CARDIFF - August 23 - Press Reports/Reviews/Pics

FreeMySoul · August 25, 2008

all these reports are not consistent

some say a sell out and others claim it was half empty

i don't know what to believe but these writers sure love mentioning it wasn't a sell out

August 25, 2008

From what I could see, all seating seats were mostly sold out. It was the floor that looked half empty.

LOVE this PIC

paradise · August 25, 2008

the seats were full..they have to leave the floor space half empty in case of an emergency

Zezwer · August 25, 2008

I'm so disappointed with the Swedish media. They are tearing this tour apart big time.

But I shouldn't be surprised. They are all ageist music snobs so.

Sweden is one of the most ageist societies in the world!

:rant:

daizy1 · August 25, 2008

I wrote them a "lovely" mail

I'm so disappointed at Swedish media. They are tearing this tour apart big time.

Zezwer · August 25, 2008

I wrote them a "lovely" mail

to which magazine? what did you write?

Are you Swedish? :vanitybonet:

daizy1 · August 25, 2008

to Aftonbladet! One of the biggest newspapers in Sweden. I basically said that he is the one who is confused.Im Norwegian :norway:

She got 4 out 6 in one of the biggest newspaper here in Norway. The writer liked the show but according to him it didnt have "the magic" like her previous shows :tongue:

to which magazine? what did you write?
Are you Swedish? :vanitybonet:

Camacho · August 25, 2008

Just imagine the fanfare she'll get in Mexico when the tour plays there in late November :dramatic:

Mexican Press on the Sticky & Sweet Opening Night in Cardiff.

Category: Live Performances & Tours.

Dannylex · August 25, 2008

Thanks Hector, great articles from mexican press.

Skin · August 25, 2008

I'm so disappointed with the Swedish media. They are tearing this tour apart big time.
But I shouldn't be surprised. They are all ageist music snobs so.

Sweden is one of the most ageist societies in the world!

Really? Why is that?

Dannylex · August 25, 2008

"She didn't do any of the traditional stuff that everyone loves her for," said Susan Harvey from Cardiff.
"For £85 a ticket, I was really disappointed."

Danielle Wheeler, 26, said she was "not as good as Kylie", while Stephanie Olokopa, 20, from London, gave the show six out of 10.

"She was late and she didn't even thank the people," she said.

:lmao: these fans must be from MadonnaNation.

Barney · August 25, 2008

I was there and all the seats were full, even the ones right at the back at the top. The last third of the floor was empty, mainly because they couldnt see behind the sound and lighting boxes. It looked majorly squished at the front.

August 25, 2008

^ Yeah, looked pretty full in the pics that I saw. The only sections that looked empty were the first floor side sections but I don't even know if those were for sale? The media just wants to bas her on this one I think. From what I have heard at the Icon forum from people who spoke w/livenation reps was that they purposely didn't put as many tix onsale as last time so people had a better view & that all reserved seating was taken but there were some Gen Adm tix left.

markm · August 25, 2008

From The TimesAugust 25, 2008

Madonna at the Millennium Stadium

(Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images)

Madonna opened her ’Sticky and Sweet’ world tour in Cardiff

Stephen Dalton

Hours before Madonna launched her "Sticky & Sweet" world tour in Cardiff last night, the phenomenal pulling power of history's biggest female pop star was evident for miles around. Heavy traffic tailbacks clogged main roads into the city, while a carnival atmosphere prevailed near the venue, where stallholders enjoyed a brisk trade in pink furry cowboy hats and feather boas. I am still wearing mine.

Never mind that the Millennium Stadium was only two-thirds full, or that tout tickets were changing hands nearby for half the original £90 asking price. And never mind that the diva kept us waiting so long (she was more than an hour late) that the excitable crowd eventually began to boo loudly. Yet when she finally arrived, her amazingly taut 50-year-old body wrapped in skimpy burlesque gear and shiny top hat, the sheer totalitarian spectacle silenced all doubters.

The two-hour show was divided into four chapters: Pimp, Old School, Gypsy and Rave. As ever with Madonna, dazzling theatrical touches abounded. Most were achieved using brilliantly programmed, billboard-sized, mobile video screens that allowed her to duet with Britney, Kanye and Pharrell – and to dance with no fewer than three virtual Justin Timberlakes. Early in the set, a vintage car materialised during the deluxe disco anthem "Beat Goes On", gliding up and down a catwalk protruding into the audience. Fantastic.

Later, during "Spanish Lesson", Maddy’s dance troupe appeared as hooded monks, eventually shedding their robes to reveal brightly hued matador outfits. This jumble of costume changes and disconnected images was often confusing: one minute we were watching a slightly scaled-down version of the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony, the next a stage musical of "The Da Vinci Code".

Maddy’s latest album, "Hard Candy", accounted for nine out of the 22 numbers played. It is a decent record, well received both critically and commercially, but it takes a hefty dose of misplaced self-belief to favour bland filler such as "Heartbeat" or "She’s Not Me" over "Like a Virgin", "Material Girl", "Justify My Love", "Cherish" or half a dozen more niggling omissions.

Throughout the show, Madonna self-consciously referenced the 1980s Manhattan which shaped her early career. There were robotic dancers in glittery crash helmets – Daft Punk meets Damien Hirst – plus chunky hip-hop beats and computer-game graphics galore. "Into the Groove" and "Music" came backed by animated Keith Haring artwork and a superbly realised, graffiti-splattered New York subway train. Meanwhile, Maddy and her team sported Day-Glo legwarmers and performed synchronised skipping-rope dance routines. Highly impressive, in a "Kids from Fame" kind of way.

The boldest digression of the evening was the Gypsy section, a full-blooded campfire singalong affair. For "La Isla Bonita" and "You Must Love Me", the latter taken from the musical "Evita", Madonna gathered a band of fiery acoustic players around her, led by Alexander Kolpakov, director of the Russian folk music and dance ensemble Via Romen. Clearly her recent fascination with the gypsy-punks Gogol Bordello has left its mark.

Of course, this kind of musical tourism could easily be dismissed as tacky tokenism, a cheap holiday in someone else’s mystery. But in reality it was audacious, surprising and rather splendid. Madonna should consider an entire tour or album featuring gypsy-folk arrangements of her greatest hits.

Less convincing were the grating interludes in which she strapped on a guitar to play mildly raucous, ersatz garage-rock versions of classic singles, including "Borderline" and "Hung Up". Oh dear. Not that revved-up riffs should be the sole preserve of male rockers, but Madonna’s flirtation with power chords and feedback had all the plastic-punk conviction of Mel C or Kelly Osbourne.

Equally disappointing was the lack of vintage Maddy scandal. There were no mock crucifixions, no simulated lesbian orgies, almost no gratuitous swear words. Instead, we were treated to earnest but meaningless video montages of Al Gore, Gandhi, Aung San Suu Kyi and – inevitably – Barack Obama. Woolly sentiments prevailed. No religious groups were offended in the making of this show.

Closing with an oddly anticlimactic "Give It 2 Me", "Sticky & Sweet" is an archetypal 21st-century Madonna tour: hugely impressive, technically slick, musically uneven, and slightly soulless. Compared to other recent mega-shows in comparable venues, such as those by Prince or Leonard Cohen, it lacks warmth and wit. But in the premier league of sense-battering, unit-shifting, song-and-dance spectaculars, the robot queen of pop remains unrivalled and undefeated.

Madonna plays Wembley Stadium, London, on September 11

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol...icle4600320.ece

Dindi · August 25, 2008

Bloomberg.com

Madonna Beats Midlife Crisis With Tour, Sexy Disco: Mark Beech

Review by Mark Beech

Aug. 25 (Bloomberg) -- The Queen moved her conquering army of 250 courtiers from England to Wales, where she appeared on a throne and flaunted the $2 million crown jewels she had bought for the occasion.

U.K.-based Madonna, the American ``Queen of Pop,'' started her ``Sticky and Sweet'' tour in the Welsh capital Cardiff. She kept 40,000 subjects -- sorry, fans -- waiting 90 minutes to see her in best regal mode. Of course, she didn't apologize. Royalty never says sorry.

Madonna turned 50 this month. Her idea of ``how to avoid the midlife crisis'' is to plan a crusade of pop domination -- taking by force Europe, the U.S., Canada, Chile and Brazil.

At one point in the first gig, she joked that she was open to singing requests. Before anyone could suggest ``Like a Virgin,'' the family woman was reminding us that actually only she had the power to select what went on.

And forget about an encore. When Madonna was finished, bright lights came on saying ``Game Over.'' She meant it.

It's that queenly attitude, and arrogance, that help explain why she is the world's most successful female artist with 200 million record sales and counting. :queenbitch: Madonna kept her talent bubbling through the two-hour gig.

``My sugar is raw,'' she reminded us on ``Candy Shop.'' Madonna's double entendres remained to the fore. Her sexy dancers wore bondage leather, see-through panties and often little else.

Madonna's stamina is astounding. She can run, pole dance, do sit-ups, skip with a rope and sing without getting out of breath.

It's exhausting to watch. Just now and again she should slow the pace, drop the voice and chill. She only sang one ballad, 18 numbers into the set. ``You Must Love Me'' showcased some of Madonna's best vocals of the night, and of course it won an Oscar a decade ago, though she's done better slow ones.

The first gig raises the question of whether it's worth grabbing a ticket for other performances.

Madonna puts on an amazing show, with lasers, strobes, dry ice and videos. There's a jaw-dropping display of break, pole, tap, disco and flamenco dancing to name but a few.

Many Madonna fans left the Millennium Stadium in ecstasy. Her tours are all different, with new songs and fresh ideas. Only a few diehard fans were muttering about the sacrilege of reworking old tracks. (Heck, they are Madonna's creations: she can do what she likes with them. And she's known for sacrilege.)

``Borderline,'' ``La Isla Bonita'' and ``Like a Prayer'' were pumped up with heavy-metal guitars and techno to fit the new material from her latest album ``Hard Candy.'' Nine of the CD's pieces were performed. While it's not her greatest, the rocking performances made a persuasive case for it, especially the rap of ``4 Minutes'' and ``Beat Goes On.''

The set list is not as strong as the ``Re-Invention'' tour of 2004, which had daring imagery such as sexy nuns, and the disco- led ``Confessions'' tour of 2006 -- which had ticket sales of $195 million, the most for a female artist, said Billboard.

``She's Not Me'' was staged with Madonna surrounded by video screens showing all stages of her career. Lookalike dancers recreated her most famous images. The real Madonna abused all of them as they sank from view under the stage. It was symbolic.

Madonna is working with music company Live Nation Inc. Fans may decide it's better to see her now at 50 rather than wait until she sinks at 60, when it might be getting more embarrassing.

The show was split into four sections -- ``Pimp,'' ``Old School,'' ``Gypsy'' and ``Rave'' (though sadly no ``Harlot.'') The first had Madonna in Givenchy, trying gangsta rap and driving a mobster car. She switched to red shorts for a ``Kids from Fame'' homage to disco and slipped into Tango costume for a Spanish section. She simply went over the top in rave gear for the closing freakout (for want of a better word).

Some of the good women of Cardiff, who had obviously dragged boyfriends along to teach them about true feminine empowerment, were well fuelled by alcohol during the long wait. They went wild. The concert ended more like Saturday night at the disco than, well, a concert.

Perhaps Cardiff is an easy target. If Madonna produces the same appreciative reaction in, say, Chicago, then Michigan's favorite daughter might indeed be back as pop's supreme ruler.

Rating: ***

August 26, 2008

The set list is not as strong as the ``Re-Invention'' tour of 2004

What a joke! :lmao: Guess the reviewer was missing "Hanky Panky", "Don't Tell Me", "Imagine" & "Holiday?

Nightshade · August 26, 2008

What a joke! Guess the reviewer was missing "Hanky Panky", "Don't Tell Me", "Imagine" & "Holiday?

No kidding. This tour looks a lot better than Re-Invention. Although I did like that tour, it is probably my LEAST favorite of those that I have seen live.

Camacho · August 27, 2008

nzherald.co.nz

Madonna impresses at first show of world tour

Madonna performs on stage at the premier of her Sticky and Sweet tour at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium in Wales. Photo / AP

1:59PM Monday August 25, 2008

By Rob Sharp

Well, she did arrive on stage an hour and a half late. And sure, ticket touts were rumoured to be flogging the £150 tickets at half price to fill the rows of empty seats. But if those who took in this spectacular opening to Madonna's world tour on Saturday have seen anything as slick, innovative, and energetic in recent months then please point it out.

For it is easy to feel spoiled when judging one of the most successful pop acts of all time. If the bar is high, it is her own fault, and you would be hard pressed to find any other 50-year-old pelting their way through two hours of back-breaking dance routines.

The tour, Sticky & Sweet, is named after Madonna's latest album, Hard Candy, which had a less-than-effervescent reception in April.

Part of the problem seemed to be that pop's grande dame was just trying too hard; her collaborations with Pharrell, Kanye West, Timbaland and Justin Timberlake seemed to hanker after being "down with the kids".

The artists in question appeared too scared to give her any criticism.

In the end, the tracks on which they worked (4 Minutes, Beat Goes On) were less "collaborations" than Madonna shipping in the best talent money could buy to pay homage to her less-than-plugged-in greatness. Their talent was diluted accordingly.

But if such a display of raw power and influence could not impress the reviewers, in a live setting, there was no such problem.

The choreography, the visuals, the other live talent, were world class, and mind-blowingly well executed, intelligent, and witty.

While the show's producers might have bastardised the best elements of vintage acid house, Geisha culture, gypsy folk and burlesque, it was almost certainly worth the compromise.

The concert was loosely based around four themes - "Pimp", "Old School", "Gypsy" and "Rave" - that tellingly looked like they had been named by your Mum.

And so, Mother Pop was unveiled sitting in a throne for the opening number; with her legs akimbo, she launched into Candy Shop then Beat Goes On.

Vogue was remixed with 4 Minutes, her recent single with Timberlake, then dancers sparred as in a boxing match for a reimagining of her theme tune to the Bond film Die Another Day.

There was a bit of an awkward "granny moment" when for Into The Groove she pole-danced around a 1980s Deejay booth, before Britney Spears appeared on a video screen for Human Nature, which showed her in CCTV-style footage being characteristically strange inside a lift.

Madonna strummed on her guitar (is she playing it? isn't she?) which made several appearances during the evening, before the night built to its climax: Timberlake, projected on to a collection of 15ft screens for 4 Minutes.

By sliding her leg erotically up and down his image, Madonna still managed to flirt with him.

The only downside were the "serious" moments: images of the effects of global warming and starving children have become a devalued cliche at rock concerts.

But for all her excesses, and the fact that she is musically relevant only in fits and starts, Madonna is a necessary tonic for those who remember with fondness a more impressive and talented time in pop.

It is a desert out there. Long may her hubris continue.

- INDEPENDENT

Camacho · August 27, 2008

NY Magazine

Madonna's Tour Starts, Costumes Don't Disappoint

And she's off! Madonna's "Sticky and Sweet" tour began Saturday night in Cardiff, Wales, and the Daily Mail reports the stadium was "far from full" (really?!) but Madge's routines were "nothing short of breathtaking." She underwent eight costume changes, playing a "pole-dancing, break-dancing cheerleader" and a "gypsy singer with a traveling band of minstrels." Her custom-made threads were designed by Jean Paul Gaultier, Miu Miu, Givenchy, Stella McCartney, Yves Saint Laurent, Moschino, and more.

She's been getting a lot of criticism for not being able to find a look for her current album, both on and off stage. We're not sure we'd call the "Sticky and Sweet" costumes cohesive (though they all exquisitely displayed Madonna's outrageous 50-year-old muscles), but they were characteristically surprising in that "is she really going to sit with her legs open while wearing that" kind of way. And what could be more fun on a Monday morning than taking a judgmental look at some of them? At left Madge rocks a progression of the leotard. The bra she's got on underneath is lacy in kind of a dowdy way, but we'd say her thighs are buff enough to offset that. And it's hard to see here, but she's wearing fishnets. We can't help but love that even if we hate it.

Muscle-y!

Photo: Getty Images

This is perhaps the most conservative look from the show. We're digging her Britney Spears-ish do and her elbow warmers, but not how it looks like she has Bibles in her quilted pants pockets.

Photo: Getty Images

We don't really understand the gypsy number on the left here. The neck-bust area is delightfully festive and on trend with the necklaces but the flowy see-through sleeves are confusingly medieval. The custom-made boots in the center here are amazing. The fringed dress, however, looks like something a Project Runway contestant might try to pass off as a figure-skating costume. On the right, we are in love with the crystal-encrusted football-player shoulder pads, because only Madonna would come up with that and pull it off.

Photo: Getty Images

Sorry, but we hate these shorts. They're entirely uncreative and only remind us of ninth-grade lacrosse practice (which we loathed).

Photo: Getty Images

On the left we can see how skimpy that fringed non-skirt really is. Just in case any of you forgot, Madonna at 50 has a better ass than you ever had/will have at 25. On the right, we find it distracting and irritating that Madonna looks so fierce while her female backup dancers look like badly dressed ravers who forgot they were supposed to wear neon.

Photo: Getty Images

Ahhh, it's the awful gym shorts again! But Madonna does look cute here. Almost a little too cute. An astounding display for a 50-year-old.

Photo: Getty Images

Here are some better-dressed backup dancers. The top hat-long-gloves cabaret thing is just goofy enough to work.

Photo: Getty Images

And hello! In case you can't tell, these are male backup (har) dancers. Only Madonna would find a way to momentarily draw more attention to their asses than hers. Equal-opportunity exploitation!

Photo: Getty Images

Kurt420 · August 27, 2008

Ok...I feel really slow. Until I read that last review I didn't realize that those were the guys dressed up in the Vogue performance. I found it odd though when looking at the pics and videos of that performance that I was strangely attracted to the ass of females. I can now sleep better tonight knowing that it is indeed man ass that I was salivating over....thank God!! :dramatic:

Flip The Switch · August 27, 2008

I actually love those shorts!

GimmeSomeMo · August 27, 2008

Theyre not the males, theyre the girls, it's a joke.

Kurt420 · August 27, 2008

Theyre not the males, theyre the girls, it's a joke.

WTF!! :dramatic:

Then I was totally joking with my last post.... :confused:

and I've had cocktails tonight so I'm all twisted. :boozehound:

Bitch · August 27, 2008

@ Kurt420! It's all good; boys, girls - doesn't matter, luv. As long as they're hot! TRUST. :queenbitch:

August 27, 2008

Can someone confirm if for Cardiff the big Ms at the sides of the stage were just huge posters or were covered in something? They look different from those in Nice!

August 31, 2008

Sunday Times Review

Madonna at Wembley Stadium (sic) - the Sunday Times review

Lisa Verrico

Let’s cut straight to what mattered most. On the Cardiff opening night of her 50-odd-date Sticky & Sweet tour, Madonna looked amazing — and not just for a semi-centenarian gym addict with access to the best beauticians.

When she pole-danced atop a DJ booth and out-double-dutch-skipped her dancers during a riotous, electrofied Into the Groove, she could have passed for 25. When she put on white-plastic, heart-shaped shades — by Moschino, but a pair could be found in a seaside resort for a couple of quid — she had the air of a carefree teenager. Later, admittedly, wearing an ill-fitting wig, there was a hint of the transvestite about her, but a woman with bulging biceps and thoroughbred thighs always runs that risk.

Fashion-wise, she was more on the money than she has been in years. The Givenchy leotard in which she arrived, while writhing around a throne, came complete with cane, fishnets and knee-high boots, and must have sent a shiver through every kid in the crowd with a middle-aged mother. Fifteen years ago, Cher had the same effect. Yet when Madonna ditched the S&M-inspired attire to switch to sweats and silky boxing shorts with high-knee socks, she looked more comfortable but way cooler. Yes, it was a throwback to her New York dance days, but the current fad for casual 1980s fashion gave the outfits a fun, contemporary feel.

Madonna might even have got away with an extrovert gypsy get-up had it not been for the shimmery, outsized shoulder pads that recalled Gary Glitter.

Still, there was musical muscle in the Gogol Bordello-style segment. Backed by sawing fiddles, accordion, a bloke on washboard and flamenco guitarists, Madonna vamped up the Evita ballad You Must Love Me and turned La Isla Bonita into a Spanish stompalong.

A barrage of tracks from her current album, Hard Candy, often struggled, despite the distraction of big-budget props, including a boxing ring that emerged from the floor, a waterfall that cascaded around a podium-dancing Madonna, and a Cadillac driven down a walkway. Opener Candy Shop was anonymous electro-pop, while Devil Wouldn’t Recognize You was notable only for the absolute absence of a tune. She’s Not Me, however, was surprisingly tasty techno, during which Madonna defrocked female dancers and dressed as herself from the past.

A magnificent 4 Minutes would have had fans on their feet without snazzy screens-on-wheels showing multiple, gyrating Justin Timberlakes.

Madonna was least convincing when she grabbed a guitar for a rock remake of Borderline and a dreadful Ray of Light marred by shrill, brittle vocals that surfaced sporadically throughout the 90-minute set. She even spoilt Hung Out with faux metal guitarist antics that set women in rock back about eight years.

Madonna’s problem perhaps is her overpowering personality — she didn’t inhabit different characters, she smothered them. Forget the silly video footage from the likes of Kanye West and Britney locked in a lift. The closest any prop came to eclipsing her was a pair of 40ft-high, flashing, M-emblazoned curtains, allegedly encrusted with diamanté worth $1m. But even they couldn’t hold the limelight for long.

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol...icle4633914.ece

markm · August 31, 2008

How on earth did the Times manage to report on a show that isn't happening for 11 days?

From The Sunday TimesAugust 31, 2008

Madonna at Wembley Stadium - the Sunday Times review

Lisa Verrico