The Celebration Tour (Spoilers)

[Pretender1978 996]

By the way I'm still not sure if NRM going into Everybody works as the opening, I'm wondering how it will make the audience engage, but how briliant to see her open a show, solo, no tricks, no nothing just her, amazing

[judas2015 782]

Love it❤️ Pure art! 
but the audience ? terrible and no energy. I hope tonite it will change

[ErickInTheZone 392]

I don't know why people are surprised by the fact that she's relying a lot on backing tracks. She has been doing that since MDNA, or even before. I'm totally fine with it, considering she's 65 and doesn't have the same vocal strength as during the Girlie Show/Drowned days. I'm just a bit bothered by the fact that the chorus of Everybody is mimed to the original 82 recording, which annoys me a bit because she hasn't sounded like that for over 30 years. However, I was okay with Erotica considering it's a more whispered/spoken song, and I don't think anything could go wrong with Erotica.

Anyways, there are moments when you can clearly hear she's singing 100% live, like Bad Girl, which was one of the highlights of the show in my opinion

[bedtimestory 759]

1 hour ago, BlackPanther89 said:

Apparently the ending was cut short, but that's just a rumour, so don't quote me on that

yes I noticed from the audio, celebration song only lasted like 10 seconds, after that ''music makes the people come together'' for a few secs and show is over, no outro. Short segment felt super rushed!

[PrinceAli89 200]

Ok, so I've had time to sort of reflect on The Celebration Tour after watching some better quality videos and looking at professional pictures and want to share my opinion now. 

 

So for starters, the setlist is fantastic! Yes there are some glaring omissions such as Frozen, Music (full version), Express Yourself, and others. However, that all being said, this setlist is fantastic and appeals to everyone! I feel like it has a wide variety and there is something for everyone. Nothing Really Matters, Bad Girl, and Bedtime Stories have never been performed on any tour so they appeal to long time die hard fans that have been dying for them to appear in the setlist. Holiday, Everybody, Hung Up, Vogue, etc. are all here and they appeal to the fans that want the massive hits. Honestly, it would be hard for her to please everyone. Her catalog is so massive and she would have to be on stage for like 6 hours to please everyone in terms of setlist selection. Also, Stuart Price did an amazing job mixing elements of songs into the set. So the setlist is great! 

 

I will say, I'm not a huge fan of some of the costumes. I do LOVE the body suit she wore during the Ray of Light segment, mama looked incredible! The red dress was sexy and fit perfect for her singing Bad Girl in it. The others, didn't really appeal to me personally, they aren't bad per say but I just personally don't like them. 

 

I don't really understand the point of Bob the Drag Queen being there. I know Madonna probably wanted something different, but for me it didn't feel necessary for him to be there. Maybe he could serve as a hype man at the beginning, but having throughout the show seems unnecessary in my honest opinion.  

 

The interludes, backdrop videos, and overall visuals are TOP NOTCH. Excellent! 

[bedtimestory 759]

3 minutes ago, ErickInTheZone said:

I don't know why people are surprised by the fact that she's relying a lot on backing tracks. She has been doing that since MDNA, or even before. I'm totally fine with it, considering she's 65 and doesn't have the same vocal strength as during the Girlie Show/Drowned days. I'm just a bit bothered by the fact that the chorus of Everybody is mimed to the original 82 recording, which annoys me a bit because she hasn't sounded like that for over 30 years. However, I was okay with Erotica considering it's a more whispered/spoken song, and I don't think anything could go wrong with Erotica.

Anyways, there are moments when you can clearly hear she's singing 100% live, like Bad Girl, which was one of the highlights of the show in my opinion

yes I dont mind backing tracks either, makes everything sound profesional like album quality. Id take her lipsync anyday, better than live husky vocals.

[bedtimestory 759]

1 hour ago, drivebitch said:

Stuart Price was a bad move. She really should have used a live band. She would have way more wiggle room in case there was a glitch. Are there even backup singers? I think the setlist is great but the concept is a mess and the sequence doesn’t make sense. Bob is absolutely dreadful. In the end though, I can forgive everything thanks to her finally performing the songs we’ve been dying to hear from her again or for the very first time!  “Bad Girl” is such an amazing moment!

yes, i wished the setlist sequence was more cohesive, it feels rushed and all over the place.

[Dazedmadonna 16,423]

Stuart pranking the gays with Hung Up on Tokischa but then mixing it with the album version

[Donna 16,444]

4 minutes ago, ErickInTheZone said:

I don't know why people are surprised by the fact that she's relying a lot on backing tracks. She has been doing that since MDNA, or even before. I'm totally fine with it, considering she's 65 and doesn't have the same vocal strength as during the Girlie Show/Drowned days. I'm just a bit bothered by the fact that the chorus of Everybody is mimed to the original 82 recording, which annoys me a bit because she hasn't sounded like that for over 30 years. However, I was okay with Erotica considering it's a more whispered/spoken song, and I don't think anything could go wrong with Erotica.

Anyways, there are moments when you can clearly hear she's singing 100% live, like Bad Girl, which was one of the highlights of the show in my opinion

I don't think many are "surprised" by it.  It's some are noticing it very much on some songs such as you pointed out in Everybody.  Like you, many of us can clearly see she's miming to some of these songs.  Sometimes, not in its entirety, but it's clear she's relying heavily on pre-recorded vocals to at least elevate her live vocals.  Stuart made no secret that they are using backing tracks, using some of the original vocals from those songs with a number of these performances. Even with Bad Girl, you can hear a backing vocal playing as she's singing along with it.  I won't pretend I prefer to hear her live organically without the help of those backing tracks, but it is what it is. Like you mentioned, sometimes those whispered or lover vocals for Justify My Love or Erotica need to be mimed as it would probably be hard to hear her if she tried to duplicate them live.

[Lum 155]

to folks who went or watched the whole show, where does she spend most of her time stage-wise? main stage? one of the catwalks? pretty balanced?? debating buying tickets and want to be conscious of where she moves around.

[steady75 9,570]

If anyone is actually rich there are actual PIT tickets available on Ticketmaster for Wednesdays show at £790 each. Also ...buy me one too x 

[ErickInTheZone 392]

2 minutes ago, McDonna said:

I don't think many are "surprised" by it.  It's some are noticing it very much on some songs such as you pointed out in Everybody.  Like you, many of us can clearly see she's miming to some of these songs.  Sometimes, not in its entirety, but it's clear she's relying heavily on pre-recorded vocals to at least elevate her live vocals.  Stuart made no secret that they are using backing tracks, using some of the original vocals from those songs with a number of these performances. Even with Bad Girl, you can hear a backing vocal playing as she's singing along with it.  I won't pretend I prefer to hear her live organically without the help of those backing tracks, but it is what it is. Like you mentioned, sometimes those whispered or lover vocals for Justify My Love or Erotica need to be mimed as it would probably be hard to hear her if she tried to duplicate them live.

I agree with you, and I would also prefer to hear her singing everything live. However, her vocal quality has diminished over the years due to various factors, so I understand that now she may not be able to sustain an entire show with live singing. Moreover, after a tour during which she sang almost everything with the aid of live autotune, I would rather see her miming to her '82 vocals

 

[Honey Little 3,996]

4 minutes ago, Lum said:

to folks who went or watched the whole show, where does she spend most of her time stage-wise? main stage? one of the catwalks? pretty balanced?? debating buying tickets and want to be conscious of where she moves around.

A little bit everywhere. Even in the air. Not one place more than another. You definitely do NOT need “front row” tickets.

[Donna 16,444]

2 minutes ago, Lum said:

to folks who went or watched the whole show, where does she spend most of her time stage-wise? main stage? one of the catwalks? pretty balanced?? debating buying tickets and want to be conscious of where she moves around.

She takes advantage of all spaces, but I suspect your best view is on the side sections if not further back near the end of the centered catwalk.

[ErickInTheZone 392]

15 minutes ago, bedtimestory said:

yes I dont mind backing tracks either, makes everything sound profesional like album quality. Id take her lipsync anyday, better than live husky vocals.

Many people complain about her 2012 vocals but I do like the way she sounded during MDNA Tour when she had the backing track. Beautiful Killer for example sounds perfect to me

[steady75 9,570]

It also looks like everywhere has taken the December dates off sale to shift the remaining seats for the next three nights. Sneaky

[Winn 2,201]

She was smiling a lot, looked really happy. Remember the MDNA Tour show critiques they were saying she looked as bored as ordering dinner. There was none of that last night.

[Donna 16,444]

8 minutes ago, ErickInTheZone said:

I agree with you, and I would also prefer to hear her singing everything live. However, her vocal quality has diminished over the years due to various factors, so I understand that now she may not be able to sustain an entire show with live singing. Moreover, after a tour during which she sang almost everything with the aid of live autotune, I would rather see her miming to her '82 vocals

 

I'm not sure if even her "vocal quality has diminished" is the issue as rather there is so many demands from her on stage, that vocally she's probably better off relying on those backing tracks.

Even though we all recognize she isn't as physically active in the choreagraphy as she used to be on previous tours, she's still doing a lot of physical stuff.  I'm sure many of us 10 or 20 years younger than her couldn't do nearly half of what she's doing physically night after night. I see her crawling on the floor in a few performance and doing that night after night, can be challenging for I'm sure many of us.  She's also seen spinning around in some performances.  I don't know about the rest of you, but I get easily dizzy if I spin around more than once. LOL! There are times I see she's maintaining her balance as well which can't always be easy for a lot of older people. 

So yeah, with even her  physicality for this particular show, I can understand her relying on backing tracks

[steady75 9,570]

Waiting for some Brazilian cig to splice together all the clips in iMovie and upload to you tube when?

[TheGoth 499]

Her guitar strap says "boy toy" 😃

Also, if people don't understand why Bob is there, you're probably not familiar with cabaret shows and the role of the cabaret master or mistress. 

[ErickInTheZone 392]

2 minutes ago, McDonna said:

I'm not sure if even her "vocal quality has diminished" is the issue as rather there is so many demands from her on stage, that vocally she's probably better off relying on those backing tracks.

Even though we all recognize she isn't as physically active in the choreagraphy as she used to be on previous tours, she's still doing a lot of physical stuff.  I'm sure many of us 10 or 20 years younger than her couldn't do nearly half of what she's doing physically night after night. I see her crawling on the floor in a few performance and doing that night after night, can be challenging for I'm sure many of us.  She's also seen spinning around in some performances.  I don't know about the rest of you, but I get easily dizzy if I spin around more than once. LOL! There are times I see she's maintaining her balance as well which can't always be easy for a lot of older people. 

So yeah, with even the practicalities for this particular show, I can understand her relying on backing tracks.

Yes I saw a clip of Into The Groove and my legs hurt just to look at her moves

[steady75 9,570]

She is sixty fucking five and just got out of ICU and has a bunch of injuries. 

This is truly the first time I saw an old(er) woman on stage...and you know what...I loved it.

OK my heart was in my mouth when she was standing on a chair with one leg up, when she was on top of towering blocks etc but I saw the dancers and stage hands taking good care of her. Helping her up, assisting, spotting her. It was necessary and kind of gorgeous to see and it's time for the press and the world to do the same. 

She survived...she survived it all. And despite the obvious ageing she looked bloody great in some parts... and she looked like a slightly worn out old show girl in other parts...and there's beauty in that. We're at the stage in her life where the smoke, spotlights and mirrors will not hide it all. I think I truly saw that for the first time ever. Every sinew and crease and bandage and bleach burn, nip tuck and prune. She did it all for me, for us, for her art. I just feel so grateful, (a touch guilty), but more honoured than anything. She is walking, living, breathing history in female form. God bless you Madonna ..and thank you...thank you from the bottom of my rebel heart. 

 

 

[PlayPause 2,684]

35 minutes ago, ErickInTheZone said:

I don't know why people are surprised by the fact that she's relying a lot on backing tracks. She has been doing that since

Choreography, scenography and many other things command that some parts of the vocals are lipsynced on 100% of the big production tours, whoever the artist. This is not up for debate and this is not something people who claim to be experts should be surprised of.

[EgoRod 5,450]

16 minutes ago, steady75 said:

It also looks like everywhere has taken the December dates off sale to shift the remaining seats for the next three nights. Sneaky

Those will pop up closer to the date with resales.

[NothingReallyMatters 634]

17 hours ago, Dazedmadonna said:

I also knew about Frozen being replaced by Rain (hence the backdrop using Frozen video and also Drownedmadonna not hinting it) and it sounds phenomenal.

 

Oh wow I didn't know that. Well It was a sacrifice to be made and Im glad that Rain got to be performed once again after 30 years