Your Favorite Tour Opener

[Queen 572]

I honestly can't decide which one is my the most favorite opener.

Because Madonna is the Queen of the opener. She always bring these dramatic and magical moments and excitement!!

I love so much BAT, MDNA, CT, RIT, GST even love WTGT(i mean WTGT was in 80's but she still bring the dramatic feeling to the audience!!!)

 

But I can easily choose that which one is my least favorite opener. It's definitely Sticky and Sweet tour. 

I really don't like that opening video and her entrance. 

when that chair turn around to the audience I was shocked.

I was like "What? really? that's it? chair turning? that's it? lol I mean at least she could use lift stage (something like RIT or GS) 

But there's only this chair turning... LOL there's no dramatic moment in that opening.

So in my taste S&S tour is my least favorite opener.

 

[NowRadiate 3,331]

WTF indeed!

what has he done to himself?? he used to be good-looking.

 

 

RH(optimistic)/RIT/BAT/DWT/LAV/MDNA/SS/ and whatever else is there

 

 

 

WTF = "what the face"

you can see he is bigger Jackson's fan than Madonna's

 

[katanga 45]

Confessions Tour

[Stevo 6,436]

I saw CT and S&ST live and the opening of future lovers/I feel love for the CT was pretty fantastic IMO. The S&ST opener of the candy machine/candy shop really fell flat for me.

[sidney78a 2,237]

Express Yourself (BAT) followed by Girl Gone Wild (MDNA). The weakest has to be Candy Shop (S&S) though, IMHO.+1

 

Blonde Ambition is sort of a sacred thing for me.

 

I can stil remember :

 

1.) the revolution [of love] she started llike 25y ago and still running strong

2.)  how the music used to make me smile [music makes the ppl come together yeah]

 

[vanjaborrderline 103]

drowned world tour had the best opening with the best song so shut the **** up

[star guardian 683]

vogue at RIT 

[Elazul 250]

Drowned World/Substitute For Love, so simple yet majestic.

 

Erotica is the weakest.

[MadonnaBadgirl 2]

MDNA is the Best Entrance... Besides Confessions & Blond Ambition World Tours.

[Ekans 925]

I'll never forget the 'all these motherfuckers won't ever forgive me' expression on her face. It was P-R-I-C-E-L-E-S-S

 

LOL, this was her worst concert moment ever!!!

[vanjaborrderline 103]

what happened to jamie king's face? he looks very creapy. old hag just had to have a plastic surgery. at least that face is not a mask like the one john kerry wears on "his" face. he is not creapy he just an alien lizard  

[Bitch I’m Madonna 4,678]

MDNA - Girl Gone WildQuintessential Madonna imo.

[Independent Thinker 160]

Confessions all the way for me...

 

[Enrico 15,821]

So difficult to say! Probably Confessions is the most emotional, I still remember how I felt when I saw it in Paris, Blond Ambition is the most iconic, the one I cherish the most because the myth started from here (but in 1987 also WTG was very iconic), MDNA is very theatrical... maybe a little bit too much with the thurible...

I agree with Elazul when he says that Drowned World is majestic in its simplicity: you don't need special effects to make an entrance if you're Madonna!!

Definitely S&S is the one I liked less.

[RebelHeart 750]

I don't get the hate for S&S. CS has such an iconic choreo!

[Lorx 344]

The best openings are BAT and Confessions Tour IMHO

[MerBoy13 577]

Confessions Tour all the way.

[BillyBongo 227]

I liked Girlie show opening, just coming up out of the floor, nice and simple 😊

[Pretender1978 996]

My appologies for the long post I'm about to write, feel free to scroll down, but I live for M opening numbers, so I'm gonna have to review them all, sorry...

As I couldn't make up my mind about the top spot just yet, I watched all openings in a row.

Let me start by stating that I rate the opening, rather than the performance of the first song, you know, the moment where after all the anticipation and build up the queen is revealed. I like the openings that make use of her iconic status and put her on a pedastal even more. I just love how Madonna and her team know how to create an atmosphere where you almost can't believe that it's actually her that you're witnessing. It's a smart move because creating a distance from the audience also allows her to break through that wall later on in the show and make the audience feel even more special that they are seeing her, clever girl.

So from least favorable to the best;

 

Sticky and Sweet;

well, what can I say, none of the above applies here. Meh introduction video (loved the movement of the screens though) the c.a.n.d.y. moment did something for exitement, but then; rotating screen, madonna on chair, no anticipation, no reveal, no nothing. I remember watching it and being totally underwelmed by her performance after that opening, for me it took until the gypsy segment to actually get exited by seeing her. (DWRY was more powerful of an entrance than the actual opening)

 

Drowned World;

I haven't seen it live, so I'm reviewing the video. It didn't really do anything for me, the image of the people wandering on stage with their "I couldn't give a shit that I'm on this stage so I'll just sip my coffee from a cup" attitude is funny, but totally random. I didn't really feel a theme or mood and then she's just there singing a song , in, not her best, stage look, that actually doesn't fit the song at all. Not awful like s&s but nothing special.

 

MDNA;

I'm sorry, but rewatching it, it doesn't make as big of an impression as it's supposed to. I think the whole build up is hillarious, it's over the top, kitch, dramatic, self indulgient (I mean seriously the Maaaaadooonnnnaaaa chant!) and I loved everything about it. I also love her WTG throwback with just her silhouette, but the actual reveal is kinda sloppy, the clumsiness of opening the curtain, taking off the veil and stepping out of the booth kinda slowed it down a bit and broke the magic spell. For me MDNA's flaw was the combination of too many details which made it messy and a rather unelegant pompous stage. Every time the back screens opened whatever came out was gonna be underwelming because of the slow movement of the huge screens... and the backlighting was actually really, really cheap for such a state of the art show. The matrix however... oh my god, that moment in GGW where it lifts as one dramatic stair collum is EVERYTHING!!!!

 

Virgin Tour;

Ha, I wish, nope, reviewing the video.

Of course it's low on the list, but still, with not that many live performances to look back at, none for "Madonna" fans, she made brilliant use of her image, and the sheer enthousiasm she shows approaching the crowd is priceless! Don't be afraid, it's gonna be alright.

 

True Blue;

again from video.

Here she's getting into form and already playing with the recreation of her own iconic images, her silhouette combined with the deLempica paintings from the video, the chair dance all on the repetitive opening chords of OYH. Concidering the elaborate stage shows didn't exist yet because she didn't invent them yet, this one is up there.

 

Blond Ambition;

This changed live concerts forever (and me too as it was my first Madonna concert)

It's hard to imagine now, but back then, staring at an empty stage and watch it slowly transform into the EY set was something no one had ever seen before, and was, well, mesmerising. First the collums rose, slowly, then the backdrop descended and rotating wheels appeared and then the staircase came from the ground, FROM THE GROUND! You know that these stairs are not there for no reason but to allow Madonna on stage, the anticipation is killing you, now there are the dancers and before you know it the chorus of her first single is playing and up rises the queen looking at you through her monocle. Aaaaah

 

Girlie Show;

from video (Grrrrrrrr)

This is probably my favorite show, it's also the last one without making use of any screens but relying on sets and backdrops (I still wish M is gonna use a physical curtain again, that would be so revolutionary) Being the smutfest it actually is, it is also one of the most sophisticated and elegant shows she has done with the most beautiful art direction ever. I love the simplicity of the sets, all the references, the best looking dancers she's used etc.

Back to the opening, I love the burlesque/circus theme, with the flashy search lights and the red curtain. First a clown appears, odd, why would a clown appear, oh ok, it's gone again and now there's a naked lady descending from a rather huge pole, quite impressivly actually, to the opening chords of Erotica (brilliant live version of the Kenlou B-Boy mix) And then it makes sense, there's the innocent, comedic as well as tragic clown, an actor, and then there's the hypnotising, seductrice, the stripper, acrobat, entertainer, an actor too. Then rises a third figure, far away on the satge, caged by light beams, head held down, wearing a mask, unrecognisable but unmistakingly Madonna, the starring actor of a show that is making clear that you're gonna see things you have never seen before, might not understand but maybe secretly enjoy, as long as you realise that none of it is real. Because once the red curtains that rose a few moments ago come down again you will snap back to reality.

Sorry got a bit carried away with this one.

 

Confessions;

the only reason why this isn't n.1 is that it's sort of a remake of RIT's opening, so the whole concept of starting with a video etc. was no surprise anymore, and although RIT has my favour, this is pretty flawless. The reveal of M took some time (to this day I wonder how small the hole was she had to crawl in, and were the lights already on? wasn't she blinded by the contrast once the discoball opened? did she ever stand on the other side by accident?) but nothing could prepare me for the opening of the disco ball right in front of me looking exactly like the familiar video star I just saw on screen.

 

Re-Invention;

For me this is the one. The appearance of the stage walking is was already so great because it was quite small, and blocked from view by two massive screens, almost like curtains ;-) The video introduction was so great, the music really evoking, the imagery mysterious, haunting and vulnerable, again putting the emphasis on the performer, the taking on of caracters. The real star for me were the screens though, funny enough, as much as I dislike them normally at RIT they were beautiful and such an important part of the show, their movement was so innovative and state of the art and yet they were so elegant, coming closer to the performance to make it more intimate, spreading out during the grander moments and sometimes, shock, horror, they were just black! Back the opening, as much as some people seem to dislike RIT for beeing a hits show, for me there is no opening playing the Madonna superstar card as good as this one. The always recognisable singular synth line of vogue, her ascending, again head down, to that sphere background, it's life LIFE I tell you.

 

So I hope this took me long enough for M to post another teaser for RHT in the meantime.

[Unapologetic Bitch 48]

Iconic. Virgin Mary / Girl Gone Wild comes after.

[o_g_c_x 2,785]

It was Confessions til I saw Rebel Heart tour the part she says: are you with me? Is breathtaking

[reinvented_0 389]

The MDNA Tour and second Confessions Tour