VogueMusic

Interesting that there are so many comments about bad sound throughout this tour, that I was kind of expecting it. And lo and behold, it sounded utterly fantastic at my show. I say this without exaggeration - it was one of the best sounding shows I've ever been to (and yes, I've been to plenty of concerts). The only thing was to maybe bring her vocals up just a bit, but other than that, the overall mix was great that night. Sound was rich, clear, fat and pumpin. And it was loud as FUCK (which I loved considering some shows I've been to lately have not been loud enough). And that heavy bass was so goddamn hard it hit you up in your throat. I LOVED it.
I'm thinking it depends on where your seat is, as most of the bad comments seem to come from the floor or the pits. I'm thinking the speaker layout is probably affected by the tons of rigging coming out over the audience, so perhaps that's affected how the sound fills the space.
But I guess I just got lucky then.

The song that made me a fan. I already owned Holiday but Into the groove was something else, until then most if Madonna's output, minus Burning Up, was very RnB, Into the groove infused it with a New Wave sound, there are hints of New Order in ITG. It's also a special song in Madonna's catalog because it's the first track she was officially credited as a co-producer. If Madonna's tracks until then were more Roxy and Funhiuse inspired, ITG was pure Danceteria. The track has been praised by Debbie Harry, Patti Smith, Sonic Youth, Pet Shop Boys...It's probably the sound she had in mind fot LAV before she was forced to have a big name producer working on it by Warner.  ITG is Madonna's first record in her own terms. And because of its huge success in Europe, she was given (almost) free reign to produce her third album. 

Bottom line to me she tried real hard to be something she sort of isn't with Guy R.  So some of that behavior afterwards can be attributed to burnout.
 
I think with this tour though she is sort of back in her element and doing what she loves...  working hard and performing.  

The most depressing thread I ever read. 
It feels like a nightmare 

I thought she was in a great mood! The only time she seemed a little pissed was after "Mother and Father" when she called out an audience member for apparently dancing too sexy during the song which I guess she thought was a little inappropriate lol. But she did so in a joking manner. She then said later that she wasn't feeling too hot, but you couldn't really tell.

wow only 14 more shows to go :/ 

No I think you make a great point!  You can't really judge this show unless you actually are there in person to experience it.  The videos we are seeing and enjoying from fans, do not equate the same experience as just being there.  While there are some great fan footage, I recognize that not one video shared, does justice to the sound compare to being their live.  I'm sure an official release will change that perception.  Still, I won't pretend that those backing tracks are not greatly balanced and I agree I wish her live vocals would be more louder.  

FINALLY. Someone who actually knows their music history.
The roots of Madonna's music in funk, R&B, disco, etc. ("Black music") is so far too often misunderstood, or outright dismissed. "Into The Groove" is the perfect example of that long held inspiration and evolution in her early work...and it truly became one of, if not THE, defining 'dance pop' songs of all time. The amount of things written about this single song since has solidified that fact. There's a real reason why ITG is often referred to as one of the single defining songs of the 1980s.
Not to mention the first two albums period, particularly LAV (the album). It's become far to prevalent to dismiss her early work, when this work not only launched her into the stratosphere, but defined the culture unlike anything quite before...and why every pop bitch in the game has tried to replicate it since. To truly understand it, in the context of the times, is necessary to understanding what the entire Madonna ethos is built upon (and pop in general since). It's 'Madonna 101' but some refuse to take the course. And it shows.
Also, a lot of these comments are clearly coming from folks who did not live through the 80s... If you knew, you knew.
ITG is an eternal ANTHEM. There's a reason it gets the response it does on the current tour, from the very first few iconic notes.

That's a massive NO from me. In fact, a hell no.
Personal and managerial issues aside...I'm a life-long fan, seen it all, and have genuinely found innumerable things to enjoy and love through all her various work in the last decade+. There truly is so much to enjoy and appreciate, that is quintessentially 'Madonna' through and through. Madame X, of all things, solidifies that. I don't think it's been a difficult decade at all. In fact, she's given us some of her best stage work, incredible music (and lots of it), and some of her most passionate - and timely - messages that no other pop star (let alone a female one) has even dared to do at this stage in a pop career.
 

Interesting that there are so many comments about bad sound throughout this tour, that I was kind of expecting it. And lo and behold, it sounded utterly fantastic at my show. I say this without exaggeration - it was one of the best sounding shows I've ever been to (and yes, I've been to plenty of concerts). The only thing was to maybe bring her vocals up just a bit, but other than that, the overall mix was great that night. Sound was rich, clear, fat and pumpin. And it was loud as FUCK (which I loved considering some shows I've been to lately have not been loud enough). And that heavy bass was so goddamn hard it hit you up in your throat. I LOVED it.
I'm thinking it depends on where your seat is, as most of the bad comments seem to come from the floor or the pits. I'm thinking the speaker layout is probably affected by the tons of rigging coming out over the audience, so perhaps that's affected how the sound fills the space.
But I guess I just got lucky then.

The vip packs are way too expensive and a total rip off. Apart from the pit ones or early entry which are worth their reasonable price.
Charging people $1000 or more for a concert is highway robbery. I don’t get why Europe prices were so much more reasonable?

We’ve heard this story about their encounter already so I won’t add my two cents about that in particular. But I will say that I’m sick and tired of people faulting Madonna for not being nice. It’s the single most boring thing about celebrities today. Never wanting to cause a scene or ruffle a few feathers.
Can you imagine being a woman in the late 70’s/early 80’s and navigating the music industry? Imagine being 65 and navigating it now. The 💥MEN💥 behind the scene's pulling the strings, who own the labels, who cut the checks, are completely misogynistic lawless MONSTERS! I’m thrilled that Madonna isn’t ‘nice’.  If she was, with her self admitted limited abilities, she’d be eaten alive. We wouldn’t have the game changer we have today without her being a calculating, stone cold bitch when it comes to her business dealings and artistic integrity. So she gave you a weird look…deal with it. She told a few kids to fuck off when she had dinner with Michael Jackson…so what? Not to mention, she’s old school NYC bitch! The one Giuliani took away from us. The one where people actually got in your face if they had a problem with you. Yeah, she’s a bitch. She, along with any other woman that the public  love to shit on for not being nice (Jlo 👀 ), don’t owe you niceness. 
Thank God she’s not nice.

Always the same troll ...

People defending Madonna on a Madonna fan board? How absurd!

Madonna doesn't show up in her boustier to pick up her kids at soccer... There's a delineation with her too, it's just not crossing genders so less obvious. He also specifically mentioned performance. 

Exactly. That’s the absurdity of it. There’s something misogynistic about his view. He is attacking Madonna for doing what she does at her age yet he dresses up as a woman and performs at around the same age. So a 63 year old man can impersonate female performers but an actual woman at 65 shouldn’t be performing?

Why? I don’t think he’s insinuating drag is bad, rather that Ru is doing the same thing he’s criticizing - dressing up performatively, having fun, wearing things that are provocative.

So why don’t you then?

Or that 
Its typical of a misogynist to label a woman a bitch if she doesn’t smile and nod at them.

I bet she wasn’t even thinking about him at all and this all happened in his head. 

He’s selling his new book. Desperate.

He is shading her now. Not old news. He’s pathetic.
 

I’m not sure I’d agree with that. If you listen to a lot of r n’b, soul and boogie from 1978-1982, all of Madonna’s earliest material is inspired by and derivative of those genres. Reggie Lucas is literally one of the architects of that sound, and Madonna was a regular at clubs where Larry Levan, Jellybean and champions of the genre DJ’d. It’s mostly a case of that music not making it to the pop mainstream because the genre was considered black, and neither radio nor burgeoning video channels and programming like MTV would play it. Where Into The Groove and much of Nile’s electronic influence on Like A Virgin differs is in the slow infusion of techno, which was also already big in black clubs in Chicago and NY. In this sense, Into The Groove is a blueprint for the future of mainstream dance pop. 
Also, I posted this literally three hours before this post by Chihuahua with the video embedded. It helps to take the time to check if something has already been shared. 😎