Ronk

This remix is totally amazing:

Frankly, I wish Masterpiece was in the poll. Click on the cover photo in my profile.

Vogue, but Like A Prayer is very close second imo.

I see your point. I can't make an opinion since MX is the only tour I've attended. I hope so much she tours in the future, as I would love to attend each tour. I feel badly I missed her earlier tours. I know one thing: Even in the MX tour, and even if it's her worst tour, when Madonna stands in front of you on that stage it is an overwhelming feeling that will live within you forever.

I agree that you may be able to compare tours with each other from recordings of the tours. But I don't believe a person can judge a show without seeing it in person. I have attended enough tours of various artists where I expected the show to be mediocre, but when seeing it in person the show was spectacular. Recordings can't replicate the experience of being there. I gave an explanation of this by comparing an audience level video with a professional video here: https://madonna-infinity.net/forums/topic/20391-madame-x-tour-london/page/40/?tab=comments#comment-851749

Yes, it would be, but I posted those thoughts to my friends days before the concert. When I was informed that if the concert was cancelled my money would be automatically refunded to my credit card, I emailed my friends that while the refund would be all well and good, I felt the concert wasn't transactional and I shared those thoughts explaining why. It turned out my concert (Philadelphia, December 7) was not cancelled. At the concert she talked about her pain from multiple injuries and how she had to soak in warm water to get some relief. The cold on the stage was clearly causing her more pain, despite her brave face. After the concert I told my friends that I would have been happy if she had cancelled the show to take of her health, because she is aggravating her injuries. Madonna is one of those artists who cares more for her fans than she does for her own heath. It would be great if her fans returned the sentiment and cared more about her than about themselves. I think fans would feel differently if they were the ones living in pain and still trying to keep every engagement they possibly could manage while their doctor was telling them if they kept going their injuries could become permanent. I would feel differently about artists who cancel shows out of convenience rather than necessity. In those cases I would be upset about the time and money spent for the travel and hotel stay.

You make a good point, and I feel badly for fans who lost money and feel let down. But I look at Madonna differently than many fans do. To me, the chance to see Madonna in concert is not transactional. It's not about paying money and expecting something in return. It's entirely about the chance to be in the same room with the legend who changed pop music forever, the queen who led the way for all who followed, and the icon who is credited by other artists to be an inspiration and an influence. If she had to cancel my concert I would feel very badly for her, because I know she would have to be in terrible pain, and also with mental anguish of having letting her fans down. She's a very good person and needs to be shown love, not made to feel more badly than she already does. She's in a very bad situation, with her injuries forcing her to cancel concerts. She pushes herself too hard and risks permanent injury because she hates to disappoint her fans. The best fans can to is rally behind her, pray for her, and wish her relief from her pain and to heal so she can get on with her life.

Typical of fan-bases of most artists. Fans are the artist's most demanding critics. I wish fans would celebrate artists for who they are as people, and not be so critical when the artist doesn't produce exactly what fans want at any given time. Artists work very hard, are talented, and provide much entertainment and joy to the world. They deserve to be celebrated, not dragged.

Beautiful!

I remember that. It was iconic.

Open your heart

I understand. You make good points. While you seem mostly concerned with the sound in a DVD, I am mostly concerned with the DVD replicating the experience of being there live in the audience. I can make my point visually. Compare the last five minutes of this Nightwish concert in Shanghai in two videos. Those five minutes include the end of their final song, a short break while the band goes backstage, then their return to take their epic bow. This video is from the audience perspective, and it puts you there, both visually and emotionally, Check out the last five minutes starting at 40:25 Compare with the following professional video. it's impersonal, like watching a movie instead of being there, and the sound does not reflect what you would hear from the position of the cameras as they change from place to place... the last 5 minutes starting at 10:42:

Yes, I agree. I think people complaining about ticket prices, late starts, and cancellations, should step back and think again about the situation. The chance is to be in the same room with the artist who reinvented pop music and led the way for the artists who followed, and is rightfully an icon, queen, and legend. That chance makes concerns about cost and inconvenience seem trivial in the greater scheme of things. To me, it is not transactional. It's not about paying money and expecting entertainment in return. It is entirely about the chance to be in that room with Madonna. You go to concerts and watch DVDs, so I would love your opinion on this: I hope Madonna releases an audience-level DVD of the Madame X show. Not one taken from cameras on cranes or on the ceiling or from other places where members of the audience would not be, but from where people actually sit or stand. And I would want the sound coming from the position of the camera, not from a feed on the stage. Such a DVD would give some of the feeling of actually being there. I make videos from my seat at most concerts I attend of many artists, and I trim each down to 4 or 5 minutes of the you-had-to-be-there moments. While those videos cannot recreate the aura of being there, they bring back the memory of that aura of what it was like in the audience. I use my videos as memories of the experience. I think the professional DVDs are great for people who did not attend the tour, but for people who did attend but couldn't record, the type of video I suggest would be useful, imo.

I wish I knew the answer. Someone who had been in that situation would know.

There's something about a live performance that can't be duplicated with television, video, or DVD. There's love in the air, a connection of the artists with those in the audience. There's also the atmosphere or aura that you only feel if your are there surrounded by the event. I hope so much you get to see Madame X. I was very lucky my show was not cancelled. The three previous shows were cancelled. But if my show had been cancelled I would have been grateful that Madonna was taking care of herself instead of risking further injury. And I would have cried knowing the pain she must be going through, because she does not cancel a show unless there is no choice. Madonna is in a very tough situation right now. I hope fans think more about her than they think about themselves.

I had received a note from Ticketmaster about Madame X show in Philadelphia. They said if the show was cancelled, money would be automatically refunded to the credit card which was used for the purchase.

This happens with other artists, too. People who haven't seen the show are the ones who pan it. I attend shows of many artists, and they are always much better than I expected. Performing artists shine so brightly when in front of their audience.

Madonna's greatness shines through this very honest review: https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-51320857

True, but only to a limited extent. I find the live concert experience to be totally different than DVD or video. There's something indescribable, beautiful, and thrilling about the atmosphere, ambience, and aura surrounding you at a concert. And that, somehow, makes the artist on stage just shine. When I attend a concert of any of the mpgs, my thought is omg I didn't know that artist was that amazing. Most professional recordings do not describe the concert at all because the cameras are on cranes or the ceiling or other places where no person would be and the sound is from the stage, not from the positions of the cameras. It's like watching a movie, it's fake and impersonal. Videos, professional or amateur, made from the perspective of people in the audience are much better, but actually being there in person cannot be duplicated, even with 7.1 surround sound and 4k video. Since cameras/phones weren't allowed at the Madame X concert, I hope Madonna will release a DVD from the audience perspective to try to put the viewer "there" as much as possible. An example is the last 5 minutes of a Nightwish concert here at 40:20 to the end: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymOZ6w1iVyg

Masterpiece is incredibly beautiful.

Yes, but I'm including Cher, along with Madonna, as one of the few who are already legends. One of the very few who is still performing, She doesn't have to slay for two more decades to achieve that. Most of the mpgs do, however, to have a chance to be legendary. Fan bases like to call their faves legends, even though most will not go down in history as legends. I do wish all artists success and happiness, though, because they each deserve that for bringing joy and inspiration to so many people.

The songs in the video are in consecutive order as they were in the concert. I find it amazing that she is most vigorous in the final two songs after having been onstage for two hours. I think she was totally pumped at the end, and you can see she just glowed. Omg. Also, the look Cher serves at the very end of three consecutive songs starting at 7:11 (After All, Walking In Memphis, and I Found Someone), was the look of a true legend staring out at the audience. I've seen Stevie Nicks portray a "legend" appearance with her arm gestures, but Cher does it with her facial expression, imo. Those looks seem to say she's been through it all and she seriously rules. Just my thoughts. It brings to mind what legends Madonna and Cher already are, when so many mpgs can only hope to someday be if they can only slay continually for another 2 or 3 decades to cement their status in history. So few have a realistic chance to achieve that.

I go to concerts of many artists, and what you say is true for all of them. People who drag the tours never saw the show, and they have no idea of the amazing experience they missed.