Anonna

Contrary to popular belief, Covid is not over. Here in Britain, the government and the people have decided to ignore it and live like it doesn’t exist any more. Unfortunately, it does. It’s there to catch you. Watch out, people.

Yeah, stop making the endless supply of those ugly T-shirts and apparel instead!

As I posted on the Merch Pics thread (p.2), a number of major artists who used to have a program/tour book on every previous tour have stopped producing it for their latest tours. There may be an “ecological concern” behind this trend like ticket going paperless on smartphone. Team Madonna may be following the trend, too.

I normally buy a program/tour book (as otcoam posts above, they are synonymous and refer to the same thing in common sense AFAIK). But when I arrived at the Manchester Arena for her Rebel Heart Tour 2015, I found it too expensive in the first place, way more pricey than M’s other tours (I don’t remember how much to be exact, though — does anybody remember?). And I was so gutted by the late start/truncated show I boycotted the purchase, eventually. FTR the program for the Madame X show was reasonably priced so I bought one (again, I don’t remember the price, 15-20 quid? It was definitely cheaper than the RHT one) — although I was treated to the abridged show once again!

On the AXS website, these £93 seats (section 401 and 422) are described as “LIMITED VIEW”. I could accept that, but what matters is how limited the view is. Does that massive rig suspended in the air block the view from these sections? I’d appreciate the comments, especially from those who attended the show last weekend.

I wish you a good luck!

Frankly speaking, M’s intention aside, they look to my eyes more like an army of zombies or ghouls rather than master artworks. Just scary

And imagine Rebel Heart Tour ending after Material Girl. …Oops, that happened to me in Manchester, at that now legendary fucked-up night. My worst Madonna concert bar none. And I was at one of the abridged Madam X shows at London Palladium, the last night of her residency at the venue. Curse my choice and bad luck.

Hi thanks. That would rule out keeping the setlist secret from the public as the reason of the unavailability of the tour book on the opening night. Wonder if it is sold in the merch today (I doubt it).

My theory or speculation is that M deliberately picks all these ugly images for some artistic purpose. Surely it’s intentional. There may be irony or whatever it is behind the decision. Whether it fits or works for the career-encompassing tour under the title, “Celebration”, I don’t know…

Can you consider catching one of her forthcoming North American shows? It is much closer from you in Brazil than Lisbon (or Europe for that matter). She will also play Mexico City — even closer and no jet lag whatsoever. I hope you will be able to make it, amigo!

Ugh…more like “Deconstruction” tour

At the expense of prospective earnings from the sale of the program on the first night? Sounds like a strange assumption to me… Adding to that, AFAIK the majority of concert programs don’t put a setlist for fear of spoiling concert-goers’ experience to begin with. I don’t have M’s tour books from previous tours at hand, though. Did any of them reveal the songs to be performed on stage beforehand?

I hope so. However, all of the artists I mentioned in my post used to have a tour book/program prior to the most current tours or shows, and none does any more…

The most current tours of the Stones, Springsteen, Depeche Mode didn’t offer the tour book. There wasn’t a program in the merch at last year’s Clapton concerts as well as the Jeff Beck Tribute in May. Seemingly the long-standing tradition of program/tour book is becoming a thing of the past. It’s paperless age, baby. The physical ticket is gone, now the program. The disappearance of memorabilia. Sad. Instead we are getting more and more of flimsy, poor-quality but pricey T-shirts. Awful.

FYI a little known fact: Of the proposed five dates in Japan for the Who’s That Girl World Tour 1987, the first of the three Tokyo shows, June 20, was cancelled at the last minute on show day due to foul weather despite “rain or shine” being printed on the ticket. “When severe storms forced the cancellation of her first shows, despondent fans nearly rioted, and Madonna was confronted with out-of-control teenagers soaking themselves in the rain outside the stadium. Promoters had no choice but to refund U.S. $7 million to ticket-buyers.”[Wiki] The tour itinerary on the Wiki article puts that date with no indication of cancellation, though. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who%27s_That_Girl_World_Tour

Indeed, I feel more than 90 % of the bad reputation surrounding Madame X comes from the tour.

Yes and no. Great idea. Bad execution. In short, an ambitious failure. And presumably yes for those who caught the full show but not so much for those who couldn’t. For the others who totally missed out the show because of rescheduling or cancellations...hardly or not at all perhaps.

Well I told you so...(on the London thread)

I saw the last London night, Feb 16. Never a diehard whatsoever, I grabbed a last minute-release “cheap” seat (£140 + fee = £161). It was a short set, but I enjoyed the show, and thought it was worth coming. That being said, however, I couldn’t help but feel shortchanged. While those who attended the first of any of the two consecutive nights in London were invariably treated to a full show, the others who chose the second night by chance or not had to be contended with a truncated set, although we all paid the same price. Unfair. I feel that to say you should feel lucky or grateful as there are many who couldn’t make it to see the show at all because of the cancellation only rubs salt in the wound. It can’t be justified by such false consolation. IMHO, after Madonna decided to cut short the London second night (Jan 30), she should have carried on with the short set through the rest of ALL the dates if she felt she couldn’t manage the full show every night. At least there would not have been a bitter feeling of unfairness shared among half of the entire crowds who have been to the shows (the fortunate one who caught the first night being the one-off exception). It also would have served as a benefit for her less than perfect physical state. And now, see what’s going on in Paris, the full/short set rotation tactics has indeed started to take its toll. Last but not least; why did I buy the last minute-release ticket near the end of her London residency, knowing, at that point of time, it was most likely the final night would be a short set, you may ask? I was hoping she might make a last-ditch effort to round off the London leg — boy was I wrong.