Jump to content

Rebel Heart Tour press reports, reviews, videos & pictures

Apples388

By Apples388
in ARCHIVE - Madonna

 Share

Recommended Posts

XXL Mentor

XXL

Posted
Posted

One of the greatest abuses in pop music is the misuse of the word “artist” as it applies to entertainers. When pop singer Britney Spears emerged from the darkest parts of her personal meltdown in 2007, she did so with a videos for her singles “Gimmie More” and “Piece of Me.” Despite being two of the most expensive productions in her career, both videos largely centered on a seemingly incoherent Spears stumbling around the small stage of a closed set. She herself was out of control, but still being prodded around by handlers despite the objections of her family. The episode revealed that – no matter how wonderfully entertaining she is – Spears is not an artist who reflects and challenges the culture around her, but a product whose entire career has been created, written, produced, shaped, and managed by RCA Records.

That same year, Madonna entered into a $120 million 10-year contract in 2007 with Live Nation to promote her concert tours, studio albums, and merchandise. At the time, it was a high-risk investment for Live Nation but a guaranteed win for Madonna, who retained creative control (and most of the profit) of her art and her products. Madonna’s Rebel Heart Tour – the last tour under her current contract with Live Nation – played the Verizon Center on Saturday evening. The two-hour show perfectly showcased how the best selling female singer of all time remains not just a great and iconic entertainer, but a relevant artist

:rotfl::rotfl::chuckle::thumbsup:

So true, it should be put and pinned as a plaque in Flop Princesses as it applies to pretty much everyone in there

"A product of" - insert any record company name

Link to comment
Share on other sites
XXL Mentor

XXL

Posted
Posted
Another rave review:
Madonna brings A-game again

Madonna at the Verizon Center Saturday night. (Washington Blade photo by Joey DiGuglielmo)

The first questions posed when the subject of a new Madonna tour comes up are typically what was the controversy, how dark was it and did she skimp on the hits?

I’m an odd duck among Madonna fans and always have been. The thing I’m most interested in is how were the arrangements? After years of toying with her live renditions, Madonna and her creative team are masters at tweaking her hits — usually by playing with percussion beds and chord progressions while keeping melodies and tempos (mostly) intact. Although rare, these experiments occasionally backfire (“Like a Wirgin” anyone?).

The incarnations this time out for the “Rebel Heart Tour,” which touched down in Washington Saturday night in a glitch-free performance (remarkable as it was only the third show of the tour), were as effectively fresh as any I’ve ever heard her use. Even more satisfying, though, was the bumper crop of second-tier hits she pulled out. It was actually nice, for a change, to get a reprieve from oft-performed stalwarts such as “Like a Prayer” and “Express Yourself” (or even the oddly perennial “Human Nature”) in favor of several she hasn’t sung live in decades. Having toured consistently her last five albums (in the new music paradigm, it’s where all the money is especially for veteran acts), she’s more inclined to plunge deeper for material. For the faithful — and this was no less a gay high holy day than it’s ever been — that was a real treat.

“Burning Up” was thrashy and spare; “True Blue” found Madonna plucking out the accompaniment on a ukelele (trust me, it worked); “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore” was woven in beautifully with “HeartBreakCity, a cut from the new album; “Deeper and Deeper” was thankfully rescued from the torchy makeover it had on the “Re-Invention Tour” to its original tempo; while a sparse “Like a Virgin,” performed solo over a blisteringly syncopated beat, felt like it rocked the Verizon Center rafters.

Although not averse to the occasional mash-up, Madonna has for years eschewed the hits medley approach. So it was a delightful surprise when what started out sounding like a Latin-infused (and slightly slower) rendition of “Dress You Up” turned out to be an ‘80s medley that seamlessly wove in “Into the Groove,” “Everybody” and “Lucky Star” before returning to “Dress.” Equally fun was the next song, an acoustic sing-along of “Who’s That Girl,” another early-career hit that’s been out of rotation too long. “La Isla Bonita,” “Material Girl” and encore “Holiday” were offered in more faithful renditions.

For reviving such relatively deep cuts, it never felt like Madonna was scraping. You might think, having toured so much in the last 14 years and being the kind of singer known for mixing things up from tour to tour (although almost never from night to night), her discography would start feeling a bit exhausted by now. That was not the case and it left her plenty of room for stuff from the new album with 12 “Rebel Heart” tracks represented in some capacity (a few were interludes). While not career-defining by any means, the new cuts meshed well with the classic material and the show was expertly paced. Oddly MIA were “Ghost Town” and “Joan of Arc.”

“Holy Water,” with gyrating nuns, was naughty fun, much like “Body Shop.” The biggest showstopper came about half-way through with an expertly choreographed rendition of “Living for Love.” The dancers, sets, video screens, costumes, were all as top-level as we’ve come to expect from a Madonna tour. This is a woman who never coasts. Overall, this outing had a lighter, less gritty feel than the “MDNA Tour.” Both work — this was just more fun.

Only one moment felt slightly off — the oddly flat false exit at the end of “Unapologetic Bitch.” It was redeemed by “Holiday,” (itself a surprise as Madonna almost never gives an encore) but still felt abrupt and anti-climactic.

For me, the biggest surprise was how strong Madonna’s vocals were. For all her bluster, stamina and innovation, her vocals, pleasant enough, have never been the calling card. During several of the evening’s quieter moments, especially a late-in-the-show and out-of-nowhere cover of “La Vie en Rose,” you almost could imagine a whole evening of that working without all the sets and bombast. Her range, tone quality and interpretive abilities have improved with age. It was a nice surprise on a pitch-perfect evening.

https://www.washingtonblade.com/2015/09/14/madonna-brings-a-game-again-on-rebel-heart-tour/

:thumbsup:

Thx for posting

Link to comment
Share on other sites
XXL Mentor

XXL

Posted
Posted

Yes! The 2 nights have already killed me..this woman! :drama:

3oEdv7O3wfNdgBoVby.gif

God I just love that Prada number and her hair foir this act :drama:

And man she's got the moves together with that fabulous trademark huge grin

Perfect Queen

Still delivering in spades after 33 years, I can't deal

We are blessed, so proud to be a fan

Link to comment
Share on other sites
XXL Mentor

XXL

Posted
Posted

My own little press moment, haha. Because of my drawings being used in the show I got invited to the #1 dutch late night talk show RTL Late Night to talk about the experience. It's all in dutch, but I thought I'd share it anyway haha!

Bravo !!! :clap: :clap: :clap:

Congratulations, soak it all up and hopefully it will turn into a collabo with M's team

Loved how she chose a fan shot for the cover of the Sorry single almost 10 years ago now

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Butter9 Proficient

Butter9

Posted
Posted

One of the greatest abuses in pop music is the misuse of the word “artist” as it applies to entertainers. When pop singer Britney Spears emerged from the darkest parts of her personal meltdown in 2007, she did so with a videos for her singles “Gimmie More” and “Piece of Me.” Despite being two of the most expensive productions in her career, both videos largely centered on a seemingly incoherent Spears stumbling around the small stage of a closed set. She herself was out of control, but still being prodded around by handlers despite the objections of her family. The episode revealed that – no matter how wonderfully entertaining she is – Spears is not an artist who reflects and challenges the culture around her, but a product whose entire career has been created, written, produced, shaped, and managed by RCA Records.

That same year, Madonna entered into a $120 million 10-year contract in 2007 with Live Nation to promote her concert tours, studio albums, and merchandise. At the time, it was a high-risk investment for Live Nation but a guaranteed win for Madonna, who retained creative control (and most of the profit) of her art and her products. Madonna’s Rebel Heart Tour – the last tour under her current contract with Live Nation – played the Verizon Center on Saturday evening. The two-hour show perfectly showcased how the best selling female singer of all time remains not just a great and iconic entertainer, but a relevant artist

Screen-Shot-2015-09-14-at-8.58.10-AM.png

The Rebel Heart Tour is not a greatest hits tour. As with her most-recent MDNA (2012) and Sticky & Sweet (2008) tours, the show centered on promoting her current album (Rebel Heart). While including many of her past hits, the Verizon Center show demonstrated Madonna’s capacity to continue to grow and express herself as an artist 30 years after her first national tour.

On Saturday, Madonna proved that she can even be relevant when she’s not even trying. Opening the show with the song “Iconic,” Madonna descended onto stage in a cage that opened to free the singer to walk down a staircase and into a crowd of dancers waiving crosses. Although the choreography was planned months in advance, it deliciously mirrored the jail-exit rally of anti-gay Kentucky clerk Kim Davis earlier in the week

A Rebel Heart Tour rehearsal teaser video showing Madonna’s Kim Davis-esqe concert entrance. Although the choreography was planned months in advance, Madonna’s emergence from a caged cell to an enthusiastic throng of dancers waving crosses proved she can be culturally relevant without trying

The Rebel Heart Tour feels personal despite being a large production. It previous interviews, Madonna has stated her intent to work with her production team to develop a concert which honors her past hits while she continues to move forward artistically. One of the most effective ways she did this on Saturday night was by teasing out the flamenco-inspired melodies of “La Isla Bonita” to flavor a long acoustic medley of “Dress You Up”/”Into the Groove”/”Everybody”/”Lucky Star” and continuing that acoustic aesthetic over a full performance of “Who’s That Girl.” While concert medleys of hits often fail to satisfy the audience, the crowd at the Verizon Center was clearly enraptured by the intimate set. Despite a career of being known as over-the-top, Madonna took a risk in placing the pinnacle of her concert on this low-key, low-energy set. It worked.

Screen-Shot-2015-09-14-at-8.59.14-AM.png

The entire Rebel Heart Tour show seemed tamer than previous tours. Being Madonna, there was plenty of religious iconography and sexuality. But, to her great artistic credit, they weren’t relied on as tropes. “I don’t think I created a particularly provocative show,” Madonna remarked midway through her performance. “Well, except for the nuns on stripper poles.” She was right (and the stripper poles were shaped as crucifixes). While the show itself was a visual spectacle of dancers, videos, and costumes, it still allowed plenty of room to focus of the concert on Madonna’s strong vocals.

It’s almost cliche to call Madonna an inspiration, but she is. Her career gave templates to virtually every female pop singer on the charts today. Her 1991 Truth or Dare documentary is credited for sparking reality television, and the personal fashion style of her early career defined the look of the 1980’s. As she enters the fourth decade of her commercial career, Madonna continues to inspire by demonstrating how an artist can continue to grow and express themselves well-after their success has been solidified. Madonna could have cashed in with a series of “Best of” tours years ago. Instead, with the Rebel Heart Tour, she continues to challenge herself and her artistic expression. After decades of pushing the envelope, Madonna’s greatest strength remains in how she continues to push herself.

http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/live-dc-madonna-verizon-center.htm

Wow thanks .

I'm so happy at all these positive and amazing reviews !

Link to comment
Share on other sites
LCD Community Regular

LCD

Posted
Posted

God I just love that Prada number and her hair foir this act :drama:

And man she's got the moves together with that fabulous trademark huge grin

Perfect Queen

Still delivering in spades after 33 years, I can't deal

We are blessed, so proud to be a fan

x1000. We are the luckiest fans on earth. The press reviews are amazing, thanks to everyone posting them.

And I can't get enough of LAV. Someone spliced together the performance from different angles around the arena. Not sure if it's been posted yet:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Mmmmm Proficient

Mmmmm

Posted
Posted

x1000. We are the luckiest fans on earth. The press reviews are amazing, thanks to everyone posting them.

And I can't get enough of LAV. Someone spliced together the performance from different angles around the arena. Not sure if it's been posted yet:

x1000. We are the luckiest fans on earth. The press reviews are amazing, thanks to everyone posting them.

And I can't get enough of LAV. Someone spliced together the performance from different angles around the arena. Not sure if it's been posted yet:

Wow fantastically edited together. Love love!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Jazzy Jan Veteran

Jazzy Jan

Posted
Posted

x1000. We are the luckiest fans on earth. The press reviews are amazing, thanks to everyone posting them.

And I can't get enough of LAV. Someone spliced together the performance from different angles around the arena. Not sure if it's been posted yet:

I adore this performance of Like a Virgin. Love how she updated it while keeping the essence, melody and fun of the original. You can tell the crowd just lapped it up completely.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Kurt420 Proficient

Kurt420

Posted
Posted

I adore this performance of Like a Virgin. Love how she updated it while keeping the essence, melody and fun of the original. You can tell the crowd just lapped it up completely.

This was definitely a highlight! It got one of the best receptions of the night! This is the closest I will ever get to seeing her perform it just as she did when it first came out.....lol. She's bouncing around just like she was in all those Japanese promos from '85. Almost every incarnation of LAV that she's ever done on a tour ends up becoming a highlight of that show. That says a lot about that song! :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
MrK1ngB33 Collaborator

MrK1ngB33

Posted
Posted

This was definitely a highlight! It got one of the best receptions of the night! This is the closest I will ever get to seeing her perform it just as she did when it first came out.....lol. She's bouncing around just like she was in all those Japanese promos from '85. Almost every incarnation of LAV that she's ever done on a tour ends up becoming a highlight of that show. That says a lot about that song! :)

aside from the atrocious WIRGIN from girlie show. But yes this the highlight for sure !! See my booty get down like !!!! Love
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Nonoka Rising Star

Nonoka

Posted
Posted

And I thought the LAV performance from the very first tour was great too. In retrospective it might look a bit cheesy but she presented it exactly in the way that made her famous, wedding dress and all...Plus the Billie Jean sample was a cool addition too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...