The Madonna Concert, Monday, June 26, 2006

It is not difficult to understand why Madonna appeals to gay people; her opening number practically welcomed them all to their own private show. It was fun actually. The woman certainly knows how to surround herself with beautiful men.

When we had first arrived, I wondered where all the fags were. I had assumed there would be very many more. It wasn't until Madonna came onstage and I pulled out my binoculars that I saw they almost exclusively occupied those $350 seats down on the floor. B and I were in the nosebleed section with all the other parents. And the lesbians.

I'm happy to report that I saw only one child the entire time. She was with (I'm assuming) her mom, and looked to be around 12. Most of Madonna's fans realize that her show is not a place for children.

I had heard that the show was going to be incredibly HOT. As in temperature. Madonna doesn't allow air conditioning at her shows since the removal of the humidity from the air effects her voice, so we went prepared. And before the show started we bought some lemonade. Nothing beats lemonade for quenching serious thirst, and boy was a I glad to have it.

It was so much fun to people watch. It's one of the things I miss most about New York. Here in CT, it seems like everywhere I go and everyone I hang out with looks the same. While in the outside smoking area catching some fresh air before the show started, I decided that I must be pretty interesting to look at too. I think I add fun to the people watching experience for others. B and I together must be something to look at! It was also really cool to go to a show for people in my "demographic". The line to the bathroom was miles long before the show even started - and it was full of women who were obviously mothers. All of us going before it started "just in case" so we didn't have to miss the show later. No one under 30 to be found. It was amusing.

When we sat down the stage was set to look like a giant disco booth. Very Paris New York. Very cool.

The show started at 8:50 when Madonna showed up in a disco ball which lowered from the ceiling. When she sprang out she sang "Future Lovers" while she pranced around in her riding outfit lording it over all her "ponies" (and what built ponies they were.) I was disappointed to find that many of the background vocals were recordings of her own voice. She also did "Get Together" in that getup.

Then she moved on to riding this saddle while she sang "Like a Virgin". She was all over that thing like a regular strip show.

Next was "Jump" in which four of her well-built men did all these incredible gymnastics on a giant monkey bar set which came out of the sky to land on the middle stage. They were all quite talented and fun to watch, and while they entertained us Madonna went backstage for a costume change.

When she came out it was on the cross and she sang "Live to Tell". When I first saw it I immediately thought of Pink Floyd's The Wall concert I had gone to where in the middle of it they pulled out the giant pig; totally inappropriate! But as she sang she had lots of videos playing all over showing the crappy stuff that's going on in the world. At the end she showed that 12 million children are homeless in Africa due to AIDS. On the giant screens were website addresses to find more information. I've got to hand it to her - people who spend that much money to attend one of her shows must have disposable income. She really is the queen of marketing. It was at this point, however, that I started feeling bad that all those suckers with all that disposable income spent ridiculous amounts of money to see her, and were watching her on the giant screens instead of on stage. Thank goodness I brought my binoculars. I was seeing her through a lens, but at least it was her and not her in a video!

I really loved when she performed "Isaac", my favorite song. "This is my religion" she proclaimed. "Mmmmmm, Im ninalu Im ninalu" was definitely a highlight of the show for me. It sounds so beautiful and it was wonderful to see the artist who sang all those Hebrew lyrics. I wish I could've found a picture on the internet to post here of him. It was so nice to close my eyes and sway to that song being performed live. It was truly the biggest highlight of my evening.

Another highlight for me was when she performed "I Love New York", which is another one of my favorites, having lived there for thirty years. It never fails to bring up the pride I sometimes forget I have for having survived that. And it reminds me of the wonderful friends I had during that time. Going to Studio 54 and dancing to Madonna songs as Rob bussed the area around the dancefloor. (He worked there as a busboy and got me in for free.) And having coffee with Stephen in The Big Cup.

Oh, I so wish I could remember all the details. I need to start taking notes during these things! The gymnasts (some things I've read refer to them as dancers, but this is clearly much less than what they actually are) were really terrific. At one point they were even rollerskating around the stage. I did, however, try my best to keep my eyes on Madonna during the performance, rather than all her outlandish accoutrements. I thought more than once that she'd do really well in Las Vegas. It was well conceived though. The background videos often combined nicely with the performers to create a nice visual if you were looking straight on, or if you were watching the giant videos instead of the performance. I had to laugh though when I saw this:
I mean, come on! She looked like a little girl dressing up for a gymnastics meet. Hey, maybe that's the song she did for the straight men?

She actually did one for the lesbians too. I don't remember which one, but she had two lesbians walking behind her holding hands and dancing while she sang some "I am woman" type song. Okay forgive me for not knowing the names of all the songs - I knew most of the words though!

She did a couple of slow songs along the way, and took advantage of the time to sit and relax. I am incredibly happy to report that Madonna is getting old too. (We must take small pleasure in the simple things.) I could see that she was really working hard and that all that heat was taking its toll on her. At one point she was bitching about how hot it was and how could we all have the nerve to just sit there when she was sweating her ass off for us. You know, the whole "show me some respect" thing. It was REALLY FREAKING HOT. It had to be well over a hundred degrees in there. And that's if you weren't dancing (which those of you who know me know that didn't include me.) I felt bad for all those women I had seen entering the building with long pants on and jackets on their arms to ward off the cold. As I mentioned, I was prepared though; after a particularly active bout of dancing, I whipped my portable battery-operated mini-fan out of my bag. Oh man, that thing rocked.
It even glowed when it was running. I felt very technologically advanced, even though I was probably the only person in the entire place who doesn't own a cellphone.

Anyhow, back to the show. She also played a nice 80's feeling set, wielding a guitar for the occasion. The band was all dressed in white, and they had blue lights shining down on them, and she was dressed in black - of course.
I must say that whoever designed her costumes did a horrible job. I mean, let's keep in mind that she's performing inside with thousands of people and no air conditioning. Check out the collar on that thing! It was all feathers - she must have been dying! I was not surprised to see the guitarist behind her playing all the same exact chords she was. I wonder if her guitar was even plugged in? It was all very techno and lots of fun.

I didn't care for her performance of "La Isla Bonita". The Mexican flavor felt out of place squished between all that techno disco. But I'm sure she was performing for a demographic which I am not a part of. She incorporated the song "Disco Inferno" into the beginning of one of her songs too, and that was lots of fun.

She also did a gig on Saturday Night Fever which was great. Actually, I think this is where the lesbians came in; I seem to remember them wearing white too. I kept thinking it would be so much fun if she had somehow contrived to come out in a Cher-esque costume with a big headdress or something.

The show ended with "Hung Up", which made me think of E since he is so tired of hearing that song that he asks me to skip it when I have the CD playing. "Time goes by. So Slowly. Time goes by. So Slowly. Time goes by. So Slowly. Time goes by. So Slowly."


At the very end of the song all these giant gold balloons fell down into the audience right into the arms of all those adoring fags! It really was a good song choice to end the evening. Madonna's been around for a long time. We've watched her grow up right before our eyes. And we've grown up right along with her. Time goes by...

The show closed with the curtain closing and across them beamed "Have you confessed?"

Here's a better description of the show from someone who was probably taking notes, or has no children and still owns a memory. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1532204/05222006/madonna.jhtml