SonnyX

I just wanted to share my thoughts and feelings about yesterday's show in Cologne. It was simply FANTASTIC! My first ever concert of M and it was amazing. She was in great form even though she has been through a lot of health problems, but I was surprised by how much she actually dances. She was also smiling a lot which was beautiful. Before the show I had watched a few of the videos online and I was kind of confused about it, because it seemed like not on par with her previous tours and a few setlist choices left me wondering. All of these feelings disappeared once I saw the show live. The song choices and the storyline now make a lot more sense to me and the show overall seems very well planned with so much attention to details (costumes, references, tributes etc). Live to tell and Mother and father were so emotional and for personal reasons even La isla bonita brought me to tears... I had to elaborate the whole show once I got home and I am still in awe. M showed me once more why she plays in a league of her own and why she means so much to me.

When I first read the setlist I was kind of confused. I didn't understand how it would tell M's story but seeing the live clips and reading the explanation by a lot of fans here on this forum has made me appreciate it more and more. There are just a couple of adjustments I would have made (in my opinion) to include some bigger hits and place some songs in a different order just to make the storyline flow better: Nothing Really Matters Everybody Into the Groove Burning Up Open your heart Holiday Live To Tell Like a Prayer = flawless section Erotica Justify my love Fever Express yourself Vogue Bad girl Human Nature = Fever needs to be longer cause it makes it a perfect transition to the next song which imo should be EY. HU is out of place here. EY is sexy and empowering and the lingerie outfit reminds me of the EY video. Vogue should follow next to continue the high energy level. Then Bad girl and at last Human nature finishing with the lines ABSOLUTELY NO REGRETS. Just to remind us all again that no matter the backlash M received during this era she has no regrets at all. Crazy for you is just awkward in this section. The Beast Within Die Another Day Don't Tell Me Mother and Father La Isla Bonita Take A Bow = instead of DCFMA I would have put TAB here instead and not as a mashup but performing LIB and TAB in full. TAB is one of her biggest hits and I know that DCFMA represents her Evita phase but I see it working only in Argentina I Don't Search I Find Bedtime Story Ray of Light Frozen Rescue Me = Rain is quite an odd choice here. The Sickick Remix of Frozen would have been better cause this section would represent her late 90s electronic resurgence and Frozen played a big part in this. Plus the remix went viral last year so it would have been amazing. Rescue Me as the closing number here would have worked perfectly! It fits the dark mood of Frozen and I would have been happy even with an a cappella number sang with the fans. Like a Virgin / Billie Jean Hung Up Give Me All Your Luvin / Girl Gone Wild Bitch I'm Madonna Celebration / Music = after the LAV segment the lines "time goes by so slowly" can be heard and we transition to HU. It would have been a great way to jump from one of her earliest biggest hits to one of her latest. Followed by a mashup of GMAYL and GGW. Then BIM and as the closing song Celebration but as a real mashup with Music and not just a snippet. It would have been cool if M would have stopped performing halfway through Celebration, complete silence, M looking at the screaming crowd and then saying "Hey Mr. DJ put a record on I wanna dance with my baby" and then continuing with Music. Anyway, I am still happy of what we have!

I totally agree! I hope that they really do work together on a new album. Although the question is can they both create something magical once again? I don't mean that they have to repeat themselves and create another Confessions (which is impossible and Madonna wouldn't want that) but do they still have that chemistry and that mindset to create another great body of work together? I am asking myself this cause we know that it did not happen with William Orbit. We expected something unique and amazing like Ray of Light when they worked together again on MDNA but in the end we got something... let's say different

I know that compilations have become obsolete because of streaming services and playlists, but I would have loved a second volume of STR. There have been so many other beautiful ballads since then and a well promoted compilation could have given them some more recognition and remind the general public that Madonna is also a great balladeer. But I am so happy that Madonna is giving her ballads some love during the Celebration Tour. I mean Live to tell, Crazy for you, Rain, Bad girl.... all in one show! Can't wait to hear them live!

Oh I see... well then the inclusion makes sense. It is indeed a beautiful track, I thought it was just a random choice

I love the STR compilation and that (short-lived) ballad era. She looked so stunning and that Versace 95 campaign is still my favourite photo shoot of hers. She doesn't get enough credit for her ballads, probably because she has never had a huge voice like Whitney or Celine, but the way she performs a ballad is simply unique. She knows how to let her emotions shine through and that is what really matters. You can really feel the pain or the romance in her singing. My only complaint is that she left out The Look of love. I think that it is the only ballad (apart from Bad Girl which was not included for obvious reasons) that was released as a single but was omitted from the album. I will never understand the inclusion of Forbidden Love. Was it intended to be a single during that era? I love them both but The look of love deserved to be on the album.

As a lot of you have pointed out, those (horrible) live streams and initial video clips had a negative impact on quite a few fans including myself, feeling kind of underwhelmed by the show. The official Live Nation clips and other amateur videos that have surfaced later on, have made me re-evaluate the show and I think that watching it live in november will make me appreciate it even more. I don't mind her dancing less than on previous tours because she cannot sustain heavy choreos anymore and this is completely understandable and I don't want her getting severe injuries again. I do feel though that parts of the show like the ending feel kind of rushed and even the setlist does not really flow that well. Maybe because I cannot see a narrative this time around? It feels kind of like a Spotify playlist rather than a well thought song order. Maybe songs like Rescue me or Express yourself before BIM/Celebration would have worked better for example. Other segments like the Erotica/ JML / HP part are just fantastic and I loved the chair choreo on Open your heart. The costumes are also not very creative, I do love the NRM outfit, the silver catsuit and the black corset outfit. Others just seem like outfits that she always wears for Instagram posts, so nothing really special. Anyway, can't wait for tonight's show to see what surprises she may have in store for us and can't wait to see her live in november

Just a quick question: is the silver vinyl release of Ray of Light still happening? I have not seen it on the RSD release list for november

Wed, November 15 - Cologne - Lanxess Arena Someone else here on this forum who is attending the Cologne show?

Good to know thanks. I ordered my copy at my local record store back in July but they still have not received it.

Can't wait to have this vinyl!!! my only (little) complaint: the two bonus tracks at the end of the tracklist. I prefer the correct setlist order cause otherwise it just ruins the whole experience for me. But it has been the same with other live releases so...

HHV and jpc.de have the release date still listed as 14 July

All this is making me feel so sad these days. On one hand, I hope that M is recovering and that she will be back stronger than ever, because her health is the most important aspect. On the other hand, if the European leg will be canceled too, the whole situation is worse than expected. And this will be the second time that I will miss her seeing live on stage. And I have never had the opportunity to see her live the first time I got tickets for M was during the Madame X Tour in Paris and she canceled my show just two hours before start. So again, I know that M needs to rest because her health is the most important thing right now, but I can also understand the disappointment among fans. Let's hope for the best for both us fans and M

Has somebody ever ordered from hhv.de or jpc.de? Are they reliable? Because you can pre-order MDNA on those websites. Btw, I have also seen that Rhino sells Madonna vinyls too. But they ship from the US, so has somebody from Europe ever bought from that store and can they recommend it?

Do you think that it is going to be sold through Amazon as well? Because usually you can pre-order albums on there but I cannot find it.