up her mood -- and hopefully the Middle East's in the not too distant future -- "Shalom. Shalom."

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Great Independent review

The night Tel Aviv got into the groove

This was a huge production more on a par with a movie set of David O Selznick than a mere concert stage --

Camille Paglia, the US anti-feminist feminist, once said, "Madonna has made a major contribution to the history of women. She has rejoined and healed the split halves of woman: Mary, the Blessed Virgin and holy mother, and Mary Magdalene, the harlot."

Last Thursday night in Israel, Madonna didn't bring together the split halves of the Middle East, but she did give Tel Aviv a night it won't forget in a hurry.

:clap::bow:

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Awesome piece by Rolling Stone! :superman:

http://www.rollingst...rriors-20120605

That was nice! Minus the DWT comment lol. That show was another perfection.

Madonna kicked off her ambitious MDNA world tour in Tel Aviv last week, unveiling a whole new era of provocation that challenges the present and winks at its own past(s). The original Queen of Pop kept a lid on the visual elements of the show before the kickoff, creating a mystery with major payoff for her legions of international fans. The looks are as bold as any she's worn, and clearly pay homage to a pantheon of powerful female archetypes – including, of course, a nod to her own past glories.

The MDNA show kicks off dramatically: Madonna is cast as a holy crusader with rifles and a hijab, converging both the militarism of the Reinvention Tour era (seen below) and the singer's ongoing interest in religious conflict. She's a "sinner," she says, and she likes it that way. She soon breaks into the murderous fantasia "Gang Bang," from the new record, which sees her assailing a series of wrongdoing males. Well, she did promise us

couture, blood, and bruises!Of course, though, she prevails, ending the first set with a shattered crucifix and vanishing into a blinding white light.

The looks, the sounds and the mood are very intense. In fact, while her latest album turns heartache and mortal confusion into supreme ear candy, it plays out much more darkly onstage than you might expect –thanks, in part, to her arsenal of daring costumes. Among the most striking looks is a modern interpretation of what the immortal warrior saint Joan of Arc might wear on a future crusade; fittingly, Madonna wears it during "Like A Prayer," imbuing the song with a new urgency.

Arianne Phillips, who created the ominous ensemble from metal mesh and Swarovski crystals, continues her influence over the design direction of the tour, as she has for the past four Madonna world tours. Since 2008's

Sticky & Sweet

tour, the spectacle has only grown more massive. "This show is epic and bigger than anything she’s done before. There are many more costume changes. We’re taking 700 shoes on the road. Madonna changes outfits seven or eight times and the dancers change 10 to 15 times, depending on the dancer," Phillips told

WWD.

She even costumed the singer's children, who have supporting stage roles throughout the show.

It's not all sinister, however: another notable new MDNA wardrobe staple is Phillip's sporty majorette look, which suits MDNA's pop squad vibe, and plays off the athletic themes Madonna explored with both her Confessions on a Dancefloor and Sticky & Sweet outings; while the former tour saw Madge embody glam roller disco queens and elegant equestrians (seen above), the latter explored boxing and youthful streetwear, a theme cheeky designer Jeremy Scott continues on the MDNA tour in his dancer costumes. But even though these are playful looks, they wardrobe a sardonic moment in the show where Madonna expertly blends her own "Express Yourself" with Lady Gaga's "Born This Way," adding the inevitable "she's not me!" jeer at the end. Everyone will get it.

Where her followers amiably tease and play, Madonna confronts and subverts, and will always revel best in risque iconography. That includes what she's admired and emulated – an Emma Peel-leaning "Super Vixen" catsuit worthy of a spate of iconic villainesses is worn through "Human Nature" – and what she's memorably created, as in Jean Paul Gaultier's ingenious revisitation of 1990's "Vogue" bullet-bra in a menswear ensemble. This time, the iconic look is even leaner and meaner: it comes equipped with a stern looking skeleton corset. Noting its masculine/feminity duality, Gaultier explains to WWD, "We played with the ideas of a suit and a corset. But the corset is now like a cage." He added, "I love Madonna. She is the only woman I have asked to marry me. She refused, of course. But when she asked me to do a costume for her for this tour, I couldn’t refuse."

One thing Madonna seems to have moved on from is parading as a rock star. On past recent tours – most specifically 2001's Drowned World tour, where she dressed as a guitar-wielding punk cowgirl (seen above) – she made a point to pluck out acoustic interpretations of her hits while wearing plaid, leather and spikes, gestures many regarded as entirely unnecessary. We don't come to Madonna for rock & roll, nor any of its wardrobe trappings. We come to her for an unparalleled super pop spectacle, and that's what MDNA, as an album and tour, set out to prove: no one does provocative pop better, and no one, even now, looks c0oler doing it

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Besides why does a music publication focuses on the costumes of the artist when reviewing their new show. Seems odd. One would expect more of a review of the music coming alive on stage and the quality of the live arrangements from Rolling Stones magazine

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Saw these quotes on Twitter:

"Madonna has been hammered for charging large sums but it is certainly worth the money. The Queen of pop is back 5/5 stars"- The Independent

"Madonna kicks of World Tour in Tel Aviv and shows younger artists who is still top dog! Another ground breaking tour!!"- the Daily Mail

"Chart veteran reigns Supreme. Though controversial in places, Madonna proved that she is still the best in the world."- The Daily Telegraph

where are these reviews?

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I'm sorry, but at a Madonna concert I need to be close to the stage, somewhere in the first rows.

In 2009 I had like 3 TALL guys standing in front of me (I'm about 1,73 m, so not very tall) so my view was blocked the whole show. I had to watch the side-screens the whole time :rant:

I need to be able to see the stage when I go to an M concert, otherwise what's the point? :dazed: I could sit comfortably at my laptop and watch videos on YT and enjoy the concert more instead of paying money and watching some screens.

A spot near the stage or nothing, as far as i'm concerned. I need to see Madonna krumping that pu$$y right in my phucking phace, thankyouverymuch.

I´m not that radcial, but I certainly want to see her, I mean, I want to see her face without looking at the screens

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