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positive review

http://www.independentphilly.com/madonna-at-wells-fargo-center/

Often imitated but never duplicated, pop music icon Madonna is in a league of her own. Her 13 albums have spawned 82 singles, 69 music videos, 10 World tours, and earned her appearances in a variety of movies. While we have heard rumblings in recent years that Madonna is too old, is trying too hard, and needs to hang it up, we couldn’t disagree more. If the legion of fans that packed the Wells Fargo Center on Thursday, September 24th for her ‘Rebel Heart Tour’ was any indication, the Queen of Pop won’t be departing from the spotlight anytime soon.

The best selling female artist of all time is still going strong at age 57 and we were there first hand to witness the spectacle that is Madonna. The Wells Fargo Center was abuzz from the moment we arrived just before 9pm. The anticipation was palpable with fans young and old counting down the minutes until the curtain (adorned with the Rebel Heart album cover) dropped. At 945pm, the wait was over and the stage filled with dancers in exotic, soldier-like costumes, brandishing large metal poles with crosses affixed to the ends.

Opening with ‘Iconic’, the Material Girl, in an aptly iconic moment, descended from the rafters in a steel cage. Once the cage reached stage level, it opened, and released Madonna into the clutches of the ‘armed’ dancers. The crowd went bananas, chanting her name, and snapping photos on the cell phones. She transitioned into her second song ‘Bitch I’m Madonna’ flanked by a gaggle of asian dancers

For her third number, ‘Burning Up’, she dawned an electric guitar and made her way out onto the lengthy runway that ran from the stage out into the floor seats. With flames flashing across the huge digital screens behind her, she rocked the Wells Fargo Center with one of her early hits. The building was electric and would stay that way throughout her 20+ song performance.

The next few hours were filled with hits both old and new, a whirlwind of costume, stage, and dancer changes, and a sea of fans that fully seemed to appreciate that they were in the presence of one of the most well known, talented, envelope pushing female artists of our lifetime. Sure, we’ve been annoyed with some of her antics over the past few years (like when she suddenly developed a British accent or when appeared on stage with Avicii at Ultra Music Festival in 2013 and asked the all ages crowd “have you seen Molly?”, which she later claimed was not a drug reference) but all of that nonsense vacated our thoughts from the moment her captivating performance began.

30 years after her first tour in 1985, she continues to bring the thunder to the stage. She even dedicated a song to Pope Francis (‘La Isla Bonita’) who is scheduled to appear in Philly this weekend. “”Rules are for fools. That’s why I like the new pope. He seems very open-minded.” she told the Philly faithful. We would have loved to see the Pope join her on stage for ‘Like a Prayer’, ‘Like a Virgin’, or ‘Papa Don’t Preach’, but alas it was not meant to be. For lifelong fans of Madonna, not even the Pope himself could have made this a more religious experience. If you have the chance to catch Madonna when she rolls into your city, we highly recommend snagging a ticket and getting into the groove.

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Great review. Her reviews have been close to unanimously positive. It's obvious that the few negative ones are more about what they don't like about her and less about what they think of her music in the tour.

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That other article is from The Morning Call, which actually is out of Allentown (about 45 minutes from where I live). I tweeted him about his "Ghosttown" boo-boo.

Here's a non-review article:

http://news.yahoo.com/philadelphia-madonna-gives-popey-wopey-her-blessing-053625461.html

In Philadelphia, Madonna gives 'Popey-wopey' her blessing
Associated Press By JEFF McMILLAN
Sept. 25, 2015

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A woman with plenty of experience tangling with the Vatican has given Pope Francis her endorsement during his first U.S. visit.

At her concert Thursday night in Philadelphia, where Francis is scheduled this weekend to make the last stop of his tour, a tongue-in-cheek Madonna dedicated a section of her show to him.

She later announced: "Rules are for fools. That's why I like the new pope. He seems very open-minded."

It was just one of many comments about Francis at a concert that featured lots of religious imagery, including female performers wearing nuns' habits — and little else — pole dancing on crosses.

"I've been excommunicated from the Catholic Church three times. It shows the Vatican really cares," she joked.

"Since Popey-wopey is on his way over here, I want to dedicate this song to him," she said before launching into a heartfelt version of "La Vie en Rose."

Also: "The pope is stalking me," she said, noting she recently performed in New York, where Francis is until Saturday morning. "Either he's a copycat or he's secretly in love with me."

If Madonna needed further evidence the pope is following in her footsteps, it was announced Friday that Francis is releasing a pop-rock album called "Wake Up!" Available for pre-order on iTunes, it will feature excerpts from papal speeches in multiple languages.

Francis premiered the first single — "Wake Up! Go! Go! Forward!" — Friday on Rolling Stone's website.

Madonna, raised Roman Catholic in Michigan, has a long history of running afoul of the Vatican. Her 1989 video for "Like A Prayer" contained imagery that outraged religious leaders, including stigmata and burning crosses. Her seminal 1990 "Blond Ambition" tour included simulated masturbation and brought condemnation from the Vatican. And in her 2006 "Confessions" tour, she staged a mock crucifixion only a few miles from the Vatican.

That doesn't necessarily mean the Vatican has entirely banished the singer. In December, Italy's singing nun, Sister Cristina Scuccia, met Francis and presented him with a copy of her first CD, which features a remake of Madonna's "Like a Virgin."

Scuccia had won the Italian edition of "The Voice" earlier that year. The Italian Bishops' Conference criticized the song's appearance on the CD, saying it was a commercial ploy.

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Did she really incorporate Give It 2 Me?

Yes.

"Music" segues into the 'Get Stupid' part, which then segues into "Candy Shop".

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That other article is from The Morning Call, which actually is out of Allentown (about 45 minutes from where I live). I tweeted him about his "Ghosttown" boo-boo.

Here's a non-review article:

http://news.yahoo.com/philadelphia-madonna-gives-popey-wopey-her-blessing-053625461.html

In Philadelphia, Madonna gives 'Popey-wopey' her blessing

Associated Press By JEFF McMILLAN

Sept. 25, 2015

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A woman with plenty of experience tangling with the Vatican has given Pope Francis her endorsement during his first U.S. visit.

At her concert Thursday night in Philadelphia, where Francis is scheduled this weekend to make the last stop of his tour, a tongue-in-cheek Madonna dedicated a section of her show to him.

She later announced: "Rules are for fools. That's why I like the new pope. He seems very open-minded."

It was just one of many comments about Francis at a concert that featured lots of religious imagery, including female performers wearing nuns' habits — and little else — pole dancing on crosses.

"I've been excommunicated from the Catholic Church three times. It shows the Vatican really cares," she joked.

"Since Popey-wopey is on his way over here, I want to dedicate this song to him," she said before launching into a heartfelt version of "La Vie en Rose."

Also: "The pope is stalking me," she said, noting she recently performed in New York, where Francis is until Saturday morning. "Either he's a copycat or he's secretly in love with me."

If Madonna needed further evidence the pope is following in her footsteps, it was announced Friday that Francis is releasing a pop-rock album called "Wake Up!" Available for pre-order on iTunes, it will feature excerpts from papal speeches in multiple languages.

Francis premiered the first single — "Wake Up! Go! Go! Forward!" — Friday on Rolling Stone's website.

Madonna, raised Roman Catholic in Michigan, has a long history of running afoul of the Vatican. Her 1989 video for "Like A Prayer" contained imagery that outraged religious leaders, including stigmata and burning crosses. Her seminal 1990 "Blond Ambition" tour included simulated masturbation and brought condemnation from the Vatican. And in her 2006 "Confessions" tour, she staged a mock crucifixion only a few miles from the Vatican.

That doesn't necessarily mean the Vatican has entirely banished the singer. In December, Italy's singing nun, Sister Cristina Scuccia, met Francis and presented him with a copy of her first CD, which features a remake of Madonna's "Like a Virgin."

Scuccia had won the Italian edition of "The Voice" earlier that year. The Italian Bishops' Conference criticized the song's appearance on the CD, saying it was a commercial ploy.

This non-review isn't so bad, it serves as PR really :) I'm so glad I got to experience Confessions in Rome, what a moment Live To Tell was!

Yes.

"Music" segues into the 'Get Stupid' part, which then segues into "Candy Shop".

Do you mean GI2M is always part of this section? If so I must have missed it from reviews/periscope.

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Here's a mess "review" of the show for Philadelphia. It's amazing what can be published nowadays:

Two-thirds of the way through her concert Thursday at Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center, Madonna introduced the title track to her new album “Rebel Heart” by thanking her audience.

“You have allowed me to be provocative, experimental … and hopefully lovable,” she said. “And to be the rebel heart that I am.”

And certainly Madonna hasn’t made it this far into her career – more than 30 years and 65 million albums sold – by being static.

Trouble is, Madonna’s “experimentation” has often resulted in the weakest music of her career, and her provocation has often been without a point, making it, well, pointless. That’s even more true now – being a provocateur at 57 can sometimes seem like desperation.

So while much of Madonna’s 21-song show (with snippets of seven others and parts of four more played over the speakers during interludes when she left the stage) was unquestionably entertaining on some level, it wasn’t always the best music.

Instead, the show’s best points were when Madonna simply sang – even better when she sang simply.

The show also was weighted heavily to Madonna’s new disc, with 10 of the songs from that disc, including five of the first six.

That gave the show a decidedly slow start, despite it being by far the most theatrical part of the night. It opened with the new “Iconic,” with 14 ancient-Egyptian-looking dancers on stage as Madonna was lowered in a cage.

Even “Bitch, I’m Madonna,” with duet partner Nicki Minaj rapping on the big screen, failed to grab the listener. And the one old song she played early, “Burning Up,” didn’t have the heat the title implies.

The next half-hour of the show had Madonna targeting Catholicism, as six dancers wearing nuns wimples used crosses as stripper poles during “Holy Water” and Madonna climbed a cross as the song segued into a snippet of “Vogue,” then writhed atop the “Last Supper” table chanting the “Holy Cross” lyric “Yeezus loves my p---y best!” on the following “Devil Pray,” she writhed at the feet of a seated “priest.”

It all came off as bad theater, and if there was a desperation moment in the night, that seemed to be it. Organized Christianity is a very cliched target, and Madonna’s has (ab)used its imagery since 1989’s “Like a Prayer” – which surprisingly, given the religious overtones, she didn’t sing.

But Madonna is nothing if not opportunistic, and she spent a good deal of the night talking about Pope Francis’ visit to Philadelphia this weekend.

She said it seemed the Pope was stalking her – visiting New York a day after she was there and following her to Philadelphia. “He’s a copycat, right? Or he’s secretly in love with me.”

After climbing atop a table to dance energetically on a better number, “Music,” she said, “I made it. Can the pope do that?” She then dedicated the second half of the song, with a snippet of “Give It 2 Me,” to him.

Before a French-language version of “La Vie En Rose,” she said she had been excommunicated from the Catholic church three times. “I’d like a big round of applause for that; I’m very proud of that,” she said. “It shows that the Vatican cares.

“ And since the Pope – Popey-wopey -- is on his way over here, bless him, I want to dedicate this song to him. … Honestly, I don’t think there’s that much difference between me and the Pope. We both wear dresses. I’ll stop right there.”

And after a slow and theatrical version of another better song, “Material Girl,” she did a wedding march and tossed her bouquet to a gay male couple, she said, “Rules are for fools. That’s why I like the new Pope – he seems very open-minded. “

But the concert was immeasurably better when Madonna simply sang. “Body Shop” from her new disc, sung amid a full stage garage, including the front of a car -- was slow, yet far more intersting and fun. The following “True Blue,” largely acoustic, also was good. And she also seemed to really sing on the new “Heartbreak City,” which included a snippet of “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore.”

Her big hits were even better, even though she slowed “Like a Virgin” to a Caribbean lilt, taking some of the fun out of it, and added snippets of “Justify My Love” and “Heartbeat.” She also danced her most energetically – something in short supply on the night – and even twerked.

“Dress You Up” was rearranged as a Flamenco/Salsa number – also with snippets, of “Into The Groove” and “Lucky Star,” and the fact that her voice went off key just proved she was singing live. (Whether that was the case all night was unclear: on her hit “Music,” her voice continued as she danced with the mic at her side.)

And even when she did do a hit as a big production -- “La Isla Bonita,” with more than a dozen dancers in traditional Mexican garb – it made sense.

But the show skipped an awful lot of Madonna’s hits. She didn’t do “Borderline,” “Crazy for You,” “Live to Tell” “Open Your Heart” or “Cherish.” And despite her interest in religion, she also left out “Papa Don’t Preach.”

She also took an inordinate amount of time off stage – a total of 15 minutes, or one-seventh of the show -- to change costumes, filling the time with her dancers suggestively romping in bed to “S.E.X.” or swinging atop 10-feet-tall poles to “Illuminati.”

She saved the best of the new for late in the show, doing “Ghosttown” as a “request” (a bit of an untruth, it’s been on the set list since the tour started) with just her and guitar. And on the title track of “Rebel Heart,” she really sang.

She closed the main set with the new “Unapologetic Bitch,” bringing an audience member, “Stefan,” on stage to dance and get banana for his efforts before telling the crowd, “Goodbye, my bitches.”

Then she returned for a six-minute encore of her first charting single, “Holiday.” On it, she and the dancers simply filled the stage with an energetic performance.

No experimentation or provocation was needed to make it good.

This reporter seems to be bipolar lol

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This non-review isn't so bad, it serves as PR really :) I'm so glad I got to experience Confessions in Rome, what a moment Live To Tell was!

Do you mean GI2M is always part of this section? If so I must have missed it from reviews/periscope.

The Music/CS Medley incorporates GI2M in a "blink and you'll miss it" way. It's just the get stupid part repeated about 3 times, it's no big deal tbh
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:rolleyes:

Context, people, context...

"même si lui-même avoue ne pas être un fan de Madonna qui fait de la musique, mais bien « un musicien qui apprécie certains albums de la madone »."

He's not a music-making Madonna fan, but a musician who appreciates some Madonna albums.

He has been making Madonna remixes for a decade, he uses unofficial acapellas he pays for. He remixed almost all her songs. He is a fan but just does not want to admit it publicly and that is what pisses me off.

And about that review, well provincial people don't get her....she knows it.

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That would be great if it's true! It's 4p.m. on the East Coast now. So I would think around now would be when she would start rehearsing.

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He has been making Madonna remixes for a decade, he uses unofficial acapellas he pays for. He remixed almost all her songs. He is a fan but just does not want to admit it publicly and that is what pisses me off.

I've been collecting his remixes for years. He CLEARLY is a hardcore Madonna fan. Who is he fooling? :lmao:

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Those Philly reviews pissed me off. Did they not attend the same show as me? They are clearly just out to get her. M's comments about the pope were tame, and the audience laughed at each one.

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