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Posted

Here's a little mini-review of my Confessions Tour experiences!

I saw the show on the 9th and 10th of August at Wembley Arena, along with my chum and fellow forum member Maverick25.

OK, lets cut to the chase. What did I think of the show?

Future Lovers/I Feel Love: 9/10

A bit bloody fucking brilliant really. What an opening! The equestrian theme is visually stunning. The way she canters up to the main stage at the end is a bit fab, isn't it? I adore the "I Feel Love" stuff too. Ths truff on the screens is mostly great, but one quibble I have with it is this; when Madonna herself is on stage, I really don't think she should also appear on the screens. It just makes you wonder a little where you should be looking. She should only appear on the screens when she isn't actually on the stage.

Get Together: 5/10

For a second song, I think this is a pretty atrocious choice. It's a fine little pop song, but it's just not strong enough for a second song. Yeah, she does some nice moves, but overall I was left thinking "What the fuck is she doing this second rate stuff for?"

Like A Virgin: 7/10

A definite improvement on "Get Together" and up close, her antic on the pole are rather amusing/sexy. I adore the new arrangement too, especially the instrumental break where M spreads her legs to the world. Again.

Jump: 7/10

I fail to see what the big deal about this performance is. Some bits of scaffolding come down from the ceiling and some guys do some not-hugely-impressive jumping and swinging off of them, as Madge wanders around looking a bit lost. It's fine, but why exactly is this seen as a thrilling performance? Can anyone tell me? It all seems like something that was a great idea on paper that doesn't really come off in the execution.

Live To Tell: 8/10

Whatever way you look at it, the moment she rises up on that cross is one seriously striking and breathtaking image. Her vocals are shown off to great effect during this song too. The stuff at the start with the dancers telling their sob-stories is a bit naff though, but then what Madonna show would be complete without a little bit of cheese?

Forbidden Love: 7/10

Nice performance, but just feels like there's something missing. Again, she's very static throughout. More or less just ambling about teh stage without too much energy being expended. Saving it all for later no doubt. The stuff with the dancers is cute and interesting, without ever being all that remarkable either.

Isaac: 8/10

Love, love, love Isaac and his large horn! Spokily good. The stuff with the caged girl is again, a little naff, but works quite well. The dancing at the end is rather fab too. Nice to see Madge kind of cut loose for the first time in the show, dancewise.

Sorry: 5/10

I've never been too keen on this song and I despise the video, so basically this one pretty much bored me. I'm sure the gheys adored it though.

Like It Or Not: 6/10

This is a truly apalling song choice. Let's not beat about the bush here, the song is fucking wretched. The performance is actually more than it deserves, but it's still one of the lowlights for me.

Sorry Remix/Interlude: 7/10

Entertaining and oddly engaging considering she isn't even on stage.

I Love New York: 5/10

Adored the graphics on the screens. Everything else about this just bores me. Sorry, but I am still utterly turned off by Madonna doing the rock chick thing on stage. I really think she's even taking it seriously this time around, which makes it even less enjoyable.

Ray Of Light: 5/10

Another bore for me. Again, it's the guitar thing. Also, I kind of hate it when she practically forces people to jump up and down and enjoy it. You can't MAKE people get into a song, Madonna. Still, the crowd seemed to like it a lot. It did fuck all for me. This isn't the Madonna I fell in love with.

Let It Will Be: 7/10

Good, raw performance of this song. I dunno why, but I adore it when M flings herself to the ground like she does. She's so strong and unafraid to just let go and fling herself around to the music. Gotta love that.

Drowned World/Substitute For Love: 7/10

It's hard not to love this song. Almost perfect vocals make it even more compelling.

Paradise: 4/10

Lovely stuff on the screens, but this is pretty much a disaster. This song simply doesn't work as an acoustic ballad. Nice try, but this should have been dismissed the first time they tried it in rehearsals. I imagine at least 85% of the crowd have zero interest in this. You can include me in that 85%. The low point of the show.

Music/Disco Inferno: 10/10

If anything could rescue the show from the Paradise nonsense, then this is it. This is pure, undiluted, Madonna at her peak. The dancing, production, choreography...everything just combines to form one flawless performance. I could watch this 10 times a day and never tire of it. Stunning.

Erotica/You Thrill Me: 8/10

Surprisingly effective. I really liked this. Very very classy and understated, but works sublimely.

La Isla Bonita: 6/10

This is without a doubt the gayest Madonna performance I have ever witnessed. It's not that it's bad, it's just overwhelmingly gay. I thought I was watching Showgirl for a second. Not a good sign. The screens had me wretching also. I thought the technicians were having a laugh and had switched over to Celebrity Love Island. Dodgy. The dancing is a bit hackneyed, seen-it-all-before too.

Lucky Star: 5/10

Meh.

Hung Up: 8/10

Hard to judge really. I'm a bit immune to the performance at this stage, but it's an effective show closer.

All in all, it's a very enjoyable show, but far from the out and out triumph that many fans and non-fans are falling over themselves to proclaim it. Vocally she's better than she's ever been, but for me, I'd still rank BA, DWT and RIT above it. There isn't another entertainer alive who could put on a show like this, but it's far from her best. Way too patchy for my liking.

To close, here's a little pic of myself and Maverick25 outside Wembley on the 10th!

rivermav.jpg

Posted

FL isn't a fast-fast track like some of the other COADF numbers, so I can see why there wouldn't be as much energy like there was for some of the others. Plus, she wanted the focus on the "forbidden love" aspect, I imagine.

Posted
FL isn't a fast-fast track like some of the other COADF numbers, so I can see why there wouldn't be as much energy like there was for some of the others. Plus, she wanted the focus on the "forbidden love" aspect, I imagine.

My point is, we're 7 songs into the show before Madonna actually does any real "fast" dancing. A lot of this show seems quite inert to me.

Guest Deacon
Posted

I'm not going to write a review, but the only thing I didn't really like was the way the ABBA sample from 'Hung Up' just sort of faded up halfway through 'Lucky Star'. It ruined the anticipation of what was coming next and then when Madge disappeared into the stage beneath her Dancing Queen cape there was a fair bit of downtime before HU really got going. I think it would have worked much better if she'd done a full blooded version of 'Lucky Star' (or even better 'Into The Groove') and then said goodnight, disappeared into the stage, dim the lights etc and then have HU as a proper encore starting with the ticking clock. As it was, the fact that she didn't do an encore made the show end on a bit of a downer IMO.

Guest Topaz Scorpio
Posted
I'm not going to write a review, but the only thing I didn't really like was the way the ABBA sample from 'Hung Up' just sort of faded up halfway through 'Lucky Star'. It ruined the anticipation of what was coming next and then when Madge disappeared into the stage beneath her Dancing Queen cape there was a fair bit of downtime before HU really got going. I think it would have worked much better if she'd done a full blooded version of 'Lucky Star' (or even better 'Into The Groove') and then said goodnight, disappeared into the stage, dim the lights etc and then have HU as a proper encore starting with the ticking clock. As it was, the fact that she didn't do an encore made the show end on a bit of a downer IMO.

The way "Lucky Star" segued into "Hung Up" I thought was one of the coolest things in the show.

Guest Topaz Scorpio
Posted
.

All in all, it's a very enjoyable show, but far from the out and out triumph that many fans and non-fans are falling over themselves to proclaim it. Vocally she's better than she's ever been, but for me, I'd still rank BA, DWT and RIT above it. There isn't another entertainer alive who could put on a show like this, but it's far from her best. Way too patchy for my liking.

:clap: These were pretty much my same thoughts on the show.

Posted
I'm not going to write a review, but the only thing I didn't really like was the way the ABBA sample from 'Hung Up' just sort of faded up halfway through 'Lucky Star'. It ruined the anticipation of what was coming next and then when Madge disappeared into the stage beneath her Dancing Queen cape there was a fair bit of downtime before HU really got going. I think it would have worked much better if she'd done a full blooded version of 'Lucky Star' (or even better 'Into The Groove') and then said goodnight, disappeared into the stage, dim the lights etc and then have HU as a proper encore starting with the ticking clock. As it was, the fact that she didn't do an encore made the show end on a bit of a downer IMO.

I totally agree. The whole lack of a proper encore thing in her shows *kills* me. Even DWT had a little gap between the rest of the show and the last two songs. I'm all for doing things differently, but the no encore idea is just BAD.

Guest hyperballad_brad
Posted
rivermav.jpg

:inlove: The t shirts look great!!! And I have a blue print!! Im going to have tyo make my own!!! :p

Glad you had a great time!! Shame you dont like Paradise!! I thought it sounded great... but the visuals were stunning. The blossom was mesmerising!!

Posted

I haven't seen the show yet (ROLL ON TUESDAY!) but dare I say that the reason why there isn't so much Madge dancing is because, well, she's that wee bit older these days?

Posted

Why didn't you rate "Let it Will Be?"..... ;)

Cool shirts. And I almost forgot how handsome our Mr. Wide is, too! :D

Guest hyperballad_brad
Posted
I haven't seen the show yet (ROLL ON TUESDAY!) but dare I say that the reason why there isn't so much Madge dancing is because, well, she's that wee bit older these days?

Thats totally fair!! And totally true!! She's no spring chicken no matter how much of a good performer she still might be

Guest jamesshot
Posted

It really has little to do with her age( she is in amazing shape which is all that counts) but the fact that at ANY age, doing a ton of dancing is going to affect her vocals negatively. She simply cant dance a ton and sound great no matter if you are 15, 20, 30, 40, or 47.

And I LOVE rock chick Madonna because her voice sounds great complimented by guitars and I have always seen the rock chick in her. Her attitude has always been rock. She played guitar in her early years. IMO, it fits her. And she has been playing guitar again for 7 years now. She isnt an amatuer any longer.

Posted

OUCH! A little harsh with Get Together. From what I saw, I didn't mind it. It wasn't exactly a highlight but the dancing was nice. :sour:

Posted

Dont agree at all especially with Like a Virgin(which is fantastic) & Get Together(i have a high quality clip from a motorola razor phone and it's pretty darn good thank u very much).

Your opinion but i bet when u see it for a second time you'll see it differently.

Posted

P.S she has more enery and life in her than her female dansers half her age for those saying she's older.

Posted

Great review River although a bit *harsh* on a couple of gems (ie Get Together & Sorry)

It's also great to see a new pic of yourself! :fag:

Posted
P.S she has more enery and life in her than her female dansers half her age for those saying she's older.

No one is disagreeing with that or saying she's in anything less than stunning form. But, the truth is, she IS older than she was before and, no matter what shape you're in, that's always going to affect your energy.

Guest hyperballad_brad
Posted
No one is disagreeing with that or saying she's in anything less than stunning form. But, the truth is, she IS older than she was before and, no matter what you're in, that's always going to affect your energy.

Indeed :clap:

Posted

Yes, of course she's older and doesn't dance as much. That's perfectly understandable and I have no problem with that. Does that make for a better show than when she *could* dance more? No. That's all I'm saying. It's amazing, just not as amazing as the past shows have been.

Posted
Your opinion but i bet when u see it for a second time you'll see it differently.

I've already seen it twice and my opinion is just as valid as anyone elses thank you very much. It's not a case that I keep needing to see it until I end up agreeing with you.

Posted
I've already seen it twice and my opinion is just as valid as anyone elses thank you very much. It's not a case that I keep needing to see it until I end up agreeing with you.

:lol:

Posted

Ha. I disagree with most of this review but to each their own I supppose.

This tour leaves RIT in the dust.

Posted

I disagree about Sorry. The crowd went wild in NYC when it started.

Chris

Posted
I disagree about Sorry. The crowd went wild in NYC when it started.

Chris

Yes, they went wild here too. The point is this is MY review. *I* didn't like Sorry.

Posted

Back to the topic and discussing and debating (maturely) Riverwide's review! Any further bitching will be removed and warnings issued.

Guest hyperballad_brad
Posted

Its a shame you didnt get into ILNY and ROL. I thought they were fantastic and real calorie burners. I loved the fact that she was shouting at people for people to get off their asses and JUMP, but she has always been very vocal about people who attend her shows should be there to have a good time! Agree?

I thought you were quite generous with Like It Or Not. I thought it was a right bore :lol: Glad you posted anyways! I've been awaiting you're response with baited breath! ;)

Posted
Its a shame you didnt get into ILNY and ROL. I thought they were fantastic and real calorie burners. I loved the fact that she was shouting at people for people to get off their asses and JUMP, but she has always been very vocal about people who attend her shows should be there to have a good time! Agree?

Yes, but I don't think anyone can actually "force" someone to enjoy themselves by shouting at them. It just doesn't work like that. Not for me anyway. It's only a little quibble anyway.

Posted

I have been to 2 Wembley shows (1st and 12th) and she effing rocked at both!

Just my opinion thou.

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