Is the Madame X tour her worst tour?

[ErickInTheZone 135]

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.

[o_g_c_x 1,675]

Maybe it helps to see the show...

 

 

 

[steady75 2,482]

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. 

[Guest DeeperDeeper]

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.

[steady75 2,482]

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. 

[Blue Jean 3,064]

43 minutes ago, Ashley said:

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

Screaming!!

I think the first half was good but the latter half a mess.

Madame X was very good. It’s mostly people who didn’t see the show saying they didn’t like it. The show looked basic from further back in those Vegas clips, you really needed to be up close or in one of the more intimate venues to get the proper experience I think. I was front row and I loved it.

[Guest DeeperDeeper]

50 minutes ago, Blue Jean said:

Screaming!!

I think the first half was good but the latter half a mess.

Seriously after Vogue it became a light entertainment variety show for straight boomers. 

The religious elements of the show was her trying over hard to pull off Chrismukka. 

 

[Dito 770]

3 hours ago, Ashley said:

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

Oh my God, thank you so much for this LOL my group of Madonna fans absolutely IDOLIZE this tour and I'm literally the only one who thinks it's WAY overrated and without much meaning (and that acoustic section is soo boring... and their favorite, of course )!

[steady75 2,482]

No one needed that Rock Material Girl, Deeper & Deeper jazz and Hanky Panky. Holiday was a bit empty and although the bagpipes were amazing ain’t nobody need “where dya get dem jeans” groove. 
a hacked papa don’t preach. I actually didn’t mind the acoustic section cause it felt like a bit of a first. 

[Guest DeeperDeeper]

4 minutes ago, steady75 said:

No one needed that Rock Material Girl, Deeper & Deeper jazz and Hanky Panky. Holiday was a bit empty and although the bagpipes were amazing ain’t nobody need “where dya get dem jeans” groove. 
a hacked papa don’t preach. I actually didn’t mind the acoustic section cause it felt like a bit of a first. 

Even though I liked that torch song version of Deeper & Deeper, it belonged in some dive jazz bar and not in the slow tempo part of the concert. 

 

[Dito 770]

My biggest problem with Reinvention is that it's such an obvious damage control tour without any originality. They basically made a greatest hits tour where the first section was a copy of the 1990 Vogue VMAs concept (to attract the public, I guess), the Cabaret was a recreation of the Blond Ambition section and the acoustic was... well, acoustic. No concept there.

Only the Military and Scottish section were a bit original but military was just her dressed up and the scottish section was sooo bland, especially the outfit. Not to mention the stage was smaller than DWT, the lighting was weird too??

I think some fans idolize it so much because it had a lot of similarities to Blond Ambition (which is undeniably iconic), so they make the link - A) tour from a controversial album; B) documentary, C) no DVD. This last part in particular left the fans forever in need and thus, the RIT myth was born... 

Edited November 24, 2020 by Dito

[steady75 2,482]

It benefited from having a lot of back catalogue songs in the set list after the Drowned World tour had two. 
 
I think that’s why it’s praised but in truth it still had the pretty much the normal amount of songs from her new Album.

American Life

Hollywood

Nothing Fails

Mother & Father

Die Another Day

Nobody Knows Me

And I’m So Stupid was in til late. 

[Nobody Knows Me 4,812]

I’ve always been fond of the Re-Invention Tour. I think a damage control tour was vital at that point since she’d previously done a tour with two back catalogue songs and an album that underperformed and was critically panned, and I can guarantee if it had been the “American Life Tour” it wouldn’t have consisted of multiple shows in the same cities. 

I do think Madame X probably could have done with a “damage control tour” but she’d done a lot of hits on the Rebel Heart Tour so I understand why she didn’t. At the time I saw the Madame X Tour I really didn’t want to believe it’s my least favourite tour but...yeah. But I got the shortened show so I could change my mind when we get the DVD.

[Andymad 5,570]

While I appreciate a lot of the RIT hate, and understand the hate LOL, but I have to disagree. I think maybe I can see some of it. Growing up a fan since I was like 4, RIT was my very first Madonna experience. Seeing her live and front row was just... seriously I could have died right after the show and my life would have been fulfilled at that very moment. There are no words to describe that moment. The rush. I think I actually peed a little. That why it holds such a special place in my heart. My whole life leading up to that first moment watching her emerge from that stage. Again, there are no words to describe it. That’s also the last time we heard “get up on the dance floor”. That bridge being absent from every Vogue performance after that is inexcusable bahaha

[Johno 4]

I have been a super fan of Madonna since her first single in 1982 & I have been to 10 of her 11 Tours the only tour I missed was her 1985 The Virgin Tour other than that I’ve been to them all & I must say The Madame X Tour was by far the worst & most unorganized tour I have been to. I saw The MX Tour in Brooklyn NY on Sept 24, 2019 I was her 6th show & @ my tour & all the Brooklyn shows she had no tour books available & they said it was due to the shows being pushed back & they didn’t have the right info in them but there was plenty of time to get the tour books out because I have every tour book from my 1st Tour The Who’s that girl tour 1987 to current & the prices of the merchandise was outrageous.

A concert T-Shirt started @ $65 & up & it made it so expensive to buy anything. The show said an 8:00pm start & @ my show she finally came on at 10:45pm. We waited almost 3 hours & ppl were so angry including myself & I saw at least 100 ppl leave if not more & when Madonna did take the stage she said I have been told you guys are complaining about how late I am, I am a diva I can be as late as I want and if you don’t like it pretty much told all of us in the audience who paid $450 or more per ticket to go Fuc* Off & if we don’t like it we can leave so at that point even more people got up and left. The show overall was ok & the setlist was decent but me along with many others were extremely disappointed that she used her song rescue me as an interlude instead of performing it. 
 

She’s NEVER performed it in concert B4 so everyone was screaming because we thought she was going to finally perform Rescue Me, just like in the Setlist it shows “Express Yourself” but she did it an a cappella version & didn’t do the whole song & the same with “Papa Don’t Preach” she performed may 1 verse & she was behind this screen acting like she was at the gynecologist  & it was such an odd performance & she changed the words promoting abortion &  the opening to the show “God Control” her 1st song was extremely long b4 she even came on stage. 1 of the most standout performances of that night was when she performed frozen, her daughter Lourdes was on this huge screen black screen that was mesh dancing & we thought it was another interlude but then all of a sudden you could see Madonna behind the screen singing frozen. That was probably the best moment of the show along with Medellin but on a 5 Star rating I would give it 3 stars & for me to give a Madonna Tour 3 Stars that says a lot because again with this being my 10th Tour in a row it wasn’t great.

If I were to rate WTGT 1987, BAM 1990, TGS 1993, DWT 2001, RIT 2004, CONFESSIONS 2006, S&S 2008, MDNA 2012, RHT 2015 all 9 Tours would Be 5 Stars plus because all 9 tours were truly amazing & unfortunately The Madame X Tour was a huge let down & also back to the The Madame X Tour book I had to end up buying it on her website & again I saw her in September 2019 & the tour book didn’t become available until January 2020 but I was happy to be able to get it to go with all my other Madonna tour books. 

Edited January 18 by Johno
Made some spelling errors

[Dito 770]

10 hours ago, Johno said:

I have been a super fan of Madonna since her first single in 1982 & I have been to 10 of her 11 Tours the only tour I missed was her 1985 The Virgin Tour other than that I’ve been to them all & I must say The Madame X Tour was by far the worst & most unorganized tour I have been to. I saw The MX Tour in Brooklyn NY on Sept 24, 2019 I was her 6th show & @ my tour & all the Brooklyn shows she had no tour books available & they said it was due to the shows being pushed back & they didn’t have the right info in them but there was plenty of time to get the tour books out because I have every tour book from my 1st Tour The Who’s that girl tour 1987 to current & the prices of the merchandise was outrageous.

A concert T-Shirt started @ $65 & up & it made it so expensive to buy anything. The show said an 8:00pm start & @ my show she finally came on at 10:45pm. We waited almost 3 hours & ppl were so angry including myself & I saw at least 100 ppl leave if not more & when Madonna did take the stage she said I have been told you guys are complaining about how late I am, I am a diva I can be as late as I want and if you don’t like it pretty much told all of us in the audience who paid $450 or more per ticket to go Fuc* Off & if we don’t like it we can leave so at that point even more people got up and left. The show overall was ok & the setlist was decent but me along with many others were extremely disappointed that she used her song rescue me as an interlude instead of performing it. 
 

She’s NEVER performed it in concert B4 so everyone was screaming because we thought she was going to finally perform Rescue Me, just like in the Setlist it shows “Express Yourself” but she did it an a cappella version & didn’t do the whole song & the same with “Papa Don’t Preach” she performed may 1 verse & she was behind this screen acting like she was at the gynecologist  & it was such an odd performance & she changed the words promoting abortion &  the opening to the show “God Control” her 1st song was extremely long b4 she even came on stage. 1 of the most standout performances of that night was when she performed frozen, her daughter Lourdes was on this huge screen black screen that was mesh dancing & we thought it was another interlude but then all of a sudden you could see Madonna behind the screen singing frozen. That was probably the best moment of the show along with Medellin but on a 5 Star rating I would give it 3 stars & for me to give a Madonna Tour 3 Stars that says a lot because again with this being my 10th Tour in a row it wasn’t great.

If I were to rate WTGT 1987, BAM 1990, TGS 1993, DWT 2001, RIT 2004, CONFESSIONS 2006, S&S 2008, MDNA 2012, RHT 2015 all 9 Tours would Be 5 Stars plus because all 9 tours were truly amazing & unfortunately The Madame X Tour was a huge let down & also back to the The Madame X Tour book I had to end up buying it on her website & again I saw her in September 2019 & the tour book didn’t become available until January 2020 but I was happy to be able to get it to go with all my other Madonna tour books. 

I feel like you're putting a theater show in the same category as a stadium/arena tour and you can't really compare them like that because then, by default, MXT is obviously "worse".

But it's not worse - it's an amazing theater show. She couldn't have her own stage with platforms and runways and screens, so she adapted and incorporated all the elements available on a theater, and very well I may add - lighting, video projections, moving props, etc. Frozen isn't the only highlight: Human Nature with the projections interacting with her on stage and the amazing instrumental, I Don't Search I Find with the vintage theme and a chase coreography, Medellín with the projections and gorgeous Lisbon set, Extreme Occident with the light pathways on the floor and moving stairs... etc. Her voice was also the best I'd ever heard as well as her mood.

I saw every tour from S&S+ and I must say it was the most enjoyable tour experience for me, even though it's not my favourite tour. Yes she was late, yes she cancelled one of my shows, yes the setlist wasn't perfect (they never are, it's subjective), yes it was too monologue-y... but I went there without expectations and comparisons because I knew I wasn't in a stadium with 50,000 other people and a massive stage. And I left loving the show and can't wait for the DVD to come out.

On a side note, and don't take this personally as I don't know your relationship with her work, but I think some fans really got hang up on her success over the years and some even project that onto themselves. When she scaled down - it was like a personal offense, a blow to the self-esteem, like "it's MADONNA, she has the BIGGEST tours and STAGES and beats RECORDS" - and then all of a sudden she's doing a 2k-show with only lights and stairs. Some fans had a maaaaassive meltdown when they realized that (not saying you're one of them). It's like she's not allowed to try anything different that isn't grandiose, or otherwise it's "her worst".

[playpause 922]

4 hours ago, Dito said:

On a side note, and don't take this personally as I don't know your relationship with her work, but I think some fans really got hang up on her success over the years and some even project that onto themselves. When she scaled down - it was like a personal offense, a blow to the self-esteem, like "it's MADONNA, she has the BIGGEST tours and STAGES and beats RECORDS" - and then all of a sudden she's doing a 2k-show with only lights and stairs. Some fans had a maaaaassive meltdown when they realized that (not saying you're one of them). It's like she's not allowed to try anything different that isn't grandiose, or otherwise it's "her worst".

THANK YOU.

People often mistake modesty with blandness. Madame X was everything but bland.

[madgefan 7,497]

The Madame X Tour was fantastic.

End of story.

[eXtremeOccident 486]

I'm laughing at the posts suggesting it was top notch production -- Ladies, I hate to say it, but my high school had better production in its plays / musicals, and I have the video evidence to back it up. I presume most Madame X Tour fans here have never been to a broadway show, because I still can't get over what a cheap production that show was.

It bugs the shit out of me that she didn't see what an opportunity that was for her to go avant garde and do a dark show like DWT 2.0. She could have done her deep cuts that are fan favs, along with reinvented mature versions of her hits, and topped it off with Madame X -- Something like the MDNA Olympia Production but with the Madame X characters. That would have slayed....I still don't get why she didn't elaborate on who the hell the characters were in the show.

The Madame X Tour was the opportunity for Madonna to reinvent and deliver a really top notch show with theatrics that I hate to say is very much still a work in progress effort for her.

I've posted it here, but I'll post it here again...the ideal setlist... 

Act 1 - Madame X Is A Prisoner 

1. Introducing: Madame X / Joan of Arc (Intro)

2. Dark Ballet

3. Killers Who Are Partying

4. Human Nature

5. What It Feels Like For A Girl

6. Bedtime Story

Act 2 - Madame X Is A Head of State

7. The Coffin (Interlude)

8. Express Yourself (Full)

9. American Life

10. Papa Don't Preach (Full) 

11. Future (Piano Mix) / Batuka Outro

Act 3 - Madame X Is Traveling Around The World

11. Extreme Occident (Interlude)

12. Medellin

13. Like a Virgin (Fado Style)

14. La Isla Bonita (Welcome To My Fado Club Instrumental) (Full)

15. Secret

16. Extreme Occident

Act 4 - Madame X Is A Mother 

17. Easy Ride Instrumental (Orchestral Interlude Extending Into...)

18. Frozen

19. Rescue Me Interlude / Rescue Me (Full)

20. Come Alive (Body Shop Bridge)

21. Crave (Upbeat Mix, Similar to Tracy Young Mix)

22. Jump

Act 4 - Madame X Is A Spy In The House of Love

23. Madame X Manifesto Extended (Interlude)

24. Vogue

25. I Want You

26. Justify My Love / Secret Garden (Sample)

27. I Don't Search I Find (With Vogue Elements as Outro)

Act 5 - Madame X Is Bringing Light To Dark Places

28. James Baldwin Quote / Dancer Gunshots (Interlude)

29. God Control

30. Like a Prayer (With Elements of I Rise)

[captainjay 1,189]

On 11/24/2020 at 4:36 PM, steady75 said:

It benefited from having a lot of back catalogue songs in the set list after the Drowned World tour had two. 

I think a big part of the "myth" of this show being so amazing has to do with when it came out. I think for most of her fans, we were at the right age where we weren't young and poor or relying on parents to take us or pay for our tickets. We were young adults with a bit of a career on us, and we were still going to clubs and Madonna was still very popular (even with the lacklustre success of American Life). Most people just thought, oh well -- one flop album, the next one will correct this. 

She was HUGELY in demand. Toronto had THREE sold-out shows and she probably could have done 5 or 6. There were Madonna pre-and post show parties in every city -- so we were brought together as fans in a way I hadn't seen since Drowned World (obviously, the previous tour) when I drove from Toronto to Michigan to see her on the night of the HBO taping. 

For Sticky & Sweet, I was older -- it was probably a work night. We had tickets. We worked that day, got home at 6, grabbed something to eat, got over to the Air Canada Centre, she was late, I was tired, she came on -- saw the show. Went home. Had a drink, went to bed, up at 6am for the next day. End of story.

MDNA was no different, but I was even older and more into my career and she was late, I was miffed, saw the show -- went home. Nothing more surrounding it. No after parties. No pre-show parties. No Much Music/MTV weekend video-athons, it was a 2 hour blip (3 or 4 because she's so late) and then it's over. 

RIT and DW - were fucking PARTIES. We partied SO hard in Toronto as group of fans. People came from Calgary and New Orleans and Montreal - fan-friends - and my sister came - EVERYONE was a Madonna fan then and everyone wanted to go with me. 

Now? You'd be lucky for a non-fan to even know she's coming. Radio doesn't mention it. Newspapers don't do the full-page adverts. Nothing. So that's why. It was a moment in our lives, unlike most others - and whether the show was ALL THAT or not, we had fun.

[captainjay 1,189]

You know what I think of sometimes?

The nerve Madonna has to be such a cunt during this tour.

Imagine discovering the wonderful group of Batukadeiras, this incredible group of talented women with all the hardship they've endured, and saying to them - "I love your sound, I'd like for you to be on my next album, let's record a song." 

And they agree.

And then she turns to them and says, "I'm going on tour and I want you there. Let's have an adventure together, you'll have the time of your life!" 

And so she uproots these women from their lives and takes them on the tour from hell where (forget the injury, that came later) -- she consistently goes on stage at what, 11pm? midnight? This fucking group of (not all super young) women -- have to put up with THIS BULLSHIT from this woman they met and jelled with and agreed to work with and she does this? Fucking hell. It infuriates me to this day. There's nothing Madonna can say that excuses this behaviour. She was simply being a CUNT.

I was only reminded of this when I saw their names on wiki. 

Batukadeiras

• Jussara Spencer
• Anastásia Carvalho
• Edna Oliveira
• Jéssica Eliane Tavares
• Irina Paula Carvalho
• Darlene Barreto
• Cátia Ramos
• Antónia Tavares
• Keila Cabral
• Ellah Barbosa
• Iara Xavier Santos
• Jacira Duarte
• Etelvina "Bianina" Tavares
• Idilsa Tavares

I get that others were there too and had to endure this, including her fans, but most "tour" people know the ins and outs of touring and have put up with other Divas before.

[Andymad 5,570]

6 minutes ago, captainjay said:

RIT and DW - were fucking PARTIES

RIT was my first M experience. Front row at the AC Centre. First night and last night. I was in my last year of HS but I so would have loved to party with other M fans. Next time ☺️

[captainjay 1,189]

1 minute ago, Andymad said:

RIT was my first M experience. Front row at the AC Centre. First night and last night. I was in my last year of HS but I so would have loved to party with other M fans. Next time ☺️

The Madonna pre-post show parties were EPIC. All night Madonna mixes/music videos - incredible DJs and drag shows, look-a-like contests. 

I remember dancing on stages, everyone smoked back then (I do not now but when I did I fucking loved it) and the whole place was a smoky haze of amazingness and Madonna music! You would have LOVED it.

[Andymad 5,570]

4 minutes ago, captainjay said:

The Madonna pre-post show parties were EPIC. All night Madonna mixes/music videos - incredible DJs and drag shows, look-a-like contests. 

I remember dancing on stages, everyone smoked back then (I do not now but when I did I fucking loved it) and the whole place was a smoky haze of amazingness and Madonna music! You would have LOVED it.

Ugh sounds amazing. Baby I'm not that young I rememebr smoking in pub night at Sheridan college in Oakville LOL. The DJ did NOT enjoy my requests for Express Yourself. That was the first time I lost my glasses. and wore lip gloss. That was a time.

[Glindathegood 338]

On 1/20/2021 at 7:33 PM, captainjay said:

You know what I think of sometimes?

The nerve Madonna has to be such a cunt during this tour.

Imagine discovering the wonderful group of Batukadeiras, this incredible group of talented women with all the hardship they've endured, and saying to them - "I love your sound, I'd like for you to be on my next album, let's record a song." 

And they agree.

And then she turns to them and says, "I'm going on tour and I want you there. Let's have an adventure together, you'll have the time of your life!" 

And so she uproots these women from their lives and takes them on the tour from hell where (forget the injury, that came later) -- she consistently goes on stage at what, 11pm? midnight? This fucking group of (not all super young) women -- have to put up with THIS BULLSHIT from this woman they met and jelled with and agreed to work with and she does this? Fucking hell. It infuriates me to this day. There's nothing Madonna can say that excuses this behaviour. She was simply being a CUNT.

I was only reminded of this when I saw their names on wiki. 

Batukadeiras

• Jussara Spencer
• Anastásia Carvalho
• Edna Oliveira
• Jéssica Eliane Tavares
• Irina Paula Carvalho
• Darlene Barreto
• Cátia Ramos
• Antónia Tavares
• Keila Cabral
• Ellah Barbosa
• Iara Xavier Santos
• Jacira Duarte
• Etelvina "Bianina" Tavares
• Idilsa Tavares

I get that others were there too and had to endure this, including her fans, but most "tour" people know the ins and outs of touring and have put up with other Divas before.

She’s a terrible person because she gave them the opportunity to travel around the world and perform in front of thousands of people? 
How do you know they minded performing later? It’s ageist to assume older people go to bed early. My mom is 90. She goes to bed around 12:30 or 1 am every night. Maybe they took naps before the show.