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Is the Madame X tour her worst tour?


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The Who's that Girl World Tour was the archetype for every modern concert performed by every major artist since.  It was mammoth and groundbreaking in every way.  It was historic as it was the first time that a woman ever headlined a world tour.  Describing it as "simplistic" is a disgrace.  

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On 4/16/2020 at 2:21 AM, Sultrysully said:

The Who's that Girl World Tour was the archetype for every modern concert performed by every major artist since.  It was mammoth and groundbreaking in every way.  It was historic as it was the first time that a woman ever headlined a world tour.  Describing it as "simplistic" is a disgrace.  

I know... but the fact that The Blond Ambition Tour only 3 years later took everything from this tour to another level shaded it forever IMO. But it was actually already very good and the true game changer, I agree.

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On 3/10/2020 at 6:08 PM, scion said:

I was always of the impression and feeling that I had to be 100% besotted and onboard with everything that she does , and that I'd be less of a valid Madonna fan if I disliked an era... but apart from the Super Bowl and the brilliant tour performances of Revolver and Celebration, I didn't like a single thing. I was back on board for everything that followed between MDNA and RH and realised that it's perfectly fine to be honest with your feelings. 

 

This. 100%. You know, it’s very hard to be a Madonna fan. I think it’s very easy to come across some people in this world, who are so hardcore they’re absolutely delusional. 1- it’s ok to not be obsessed with everything she does and still gag over her every move. 2- it’s OK to refer to a “demo” and not even think twice if it’s “demo #4 straight pass rough take work print...”. Haha.
 

But what I found normal, for me,  was that this tour just wasn’t anything hype for me. I was actually kind of glad she skipped Canada. Having such few Madonna live experiences, I don’t know if I would have walked away wow’d. Probably. But who knows.

But getting back to what you said, yes being perfectly fine with your honest feelings is absolutely normal.

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16 minutes ago, Andymad said:

This. 100%. You know, it’s very hard to be a Madonna fan. I think it’s very easy to come across some people in this world, who are so hardcore they’re absolutely delusional. 1- it’s ok to not be obsessed with everything she does and still gag over her every move. 2- it’s OK to refer to a “demo” and not even think twice if it’s “demo #4 straight pass rough take work print...”. Haha.
 

But what I found normal, for me,  was that this tour just wasn’t anything hype for me. I was actually kind of glad she skipped Canada. Having such few Madonna live experiences, I don’t know if I would have walked away wow’d. Probably. But who knows.

But getting back to what you said, yes being perfectly fine with your honest feelings is absolutely normal.

Yeah, I totally agree. I’ve seen so many people saying you have to see the tour to really understand it but honestly, when I came out of the theatre I really did not understand how people saw it as one of her best tours. I’m not saying it was bad at all, I just could not rank it among her best tours. 

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12 minutes ago, Nobody Knows Me said:

Yeah, I totally agree. I’ve seen so many people saying you have to see the tour to really understand it but honestly, when I came out of the theatre I really did not understand how people saw it as one of her best tours. I’m not saying it was bad at all, I just could not rank it among her best tours. 

And I guess I’ll never understand that. I think my idea of spending my rent on Madonna tickets, is leaving there sweaty and emotional and exhausted from dancing haha. This is why I’m so sad I missed the Confessions Tour.

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8 minutes ago, Andymad said:

And I guess I’ll never understand that. I think my idea of spending my rent on Madonna tickets, is leaving there sweaty and emotional and exhausted from dancing haha. This is why I’m so sad I missed the Confessions Tour.

Exactly. My favourite Madonna tours are the ‘big’ ones personally like Confessions Tour, Blond Ambition Tour, The Girlie Show, MDNA. I’m still annoyed at myself for missing the Rebel Heart Tour but hopefully there’ll be another tour in the future for us to attend. 

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1 minute ago, Mister_Pop said:

Am the only one who did move and dance to my Madame X show ?

I mean it was still a Madonna Tour to me. Except that I was close enough to actually see her sing, and she talked more, but as far as the show is concerned, you got a real Madonna show.

 

And you know what, that’s amazing! As much of a disconnect I had from this era it’s really great to hear that other fans did enjoy the show and had a blast.

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4 hours ago, Mister_Pop said:

Am the only one who did move and dance to my Madame X show ?

I mean it was still a Madonna Tour to me. Except that I was close enough to actually see her sing, and she talked more, but as far as the show is concerned, you got a real Madonna show.

 

You make me excited for the DVD. I know I'll be up dancing in my living room when I finally get to see it. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

In truth it’s like comparing apples and oranges. Madame X wasn’t a spectacular in anyway shape or form. Seeing as it was a theatre style smaller production I actually expected a hell of a lot more in terms of stage stuff. Much more in line with cirque de soleil. 
There were two or three cute stage effects but I felt the energy of the entire show was kind of subdued and slow. Even the uptempo numbers seemed to have a stilted energy about them. It was very Madonna in your living room. 
 

A bit like Madame X there were moments of brilliance but the money shot was so often missing and things rarely climaxed. 
 

but like I say you can’t really compare with the drama and production of something like MDNA. 
I was hoping for more of a Girlie Show warmth but hey. 
I still had a great time but I really think a Theatre tour would have been much much much more suited to a broader selection from her back catalogue. 
Maybe the DVD will frame things differently but I don’t feel like the mood or energy or vibe changed much throughout the show.

and I’m still pissed AF about Rescue Me being dropped. 

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  • 1 month later...

I think there was much to be enjoyed in this show, but I found the stage design much simpler than I’d wanted, and the tone of the show was slightly stilted and murky. I felt like it had more potential than was actualized, and unfortunately Madonna’s injuries only added to this impression. However, let’s be real. I have seen a lot of modern theater, and there is some gimmicky shit out there! This felt like straight from the mind of playwright M...She has a style, and even when occasionally suffering from a tiny itch of amateurism, Madonna is always a remarkable and compelling performer! And while she can afford the luxury of experimentation at this advanced stage in her performance career, the fact that she committed to the entire Madame X project and saw it through as the world was crumbling around her while facing hugely debilitating injuries and sickness, is unfortunate, but extraordinary; even miraculous! Brava! 
 

The tour deserves to be considered on par with The Girlie Show in my humble opinion:

1. Confessions

2. Blond Ambition

3. MDNA

4. The Girlie Show/Madame X

5. Drowned World

6. WTG

7. Sticky + Sweet (both versions)

8. Rebel Heart

9. Reinvention 

10. Virgin (And even coming in last, it would get an A+ by any other standard if it weren’t so short!) 

 

???

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Laughing at people saying The Virgin Tour and WTG tour are the worst of her tours. 

The god damn raw power a brilliance of Madonna alone on stage without the bells and whistles of later tours is exactly what made her a touring force and proved to the world she wasn't just some studio recorded, glossed manufactured pop puppet. 

EVERY SINGLE MOMENT

of those tours on film is Iconic. 

No layouver effects and quick edits to give the illusion of energy / atmosphere. It's all there. raw on film bursting through the screen. 

The perfect blend of those raw days and the over processed nonsense of the last three tour films sits beautifully in The Girlie Show and Blond Ambition.

 

Anyone saying any of the tours after 2006 aren't her worst tours in terms of setlist / vocals / journey / visuals is frankly interpreting studio fuckery with live magic. 

 

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6 hours ago, steady75 said:

Laughing at people saying The Virgin Tour and WTG tour are the worst of her tours. 

The god damn raw power a brilliance of Madonna alone on stage without the bells and whistles of later tours is exactly what made her a touring force and proved to the world she wasn't just some studio recorded, glossed manufactured pop puppet. 

EVERY SINGLE MOMENT

of those tours on film is Iconic. 

No layouver effects and quick edits to give the illusion of energy / atmosphere. It's all there. raw on film bursting through the screen. 

The perfect blend of those raw days and the over processed nonsense of the last three tour films sits beautifully in The Girlie Show and Blond Ambition.

 

Anyone saying any of the tours after 2006 aren't her worst tours in terms of setlist / vocals / journey / visuals is frankly interpreting studio fuckery with live magic. 

 

Totally agree. Whilst these two tours may not be the 'spectacles' as were the tours which followed, these two tours showed a real and raw Madonna... a Madonna full of energy and passion... and these tours are the only two touring occasions where she has performed 100% live. Personally, though these two are not my favourite Madonna tours, I rank them a lot higher than RIT, S&S, MDNA, RH and MXT. 

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WTG tour was so forward thinking back in the day, and you must remember we had not yet had the brilliance of the BAT. The live singing and dancing across a MASSIVE stadium stage was something I had never seen before, the synchronised dancing during into the Groove, storytelling during OTH, was amazing. My friends, we all wanted the black trousers the wore at the start, and I love the LIB costume. While I agree that it does not seem as spectacular as her later works at the time it was HUGE. It was on TV in Australia and I taped it and wore the tape out. That tour, coupled with Blonde Ambition and IBWM meant that by the time the Girlie Show arrived on our shore, it was the music event of the year!

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13 hours ago, steady75 said:

Laughing at people saying The Virgin Tour and WTG tour are the worst of her tours. 

The god damn raw power a brilliance of Madonna alone on stage without the bells and whistles of later tours is exactly what made her a touring force and proved to the world she wasn't just some studio recorded, glossed manufactured pop puppet. 

EVERY SINGLE MOMENT

of those tours on film is Iconic. 

No layouver effects and quick edits to give the illusion of energy / atmosphere. It's all there. raw on film bursting through the screen. 

The perfect blend of those raw days and the over processed nonsense of the last three tour films sits beautifully in The Girlie Show and Blond Ambition.

 

Anyone saying any of the tours after 2006 aren't her worst tours in terms of setlist / vocals / journey / visuals is frankly interpreting studio fuckery with live magic. 

 

I think MDNA was an extraordinary show. Madonna is a performance artist, and so my personal assessment of her work is based upon the effectiveness of her vision, and not just her vocal prowess. Additionally, having seen all of her tours since Blond Ambition in person, I would like to clarify that my opinion is based upon the live concert experience, and not the way it was edited for home entertainment. I also made it abundantly clear that The Virgin Tour came last because it was short, and in terms of delivery, it was charming, but clunky. It has its brilliance, but in comparison to the sheer scope and ambition of later tours I just don't find it as strong or compelling. Trust me! I watched the hell out of my VHS back in 1986, and so I am definitely not dismissing its value as a Madonna artifact!

If I were to reconsider my critique to judge her performance as a live rock act, then by all means WTG was stellar, and unique for her. However, I made a contemporary assessment based upon the criteria we have come to associate with Madonna's live shows. 

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  • 1 month later...
On 5/9/2020 at 8:33 AM, steady75 said:

In truth it’s like comparing apples and oranges. Madame X wasn’t a spectacular in anyway shape or form. Seeing as it was a theatre style smaller production I actually expected a hell of a lot more in terms of stage stuff. Much more in line with cirque de soleil. 
There were two or three cute stage effects but I felt the energy of the entire show was kind of subdued and slow. Even the uptempo numbers seemed to have a stilted energy about them. It was very Madonna in your living room. 
 

A bit like Madame X there were moments of brilliance but the money shot was so often missing and things rarely climaxed. 
 

but like I say you can’t really compare with the drama and production of something like MDNA. 
I was hoping for more of a Girlie Show warmth but hey. 
I still had a great time but I really think a Theatre tour would have been much much much more suited to a broader selection from her back catalogue. 
Maybe the DVD will frame things differently but I don’t feel like the mood or energy or vibe changed much throughout the show.

and I’m still pissed AF about Rescue Me being dropped. 

I totally agree, especially with these highlighted points. Madame X Tour wasn’t “bad” but it exactly felt like Madonna on a very tight budget, and you worded it perfectly with “Madonna in your living room”. The equipment weren’t the high tech spectacle she brought to every show, the performances weren’t the outstanding energy from MDNA and S&S or the theatrics of Confessions, BAT and TGS, and it wasn’t real theater either and the outfits were mostly forgettable, not to mention the set list didn’t seem to work that well or the interludes.

The idea for a theater tour had endless potential and I was hoping that she’d take advantage of that to make real theater, to make a spectacle on a small stage that fits this atmosphere, and maybe make this more ballad focused and real theater show, especially with the injury not letting her dance, she could’ve used that to rework the set list with more ballads and slower songs. She could’ve made some outstanding ballad performances with hidden gems from her catalogue and new songs and that could’ve been HEAVEN to every Madonna fan, it could’ve been this intimate hardcore fan show that everyone was dreaming off, but it sadly came off as a low budget downsized version of her main shows.

I saw the show twice and I did have fun but it doesn’t compare to what MDNA Tour did to me or even Rebel Heart Tour.

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On 5/9/2020 at 1:33 PM, steady75 said:

and I’m still pissed AF about Rescue Me being dropped. 

Me too - I was so disappointed after she gave us the rehearsal clip on Instagram with the full choir and rendition sounding faithful to the original and then what the final version was.  I think it would have fitted the theme perfectly and could have actually been the closing number or replaced Come Alive and torn the roof off and been the highlight of the show

Edited by MDNA22 (see edit history)
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The Madame X Tour isn't bad in itself but Madonna is just a shadow of herself on this tour. No more energy, no more "joie de vivre", and disrespect for its audience: delays, cancellations, first part deleted on many dates (including mine) the very vulgar scene of the Polaroid and her silhouette deformed by the butt implant. It was painful to see. A show that had potential but without the Madonna from before

 

My ranking :

1. Blond Ambition tour 20/20

2. Who's that girl tour 19/20

3. Drowned World Tour 18/20

4. Confessions Tour 17/20

5. MDNA tour 16/20

6. Sticky & Sweat Tour  15/20

7. Girlie Show 13/20

8. ReInvention Tour 12/20

9. Rebel Heart tour 10/20

10. Virgin tour  9/20

11. Madame X tour 7/20

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  • 1 month later...

I didn't see the show live but I actually didn't like many of the pieces I saw/heard. I got mad at the fact she sang basically the whole concert using that annoying effect on her voice. Actually I don't even know how much of that is really live or pre-recorded. I have the same doubt about the MDNA Tour. Another thing I was disappointed with is that she didn't seem to be so creative with regard to the setlist and how the songs are put together. I mean, there's always a logic behind it but this time, according to what I heard (I might change my mind when I see the whole footage) it seems like a karaoke - one song after another, with no connection among them. Many o fthe backdrops are the actual videos of the songs, Madonna basically never did this before, not during the nearly whole concert. Years ago a tour was a chance many songs would be given to receive a video (Paradise, Bedtime 2004, DAD 2008, Justify 2012). This actually started on RHT.

 

I'm really not bothered by the fact she's not as energetic as she used to be, I totally understand she reached a certain age and at this point, it's even dangerous to do the things she did (I actually think it was already dangerous 10 years ago, but I guess I was wrong). I don't think a good show consists in energetic dance routines, I think it's about creativity and knowing how to put things together, something she has always done perfectly well, but after RHT I think she doesn't have so many ideas on how to do it anymore or maybe she is just tired.

And yes, as far as I have seen (very little), I would say MXT is her worst tour, but I'm not saying the concert is bad at all, I just think the others outstand, even RHT.

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  • 1 month later...

It was her most underwhelming tour. I don’t think worst is right. I’d probably say MDNA was her worst tour setlist wise and Sticky & Sweet her worst visually and concept wise when you consider the year it was....but I still have nightmares about the mariachi section of Rebel Heart so...

Confessions, Girlie Show, Blond Ambition and The Virgin tour are still the best.

Whos That Girl energy is undeniable, just poorly lit and a bit basic. 
 

Reinvention is way too overrated and DWT     only really got going at the Japanese section. The first whole section was a bit frantic, unconsidered and messy. 

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4 hours ago, steady75 said:

MDNA was her worst tour setlist wise and Sticky & Sweet her worst visually and concept wise when you consider the year it was....but I still have nightmares about the mariachi section of Rebel Heart so...

 

MDNA and Sticky and Sweet tours felt like you were on a psychotropic drug in a 70s mental institution. Seriously warped concerts. 

Reinvention tour felt like she was asked to perform a charity concert at her kids school for the parents.

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28 minutes ago, Ashley said:

MDNA and Sticky and Sweet tours felt like you were on a psychotropic drug in a 70s mental institution. Seriously warped concerts. 

Reinvention tour felt like she was asked to perform a charity concert at her kids school for the parents the same age as her. 

Oh my gosh this is the perfect description of Reinvention. 

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