The Celebration Tour (Spoilers)

[Magic Pussy 176]

Demi was at the last msg show. She probably didn’t have to go through security with the dog or they didn’t care bc she’s Demi Moore. My dog is much larger but he’d be freaked out by the bass and the crowd,

[True Blue 84 1,825]

2 minutes ago, Roland Barthes said:

I adore Bedtime Story but it does not work, vocally, the scenography, the visuals....it's a low point with the overlong Erotica/Justify bit and MJ tribute imo maybe they will look better on film because they really look like they were more made for film than for a live experience. Like DAD too. 

Bedtime Story is one of the best performances imo... Vocally a struggle, but she had decent to good nights singing this and than its awesome, and that transition from Bedtime stories into Ray of Light is ICONIC ...

I agree with you on the MJ tribute

[I am madonna 69]

I really hope that Madonna is OK. She did bump her head so hard at a Chicago performance. :/

Edited February 3 by I am madonna (see edit history)

[True Blue 84 1,825]

Speaking of Bedtime Story, I think the show I went to had a pretty decent to good Bedtime Story performance, and the vieuw is amazing. I posted this before, but for those who didn't see it.

 

 

Any of you guys have any other good to decent Bedtime Story performances from this tour ( vocally)?   

It's one of my favorite performances and i need more of it 😎 But most of the time its such a struggle for her. 

[MikeyK 687]

39 minutes ago, Roland Barthes said:

I adore Bedtime Story but it does not work, vocally, the scenography, the visuals....it's a low point with the overlong Erotica/Justify bit and MJ tribute imo maybe they will look better on film because they really look like they were more made for film than for a live experience. Like DAD too. 

I didn’t think she sounded bad on Bedtime Story the night I saw. But visually it was a bit strange as most of the audience was staring at the cube. It’s almost like it was being done as a little treat for the folks up in the nosebleed section since that was likely the only part of the audience that could see her.

I also felt Erotica/Justify was overlong. IMO Erotica was superior and Justify superfluous. Visually it was interesting but musically it was a bore. Didn’t pick up until she did the bit of Fever. Maybe she should’ve adjusted the proportions of the number- Justify as a short intro and Fever as most of it.

The MJ bit was completely unnecessary for sure. Even the second part of the Prince tribute w/his vocal on the dancer interlude was. Just leave it at David playing guitar like him.

[True Blue 84 1,825]

These Bedtime Story performances are pretty good to vocally .. Not perfect, but definitely not bad 🥰

 

 

 

[Roland Barthes 5,843]

47 minutes ago, True Blue 84 said:

Bedtime Story is one of the best performances imo... Vocally a struggle, but she had decent to good nights singing this and than its awesome, and that transition from Bedtime stories into Ray of Light is ICONIC ...

I agree with you on the MJ tribute

i saw it twice and it feels rushed. The mother earth thing she did last year looked way better than this. I don't know, something is missing for me and that's one of my fave tracks of hers. The "Sex" section could be trimmed A Lot for more impact, a lot of good ideas, the blond ambition bed, the beautiful ballet....but how long it plays kills the momentum. I was never a fan of MJ, the way she added all these pics from the same week they hang out together feels forced. I'm a Prince fan so i'm biased, i loved the hommage but the LFL/Let's go crazy interlude is too much but it bothered me less than the MJ one. Oh and the Beast Within is definitely out of place. I guess she planned the bathroom breaks with those so people wouldn't leave when she's on. And ibthink GI2M could have been added to the last bit with BIM and celebration. 

I would have made the 90's rave longer, adding something between Ray of light and Rain, That part felt too short.

[truerebel 960]

1 hour ago, Roland Barthes said:

I adore Bedtime Story but it does not work, vocally, the scenography, the visuals....it's a low point with the overlong Erotica/Justify bit and MJ tribute imo maybe they will look better on film because they really look like they were more made for film than for a live experience. Like DAD too. 

I disagree about BS, I saw the show 8x all from different sections and tho the number seem odd from the floor as you're mostly staring at the cube and have no clue that she's being filmed from the top. Seeing it anywhere from 100 level and up, especially if you're facing center stage; the visual is amazing. She did not struggle with the vocals on any of the shows I saw (maybe my hearing just isn't as good as some of y'all!!!). 

Erotica/JML was not a high point when I saw it opening night, however it has since grown on me....JML is her homage to Modern Dance (choreo by Damien Jalet) back in her early days dancing at Alvin Ailey/Martha Graham. It's story-telling through dance at it's best! DAD is another number that should be watched full scale, when you're too close your focus in on M and her two dancers; the staging/lighting/choreo is spectacular when taken in further. 

[scallywally 1,122]

Is the MJ thing a bit longer because they timed it for everyone to be ready and changed on time?? Yes it is 1-2 mins too much but must be for a reason. We moan about the 2 mins too long because were all built up excited to the brim so it feels longer. 

M & MJ knew each other for YEARS mostly not papped. She blooming screwed him, it mustve scared him to death so they were closer than we think. 

[sara94 2,196]

Praying and manifesting that she will sing Secret next. 

[ForceKin 51]

1 hour ago, True Blue 84 said:

Speaking of Bedtime Story, I think the show I went to had a pretty decent to good Bedtime Story performance, and the vieuw is amazing. I posted this before, but for those who didn't see it.

 

 

Any of you guys have any other good to decent Bedtime Story performances from this tour ( vocally)?   

It's one of my favorite performances and i need more of it 😎 But most of the time its such a struggle for her. 

Last night Bedtime Story was unfortunately a struggle, and it didn't help that the visuals were glitchy too. When it first started up, a whole strip of her leg was missing, and for some reason, in-between her legs wasn't properly projected making for some awkward moments for the audience as she spread her legs - especially since M couldn't see it herself and performed it straight-faced. I heard a few chuckles and saw a few point and laughs at these moments. Too bad cuz the concept is stunning. Maybe it just needed a little more work shopping.

[sara94 2,196]

[ForceKin 51]

5 hours ago, True Blue 84 said:

Yes vocally... It's one of my favorite performances of the tour, but it's her most struggled vocal performance of this tour also, together with crazy for you.. 

THIS.

Really the only struggle moments vocally last night were those two, Bedtime Story and Crazy For You. But other than that, I felt like her vocals were quite strong. Not in the tier of her greatest vocal performances, but definitely in the upper half of what we can expect from M vocally. Which to my mind is itself a STUNNING fact considering her age, the demands of this complex your, and that she was hospitalized and near death less than a year ago! It's a reminder for me of the many reasons why she is a cultural ICON for sure.

[Angelo 5,714]

The celebration outro was not played last night??

[stefo 6,387]

I am amazed by the complexity of many of the ideas behind the most conceptual or artsy performances of this show: the rendition of the plague spreading in Live to tell feels authentic and visually touching, I think she never described eroticism so accurately like in this Justify my love since the 90 LAV performance, the body sinuosity exaltation and the ritual flavour, the technological and dreamy staging of Bedtime story, Like a prayer in the frames, at the same time references to the medieval catholic paintings and spaces of contriction, the Jodorowsky sacred dances quote in Die another day. It really is a lot of stuff, creatively and symbolically: under this perspective I think she reached a peak here (at 65!!!). I take these songs as the representation of this side of her work, as Bad girl, Mother and father, Burning up or Express yourself stand for the most rough, rockish side or Holiday, Hung up, Ray of light, Don't tell me even, for the fun, the dancing, the energy. 

3 hours ago, Roland Barthes said:

I was never a fan of MJ, the way she added all these pics from the same week they hang out together feels forced. I'm a Prince fan so i'm biased, i loved the hommage but the LFL/Let's go crazy interlude is too much but it bothered me less than the MJ one. Oh and the Beast Within is definitely out of place. I guess she planned the bathroom breaks with those so people wouldn't leave when she's on. And ibthink GI2M could have been added to the last bit with BIM and celebration. 

I would have made the 90's rave longer, adding something between Ray of light and Rain, That part felt too short.

Yeah I agree about both things, the homages where nice but she did not manage to insert them organically enough (Prince's one is much better though, also cause I love LFL ) and she definitely could have added a fourth track to give more space to the last section, especially because BS and ROL are like both in a unique flow. Maybe after Frozen she could have created an interesting staging for Rain, using some water on stage (apparently it's very expensive, she said she already thought to do that but always given up).

1 hour ago, Angelo said:

The celebration outro was not played last night??

Really?? I did not know that, interesting! And how did she close?

[Burning Up 4 Madonna 992]

Enjoying this right now the audio is nice

 

[dankpepe 1,042]

28 minutes ago, stefo said:

 she definitely could have added a fourth track to give more space to the last section, especially because BS and ROL are like both in a unique flow. Maybe after Frozen she could have created an interesting staging for Rain, using some water on stage (apparently it's very expensive, she said she already thought to do that but always given up).

 

I theorized early in this thread that I think the last section is supposed to be the far distant future and Rain symbolizes Madonna's passing at the end when the black cloaked figure takes her. Then the LAV interlude is supposed to be a sort of in memoriam type thing.

But I agree that the last section needs like 1 more song after Ray of Light but before Rain. Keeping with the theme I think she's trying to convey here, maybe a shortened version of Drowned World or maybe to keep with the watery symbolism Wash All Over Me (Avicii's demo) which is dancey and could blend well into Rain.

I also think it would've been cool if during Rain, she covered the whole arena in vivid blue lights instead of the normal spotlight which would be cheaper than water.

[A. A. Aardvark 4,842]

9 minutes ago, dankpepe said:

I theorized early in this thread that I think the last section is supposed to be the far distant future and Rain symbolizes Madonna's passing at the end when the black cloaked figure takes her. Then the LAV interlude is supposed to be a sort of in memoriam type thing.

But I agree that the last section needs like 1 more song after Ray of Light but before Rain. Keeping with the theme I think she's trying to convey here, maybe a shortened version of Drowned World or maybe to keep with the watery symbolism Wash All Over Me (Avicii's demo) which is dancey and could blend well into Rain.

I also think it would've been cool if during Rain, she covered the whole arena in vivid blue lights instead of the normal spotlight which would be cheaper than water.

do people on here moan about your choice of profile image ?

[stefo 6,387]

21 minutes ago, dankpepe said:

But I agree that the last section needs like 1 more song after Ray of Light but before Rain. Keeping with the theme I think she's trying to convey here, maybe a shortened version of Drowned World or maybe to keep with the watery symbolism Wash All Over Me (Avicii's demo) which is dancey and could blend well into Rain.

I also think it would've been cool if during Rain, she covered the whole arena in vivid blue lights instead of the normal spotlight which would be cheaper than water.

Wash all over me (Avicii's dance version) is such a treat I never even dare to consider, she neither managed to make it an official release  but definitely yes, that would have been a blast, under every point of view, musically, lyrically, visually.

[ForceKin 51]

14 minutes ago, dankpepe said:

I theorized early in this thread that I think the last section is supposed to be the far distant future and Rain symbolizes Madonna's passing at the end when the black cloaked figure takes her. Then the LAV interlude is supposed to be a sort of in memoriam type thing.

But I agree that the last section needs like 1 more song after Ray of Light but before Rain. Keeping with the theme I think she's trying to convey here, maybe a shortened version of Drowned World or maybe to keep with the watery symbolism Wash All Over Me (Avicii's demo) which is dancey and could blend well into Rain.

I also think it would've been cool if during Rain, she covered the whole arena in vivid blue lights instead of the normal spotlight which would be cheaper than water.

YESSS.. the idea of the Avicii demo of Wash All Over Me played after ROL has me salivating! Can you imagine how pumping that would sound in an arena!? That and the song itself is kind of about M coming to terms with, embracing and celebrating her mortality as an artist and a being! And the watery images would lead right into Rain! Not to mention that the this tour is kind of a low-key celebration of many of M's songs that never really had a real chance to shine played right alongside some of her biggest hits, the selection of Wash All Over Me kind of just fits... Great idea.

[ForceKin 51]

6 minutes ago, stefo said:

Wash all over me (Avicii's dance version) is such a treat I never even dare to consider, she neither managed to make it an official release  but definitely yes, that would have been a blast, under every point of view, musically, lyrically, visually.

I had to give the track a listen again after reading these posts and OMG... it would have brought the house down! It probably could have been the euphoric highlight of the night! She could have even used it as the closer. Even tho it doesn't have an iconic name or recognition cache, it has all the right emotion and even lyrical meaning to bookend the whole thing. It might have even made some go back to that whole album for a second look at it, wondering why they didn't pay attention to it before- like, 'what was that awesome song she did at the end??!" Lol 

[Vinny Fonseca 98]

13 hours ago, sara94 said:

Europe got only I Will Survive while America gets Express Yourself, Frozen & This Used To Be My Playground 😭

In Toronto, she gave us snippets of Causing a Commotion! 

Edited February 4 by Vinny Fonseca (see edit history)

[eXtremeOccident 2,481]

1 hour ago, dankpepe said:

I theorized early in this thread that I think the last section is supposed to be the far distant future and Rain symbolizes Madonna's passing at the end when the black cloaked figure takes her. Then the LAV interlude is supposed to be a sort of in memoriam type thing.

But I agree that the last section needs like 1 more song after Ray of Light but before Rain. Keeping with the theme I think she's trying to convey here, maybe a shortened version of Drowned World or maybe to keep with the watery symbolism Wash All Over Me (Avicii's demo) which is dancey and could blend well into Rain.

I also think it would've been cool if during Rain, she covered the whole arena in vivid blue lights instead of the normal spotlight which would be cheaper than water.

LOVE this idea. I’d add a couple more upbeat songs between Ray of Light and Rain to extend the section as a proper last section, and this would make a great addition. 
 

Rain would make a fantastic finale to the show if it was the full version and it rained down pyro from the stage at the end or something. It needs beefed up a bit from a staging perspective to be a bit more dramatic, but it works as a closing song, especially given the unconventional approach to the rest of the show.

[dankpepe 1,042]

40 minutes ago, eXtremeOccident said:

LOVE this idea. I’d add a couple more upbeat songs between Ray of Light and Rain to extend the section as a proper last section, and this would make a great addition. 
 

Rain would make a fantastic finale to the show if it was the full version and it rained down pyro from the stage at the end or something. It needs beefed up a bit from a staging perspective to be a bit more dramatic, but it works as a closing song, especially given the unconventional approach to the rest of the show.

I'm okay with the LAV interlude then ending on Bitch I'm Madonna. Rain might not be strong enough as a close and wouldn't end on a "celebratory" note.

She could've done the bit right before the bridge in Rain to end the song where you here those deep bass synths build in volume then maybe blind us with some massively bright lights like in the music video so she appears as a silhouette (good transition into the LAV silhouette interlude) before being taken by the cloaked man at the end.

[Blue Jean 15,254]

6 hours ago, scallywally said:

Is the MJ thing a bit longer because they timed it for everyone to be ready and changed on time?? Yes it is 1-2 mins too much but must be for a reason. We moan about the 2 mins too long because were all built up excited to the brim so it feels longer. 

M & MJ knew each other for YEARS mostly not papped. She blooming screwed him, it mustve scared him to death so they were closer than we think. 

Michael did not like Madonna and they were not close and I think that's pretty clear from those leaked interviews. I think Madonna feels an affinity with him and that has grown a lot more since his death as she can see the parallels between the way the public treated him verses the way they now treat her. She relates to him as his female counterpart. I feel too that tribute is supposed to serve as a reminder that she is in the same league as MJ because unfortunately much of the public don't acknowledge it and a lot of Gen Z don't even know it. That is why it goes into BIM afterward.