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I mean... keep going on about things you have no actual idea about, but like I said, the actual set pieces like the stairs move around a LOT in various ways and not manually. I don't know if it's the actual reason for the delay, but the set isn't as simplistic as people keep trying to make it out to be.

I have to disagree with this entirely, aside from raising the wrong expectations on Instagram. The show is stunning live, and you really need a couple viewings from different angles to really digest it all. When you're up close, Madonna is so mesmerizing and has such a commanding presence that I barely looked anywhere else. The choreography isn't as aerobics heavy as past tours, but it's absolutely more physically demanding than RHT. She's in much better shape than she was on the RHT. Her legs are still to die for. She still has a natural grace and charisma in her movements that are unmatched, and she's almost always moving. It's all really hard to describe. The best way would probably be instead of the concert video backdrops we are used to, the entire set is a projection for the images, that spread beyond the center stage to the rest of the theater space, and she's part of the entire projection and set like you would expect in a theater show. Although the set looks simple, if you look closely, there are actually a lot of complex moving pieces and set designs that are very well done. The setlist might not make much sense on paper or even audio, but it flows seamlessly live when everything is working. The audience reaction makes up a large part of that success or not though, which is where the lateness becomes the defining factor to a good or bad show and also whether she's in a playful or bad mood. Her outfits are more costume-like to fit the theatrical acts she's trying to convey rather than looking glamorous or sexy for the sake of being a pop star like in past concerts, but that doesn't mean they're lower quality. The tour book lists most of the same and other high end designers as her past tours. It's just different. A lot of the setlist and audio won't make much sense or necessarily seem very impressive without the visuals. This is a very visual show. It's all meant to convey her political agenda rather than being pure entertainment. The show is a work of art. I can see how this would be incredibly difficult to film, but I hope they manage to do so at some point. This deserves to be seen and more than once. There are so many layers that you miss if you're focusing on one thing or another. I admit my attention wandered briefly during some of the less exciting songs the first night, but mostly because I was really tired. There is a point to every song though, it's not just a random playlist thrown together like it sounds. I'll be the first to admit I had quite low expectations going in, but it was amazing. At the end of the day, there is no one like Madonna. Kevin at the beer moment last night told her "the world would be a better place if it was like a Madonna concert". M said "but this isn't really a Madonna concert. It's Madame X theater. Don't confuse the two."

The problem is that they make it LOOK easy and to you it seems simple. The set pieces are CONSTANTLY moving, and the projections are EXTREMELY precise. There is NO OVERLAP of a projection from the stairs or foreground to the background and vice versa. This is why theres so much tape on the stage floor so they can get stage pieces exactly where they are supposed to go. Just look at the arm above Madonna how it does not bleed onto the background. Or in the video below during American Life where the flag, the set pieces and the background all have different projections playing simultaneously working together seamlessly. If you think this is not complicated then its the illusion they give by doing it so well. Like a ballet dancer that convinces you that you can fly just the same because they make it look so easy.

FINALLY SOME PROPER PICS, where we can actually see her expression and feelin'

I mean, nothing is impossible. Is it probable? I'd say probably not, at least in the US. The show seems pretty set, and everything works well when seen live. The political agenda she's pushing is very clear and the songs and set pieces reflect that. There's not really much room to change those around if she still wants to get those specific messages across, plus the fact that her knee seems to have been in great pain since before the tour started and she barely has any days off through the rest of the US leg, doesn't make it likely that something new is going to be added in. For Europe, who knows... but this show is about artists disturbing the peace and her Madame X album inspirations of fado, batuka, etc. It's literally hammered home at the open and close via typewriter. But I'll always be interested to hear what other cities end up having in their shows if people go. Also I'm interested in the funny moments. Those change from show to show depending on what pops up, so it's always interesting to me to hear.

The beginning is the manifesto she types out with the typewriter at the beginning of the show. Some pages about Madame X is a blah blah blah and photos from the Medellin video shoot. The blonde album cover on a metallic silver/grayscale page. Some pages from the guitar album cover and the other music videos. Hard to describe but kaleidoscope Madame X pages with her face and "X" in jewelry over her mouth. A page from the Pride performance. Some other photo of Madonna in lingerie I haven't seen before. Madonna drinking from a beer bottle framed in the blue M coaster design from her merchandise. Like a prayer 30 years photos. Several pages of collages of behind the scenes album shoot and music video shoot photos? Collage of Madame X tour rehearsal/behind the scenes prep. All black and white, a couple I recognize from her Instagram teases. 2 pages of her billboard #1 album list and Madame X standard cover. Some color photos of the Batukadeiras and Polaroids of the Cape Verde projections she uses in the show. Collage of the dancers/musicians on the tour. Photos from the God Control video. Tour credits page Photo of Madame X in a trench coat. She looks gorgeous here. Kaleidoscope Madame X pages with the typewriter and a uniform. Several pages of detachable paper dolls with various outfits. Red envelope inside back cover with 4 postcards (all say "wish you were here at the Madame X tour" on the back): - Madame X loves you (and so do I) - It's a beautiful life (because you're in it) - You're the one I crave (but don't tell anyone) - I rise (up above it all) The pages are all very glossy and high quality, and the whole thing is very large. Small poster sized. It's really nice!

Made this today.

I felt it was more her way of maybe thanking the fans for adding Madame X to that list. The opposite page is the Madame X standard cover.

I don't know. I took that to mean maybe she hadn't polished up all of her speeches etc, entirely. It looked finished to me. I'll be shocked though if anything changes in the 4 days between NYC and Chicago. It's probably more moving the set and everyone and getting used to the space. They've been rehearsing in BAM, but every theater is different and like I said there is a LOT Of precision moving with the set pieces and all the dancers and M. Someone could literally get crushed at parts if they step in the wrong direction or place.

The tourbook seems to be one of her best. Cant wait to get it!!!!

The show is delayed because of these "Highly Specialized Technologies"?? I know they projections and dont look like this in in the show but still, no way is it highly specialized.

Its great! And this song is SO underrated!!!!

The thing is, this is theatre and art, not a market: Money should stay out of it

I am sorry if I made you believe I have better options than you or whoever is reading these posts but it can't be farther from the truth. God knows I've never been rich and I've tried to do wonders by selling items in my collection and take secondary jobs in order to finance the Madame X experience. And done so only because I'm 100% sure I'll regret it if I ever miss this tour just because I didn't allow myself to plan everything carefully in advance. Your husband's got a serious health issue... if there's one thing I would never play with it's my health. No matter how much I worship Madonna or whoever is promising me the best show on Earth, there's not way I'd put myself at risk just for the sake of it. I did sleep on the street the day she gave her first concert in my country. One of the worst decisions I've ever made in my life cause the next day I was feeling like total shit and if it wasn't for the help I was able to get from the first aid staff I would have never enjoyed the whole show. Was it Madonna's lack of consideration towards their fans? Of course not! Did she point a gun on my face to run and get a ticket in the middle of an ocean of people? Did she have to apologize for making me wait for her in the queue after a loooong and terrible hot summer day? If you don't feel ok about waiting for Madonna inside a theatre without being pushed or hungry or dehydrated then why don't you just reconsider the chance of attending? Learn to accept she hardly does as we wish. It's ok if you don't want to continue supporting someone who apparently doesn't care about you. No second thoughts on this. You must be thinking I'm an apathetic bitch by now.

Nah you concentrate on what you think is positive if you want. For me that part of the show AINT positive for all the many reasons I enlisted in my posts. We're talking about the polaroid stunt, not the show - be that understood.

Yep. Vulgar. Asking money like that to a bloodshed of fans bidding higher amounts to get to see her. Just vulgar. Cheap. And yes, vulgar.

It's a lot more dance and choreography heavy than many actual theater shows, and a lot of the time, the set pieces are moving while she and the dancers are too. It's all very precise. I would probably say her steps are more choreographed than any tour since Confessions, in general. I can see why Maluma didn't join her even if he had been willing. It runs like a well-oiled machine with no room for someone random to really be thrown into the show. Oh, and there are a lot of stairs. She goes up and down the stairs SO many times. I got tired just watching her. It made me a bit nervous since there are no rails at all and they're quite steep, but everything's gone smoothly so far. The stair steps move around and re-arrange in different patterns. It was stunning during Like a Prayer when the dancers on different steps formed a giant X, with Madonna in the center.

Some terrible ideas on this page *shakes head* But hey, I'll try not to be a judgemental asshole. I only want all the single edits in my lifetime. I can't see any re-recordings sounding good with her current voice.

ENJOY! CRAVE video spoiler

I love love love this. Thanks for posting more!

it's a list of her billboard no. 1 albums

Feb 5: row D Feb 6: row C Feb 8: Royal Circle row C Feb 9: row G

According to what you're writing, it seems there's not much space for any adjustment or extension of the setlist, what do you think? Should we stop hoping for any future change?

MDNA isn't anywhere near as bad as some fans make it out to be. MX is her worst album.

I read stories of fans stopping at an ATM machine before the show, ensuring they'd have a couple of thousands to try their luck. I find that REVOLTING. Did my response make sense? YES. Did it make it before? YES. It's all in the class baby. Or the lack of it. And by what we hear and read - that segment lacks a big deal of it.

THIS. Everytime I've been to a Madonna show, I was stunned by her commanding presence. I think that was what ultimately made her a star since Seymour Stein days. Exactly 5 months until I see the Madame X theatre! Without any video you really need to see it more than once. I can't wait after your reports @stfan97!!

It's vulgar.

Tell me what you want but I don't like this marchant-like stunt. I read fans are actually withdrawing cash before the show in the hope they'll get to meet her on stage. Eyes rolling ffs! Like when back in the MDNA tour she'd collect cash off the audience. Whereas it could be a cheeky idea (the stripper, the dollar bills..it fit in somehow) I just don't like it. It's cheap. She could have talked about her charity association during the show and elegantly asked people to contribute if they could. Naaah that would have been too classy, Madonna?

I love your positivity !

Sorry, but they are really messing up this time ... and in theory it's the most famous popstar in the world we're talking about. There are people who can't change the dates of their shows, this is not serious ... she's playing with fire, as we use to say in Italy. This, as the daily three hours delay to go on stage, is unacceptable.

RESCHEDULED SHOWS!

New merchandise on the official store:

I attended both MDNA as RH and while yes, she was late, the shows still began by 9:30ish. I made it very clear that I adore her, but this behavior is unacceptable. Do you for 1 second think that Madonna would tolerate this sort of tardiness? That's what boggles my mind, she wouldn't tolerate it, so why should her fans? Also, I don't care that it is her show, the fans are paying for it, she's not paying you to show up. Some people think 2 hours is a long time and as I previously stated, some people have legitimate health issues which prevents them for sitting or standing for that long. You can say, "well, then show up an hour late." But there is always the chance that she's on state within 30 minutes of the start time for that show. Also, as you said yourself, people are flying THOUSANDS of miles to see her, so a little common courtesy from her would go a long way. I do live in the US, and I am traveling to see her, once, perhaps twice, and while I don't have the issue that those in the UK have with curfews, I can totally understand not wanting to be stranded in London or have to choose to leave early because I had no way of getting home. I would probably rent a hotel, but some people have other obligations, like getting to work the next day or family obligations. As for her stopping to acknowledge the fans that wait for her outside... No, as I said, this is Madonna, and she's never been one to do that very often, but at this stage in her career she should be thankful that people want to stand outside and wait for her. She could at least pause and say, "Thank you so much! Please come and see me again!" or something like that. Those are only my opinions.

The tour book looks beautiful. And it's great to read some more positive thoughts from someone who has actually attended the show.

Did you see it ?

So depressing. I saw the show opening night and loved it. I joined the forum to share experiences of the tour and read other people's reactions. Was on a high after seeing such a unique concept from Madonna in a magical theatre setting. My two friends who also saw the show (one a non-fan) thought it was stunning and clever. And trust me: I'm not someone who loves everything she does. Bedtime Stories isn't my thing; the Stick & Sweet Tour was average, etc, etc. Unfortunately, this thread has now got me down about it. I think constructive criticism is fine (eg. why not Rescue Me? Why only part of PDP again?) but the whining here and 'career is over' discussion, especially from anyone who hasn't seen the show, is just plain depressing and frustrating. My fault for false expectations from a bunch of people behind their laptops, I suppose.

this little game will be without me, I find this 'joke' shameful, places are already well expensive. I'm not a cash cow, she can put her Polaroid wherever she wants.

I mean she’s had it coming, hasn’t she? She always advocates free speech, or is it only applicable when it’s in her favor?

This is such a terrible look, Madonna. I adore you more than you can imagine, but this is a new level of disrespect to fans and to tarnishing your own name after a long life of appearing as the revolutionary artist who speaks for the weak, the poor, the broken, the outcasts and encouraging self-respect, self-love and equality. I'm not saying she owes us a polaroid, but this attitude comes off as quite hypocritical from someone who sang "I will be poor, if the poor are humiliated" only to go on humiliating the poor. We call her a queen out of respect and love, not out of being parasites beneath her that she gets to be rude to in the name of humor or whatever.

This isn't a good look M.

Not a casual fan, though, but Matthew Rettenmund, author of Encyclopedia Madonnica.

How will they hear? When will they learn? How will they know?

Wasnt there a DVD of some sort for the past tours? Why wouldn't there be this time? $$$

I don't "hate" or think any of her albums is "bad", but my least listened to and least favorite three albums by Madonna are Bedtime Stories, Hard Candy and Like A Virgin. I still like them and listen to them, just not as often as others.

Thank you Of course. Donating to charity is something she always did, yes. But I'm talking about the way this move was conducted. There's a huge difference between people throwing random bills at her while she performs and she's taking them to charity to her selling roughly the same pose in a polaroid every night for $1000+ and being rude to those who bid a low price.

To be honest, I felt like it was a very humiliating and greedy gesture. Humiliating to her and the fans. People paid $1000 give or take, to be part of this intimate experience with the fans. Of course, the $1000 is the price of entry only and doesn't include phones or photos yada yada, but this feels morally wrong. If I were here, I'd pick a fan at random or a few each show and take a polaroid selfie with them and give it as a gift. This will make fans feel that their favorite singer appreciates their presence and respects them just for being present there or if they were so enthusiastic, danced good or dressed up like her or just wanted the opportunity so much or through a random draw. That would've been a lot more meaningful. It would incentivize people to get tickets to see her even more than once to win that chance of taking a polaroid with THE Madonna. But this... I adore Madonna and I really really respect how she supported me with her work, but this is really really greedy and cheap. You may say she's giving it to charity, but who cares? people aren't there to support charity, not everything has to be about charity. I wouldn't care if she's taking the money or giving it to charity, because the fact of the matter is whoever is paying, is paying to get a picture. She can afford to take out $1000 from her own pocket for each show and give it to charity and it wouldn't make a dent in her wallet. Also, the photos don't even feature the fan who's paying and from what I've seen, they all look strikingly similar, so how is that more valuable than just printing an abundance of the same photo to make it feel special enough of a thing to bid on? I didn't mind the high ticket prices because well, she's Madonna and this is front row..etc. even though the strategy of selling tickets, especially in the US was horrendous with that lottery thing. But this is just too much.

That photo of the food better be an image from Google cause..... The food is really hit and miss, and I've been told it depends on the venue itself and a few guidelines given by the artist. The selection for MDNA Tour in Ottawa was amazing, definitely VIP worthy, I don't recall everything the only standout was the seafood, only because I don't eat it so I had to stick to the chicken they had. And by far the WORST I have ever experienced was Miley Cyrus' Bangerz Tour in Toronto. The selection was literally hotdogs, nothing else to go with it like a salad or anything.....hotdogs. And some girls we sat beside one was a vegan and asked for a vegan option and they said 'Oh we don't have anything like that' and wouldn't even do anything like offer her like a bag of chips or candies from the concession stand, so I felt really bad when I saw her eating a bun.

I wasn't impressed. I'm pretty sure I shouldn't have waited in line outside like I did, being a VIP ticket holder, but there was nobody saying anything different. So by the time I got in I got one complimentary glass of wine and then was told the bar was switching to a paid bar. 10 minutes go by with my phone locked up and I realize people are walking around taking pictures. I asked the girl and she was like... oh yeah I can unlock it for u. uh yeah!!! Why the fuck would I keep my phone in there. They should have offered as soon as I walked in the VIP area. Then they had the audacity to take the cookies away!!! The cookies were quite good. I didn't have an appetite for vegetables with ranch dressing so I didn't try them. There was no "designated" merch table for VIP, it was the same merch table for everyone else. This is probably because of lack of space at theaters that Live Nation didn't take into account when they wrote the VIP experience. It was cool to have my phone available in the 2 hours we waited for the show to start. We also got a "heads up" before M took the stage that other people probably didn't get. Was it worth the extra $700 for the VIP experience... definitely not. Unless the upcoming gift is super amazing I wouldn't do it again. It was opening night, so maybe it was a bit haphazard... but it seemed very unprofessional. They started removing MX decorations before we left the lounge. There really wasn't a need to remove the cookies at all. If VIP members can skip the line outside they need to post this clearly and have people walking around yelling it. Because if you are halfway down the block in line how would you ever know? Also, like you can hear in the audio recording the selection of drinks was... extremely limited. They had 2 different beers. A white wine, a red wine Whiskey and Gin.... No bourbon, no vodka, no tequila... it was oddly limited. Just a side note: the VIP tags were just draping there... I could have swiped like 20 of them. I know they're not worth that much, but they are exclusive so it seemed odd they were just hanging around with no one really watching them.

I'd be much more interested in full remastered deluxe editions of all the Warner Bros. albums 1983-2008 than yet another compilation that a fan could construct better than her actual team.