CbT: What setlist adjustments would you make?

[lap 1,495]

I would replace Burning Up with a popular hit from the 80s (Gambler on guitar!!!!, Dress you up, Material Girl or Lucky Star)

I would replace Mother and Father with a mash-up of Promise to Try/Oh Father.

I would replace BIM with a longer mash-up of Music/Celebration.

The bed segment would be more amazing if she sings at least the first verse and the chorus of Papa don't preach.

And a live version of Like a Virgin, of course. The first night I liked the Michael Jackson tribute, but now I think it's boring. 

 

[Anapausis 5,914]

7 hours ago, lap said:

I would replace Burning Up with a popular hit from the 80s (Gambler on guitar!!!!, Dress you up, Material Girl or Lucky Star)

I would replace Mother and Father with a mash-up of Promise to Try/Oh Father.

I would replace BIM with a longer mash-up of Music/Celebration.

The bed segment would be more amazing if she sings at least the first verse and the chorus of Papa don't preach.

And a live version of Like a Virgin, of course. The first night I liked the Michael Jackson tribute, but now I think it's boring. 

 

Dear, the main problem with Burning Up's choice is that this was ACTUALLY the first finalized song she performed back in 1980 with Emmy and the Emmies that she got to record when already with a contract with Sire Records.

The problem with Gambler is that, ASIDE FROM BEING ALREADY FROM THAT TIME TOO, it was the finalized version to a Emmy track called "Best Girl" that features on the bootleg 1st Night out of Manhattan:

So, she rather got faithful to herstory by performing the demo for Burning Up than performing Gambler since song wasn't finished by that time (she would have to sing Best Girl instead and who knows this track?).

The demo for Burning Up, although recorded in 1981 as stated in Pre-Madonna album is actually from one year before since it was the only song M kept from her Emmy times after the dissolution of band and, later on, after her contract split to Camille Barbone. She loved it so DAMN HARD that she kept it to release as being not a ROCK ARTIST but as a DANCE ARTIST with a contract to release DANCE SINGLES.

We know about Rebel Heart Tour, and even there the presence of song is more than justified. It was her first "Bitch I'm Madonna" moment ever, as reminded by Belgian fansite Mad-Eyes.

EDIT: I don't believe she'd do justice nowadays to Promise to Try... Anyway Mother & Father is also about David's biological parents and he's not a "little girl" either... Well...

EDIT 2: @MPoweredbitte schön, read these words too, now you get why she would have never used Lucky Star to replace Burning Up. We all know where Lucky Star comes from...

[MaDöner Kebab 6,878]

2 hours ago, Anapausis said:

EDIT: I don't believe she'd do justice nowadays to Promise to Try... Anyway Mother & Father is also about David's biological parents and he's not a "little girl" either... Well...

EDIT 2: @MPoweredbitte schön, read these words too, now you get why she would have never used Lucky Star to replace Burning Up. We all know where Lucky Star comes from...

Burning Up is obviously important in that regard but so is Lucky Star. It was the original name of her first album. The point is, we didn't need a third iteration of Burning Up on guitar, UNLESS it was somehow tweaked. I think a rock medley would have been perfect to also represent how she transformed from her days as the lead singer of a punk band into the rising star of pop.

The backdrop is a clear nod to her friend Martin, who designed many of her early cover artwork. So, that's why in my concept I didn't remove Burning Up entirely. It's an important song with regard to her story but that performance was already tired and unimaginative on the RHT.

[Anapausis 5,914]

8 minutes ago, MPowered said:

Burning Up is obviously important in that regard but so is Lucky Star. It was the original name of her first album. The point is, we didn't need a third iteration of Burning Up on guitar, UNLESS it was somehow tweaked. I think a rock medley would have been perfect to also represent how she transformed from her days as the lead singer of a punk band into the rising star of pop.

The backdrop is a clear nod to her friend Martin, who designed many of her early cover artwork. So, that's why in my concept I didn't remove Burning Up entirely. It's an important song with regard to her story but that performance was already tired and unimaginative on the RHT.

Well, in M's defense she's using this time the original arrangement (and vocals!) to the 1980-81 BU demo, so she's singing like she was at that time in her band where she was the lead (Dan Gilroy led - and still leads to this day - The Breakfast Club). Lucky Star comes from a later period, when she was already established as a dance artist.

Maybe best solution would be her singing a medley of BU and Gambler but, during the Gambler part, she would use original Best Girl arrangement and even some lyrics, but this would be a bigger story to be told prior (not briefly as BU is being told) to the actual performance. Right, @lap?

[Pedro Beltran 4,285]

If HU had followed Vogue it would have been GAY COMA 

[stefo 6,395]

Just a few changes, I like the show very very much already, and I basically added one more song (the finale) and one more reference (Oh father, because I think that the religious moment is quite good but too short, I would add an even brief second track), changed two tunes (Burning up and I will survive) and extended a little more a pair of tracks she cut really too early imo (Papa don't preach and Human nature).

1. NOTHING REALLY MATTERS
2. EVERYBODY (this and the next one are kinda flat imo, it's a pity; the thing improves with OYH and H)
3. INTO THE GROOVE
4. MATERIAL GIRL (RIT-like rock version)
5. OPEN YOUR HEART
6. HOLIDAY/I WANT YOUR LOVE
7. LIVE TO TELL
8. LIKE A PRAYER/OH FATHER (a small extract of the song, verse and chorus, wich dramatic "crescendo" evolves in the Act of contriction choir and Ptince's guitar solo)
9. ACT OF CONTRICTION/LIVING FOR LOVE
10. EROTICA/PAPA DON'T PREACH (first verse and complete chorus included, with a string arrangement and some beats on the chorus)
11. JUSTIFY MY LOVE/FEVER
12. HUNG UP
13. BAD GIRL
14. VOGUE/BREAK MY SOUL
15. HUMAN NATURE (until the complete second chorus)/CRAZY FOR YOU
16. POLITICAL INTERLUDE (shorter and including musically and visually references from the American Life and Rebel Heart eras and The beast within as main thread)
17. DIE ANOTHER DAY
18. DON'T TELL ME
19. MOTHER AND FATHER
20. SECRET
21. LA ISLA BONITA//DON'T CRY FOR ME ARGENTINA (I think this could be theatrically and musically improved)
22. NO FEAR INTERLUDE (I DON'T SEARCH I FIND)
23. BEDTIME STORY
24. RAY OF LIGHT
25. RAIN (I think this is good but needs a theatric improvement to work at its full potential)
26. FROZEN INTERLUDE (about spirituality and selfawareness)
27. LIKE A VIRGIN/BILLIE JEAN (the same idea, but with M on the stage and Jacko as a shadow on the screen, with a well thought coreo that makes her look cool with nice little moves, more attitude than phisical energy)
28. EXPRESS YOURSELF/MUSIC/LIVING FOR LOVE (a 5-6 minutes maedley with good easy coreos, lightness and sing along mood above all)

[Lazaruz 23]

my changes would be

I.Uncuncious Section
(Intro to her uncuncious as she tell us her story going back to the time)
Nothing Really Matters
Frozen
Ray of light
Bedtime Story

II. 80s Section/The beginning 
Bob Monologue /Lucky Star/Material Girl (Intro video).
Everybody.
Into the Hollywood Groove
Burning Up
Open You Heart (Heartbeat snippets)
Holiday/I want your love
In this life (intro)/ Live To Tell/ Spanish Eyes (last chorus after If I ran away bridge)
Virgin Mary /Girl gone wild/Rescue me (Chorus elements)
Act Of Contrition / Unholy
Like a Prayer (Dance mix)
Living for love Outro

III. Ballroom Section
[The queer/party Express yourself section].
I dont search I find (Madonna Interlude)
Up Down Suite Intro
Express yourself (first verse, chorus) 
Deeper and Deeper (Bridge, chorus, conecting to vogue)
Break My Soul (Queens Remix) (Intro)
Vogue
Miniball

IV. 90s section
Bob 90s Interlude
Erotica / You Thrill Me (Candy Shop Snippets)
Papa Dont Preach (Outro Only chorus)
Justify My Love
Fever (Snippet)
Piano (Intro) / Bad Girl 
Human Nature / Crazy for you
Rain / I'll remember (Last Chorus)

V. 00s/Acoustic
The Beast Within Interlude
Die Another Day
Sorry/What it feels like for a girl (Remix Mash up)
Don't Tell Me
Mother and Father / Take a bow (Bridge)
You'll see / I Will Survive
La Isla Bonita
Don't Cry For Me Argentina
American Life (Do I have to change my name bridge outro)

VI. 10s - Celebration
Like a Virgin/Billie jean Interlude
Hollywood (Similar to VMAs performance, enacting the kiss with two other dancers with like a virgin outfits)
Hung Up On Tokischa
Hung up (With a Confessions era look alike dancer)
Give Me All Your Luvin / Bitch I'm Madonna (remixed with Sophie and Doss remix of Whole New World)
Celebration/Music/Give it 2 me (Mash Up)

[Fabiolous 5,491]

I haven't seen the show so I won't express any critique of the setlist, I'm just really surprised that there's no song from Hard Candy? I thought FOR SURE she would have at least one song from each album

[rga98 379]

I think the show is nearly perfect. If it doesn't change I'd be happy with the way it is now. The only song I'd swap is "Justify My Love" for "Sorry". Other than that I'd just extend "Hung Up", "Rain" & "Crazy for You" and I'd turn the "Celebration/Music" outro into a proper medley with Bitch I'm Madonna and remove the MJ interlude to make that an encore. I'd also adjust some of the prerecorded vocals, like in "Everybody". They're way too loud and sounds like cheap lip sync even though she's singing on top of it. I would love "Give It 2 Me" (or any Hard Candy song) on the set list but I can't find a section where it fits and besides "Justify My Love" I wouldn't replace any song except "I Will Survive" and "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" but those are there to stay. I hope "Rain" doesn't get removed. It deserves to be there, "Frozen" is bigger but it's been done to death and "Rain" fits perfectly. I just wish she sang the full song or just a little more of it. Maybe the can replace the "Frozen" backdrop with footage from "Rain".

[androiduser 2,467]

I like the setlist, a few more hits would be welcome, but more than anything I would prefer some older songs to sound a bit more dynamic and richer - Like a Prayer closer to the original, Into the Groove in it's original glory, a more dynamic version of Open your Heart... the crowd goes INSANE every time the original version of Hung Up starts. Some huge hits don't get the same reaction in the more simplified versions.

 

[Anapausis 5,914]

Strangely, this dawn I dreamt of M singing Forbidden Love'94 instead of Bad Girl (with Mercy still on piano). It worked very well in my dream.

[juxnsp 8]

I personally would love that the segment of I Will Survive changed into an acoustic song, different and unique for every show. Combined with small stories about M's career or engaging the audience for a moment while she is singing the song.

I love the energy of both Madonna and the dancers on Bitch I'm Madonna, but that messy outro into Celebration/Music should flow into a different outcome. Maybe she could incorporate elements of every massive tour ending she has had before: Holiday, Keep It Together, Music, Give It 2 Me and even I Rise into Celebration. As she thanks the audience, the crew, the special guests, etc, she and the dancers can finish up the show on a higher note rather than just dissappear on stage. And as the show ends, Bob can reappear (on stage or at the main screen) and kick the audience out as a final fun gag. Or a retrospective of Madonna's music videos goes way back into the past and "resets" the show for the next date. I don't know... Thoughts?

Edited November 2, 2023 by juxnsp
Wrong words (see edit history)

[anton5000 1,494]

From what I've seen so far of the shows, there are many thing that could be improved but my main takes are: Nothing Really Matters wouldn't hurt to have an extra chorus at the end or something rather than finish with repeating sentence, feels short. 

Human Nature / Crazy for you, i still don't understand that strange mashup lol.

"Hung Up", geez... it absolutely NEEDS an extra chorus/outro... the way it hypes people up so much with the breakdown and the "boom boom" bass crescendo just to finish with an abrupt "I don't know what to do" acapella, it's just such a buzz kill. And more so that it transitions to a freaking ballad after lol. You can clearly see people "finally" coming alive and all excited after all these slow songs in that act, just to be left cold again. I would put Hung Up after Bedtime Story and then Ray of Light, I feel it would've fit so much better.

The ending... starting to accept it more and more now, it's good that she doesn't sing much Celebration/Music so people realize that it's actually the outro, not another song. BUT, I wish she would've developed more the "sing-along" part when Bob says "Madonnaaa..., Madonna!!". She did it on the second night in Belgium and it was so much better. Madonna! Can't hear you! Madonna! What you say? Madonna!!... with people chanting. Proper closure. (min 4.28)

 

[SonnyX 64]

When I first read the setlist I was kind of confused. I didn't understand how it would tell M's story but seeing the live clips and reading the explanation by a lot of fans here on this forum has made me appreciate it more and more. There are just a couple of adjustments I would have made (in my opinion) to include some bigger hits and place some songs in a different order just to make the storyline flow better:

Nothing Really Matters
Everybody
Into the Groove
Burning Up
Open your heart
Holiday
Live To Tell
Like a Prayer

= flawless section

Erotica
Justify my love
Fever
Express yourself
Vogue
Bad girl
Human Nature

= Fever needs to be longer cause it makes it a perfect transition to the next song which imo should be EY. HU is out of place here. EY is sexy and empowering and the lingerie outfit reminds me of the EY video. Vogue should follow next to continue the high energy level. Then Bad girl and at last Human nature finishing with the lines ABSOLUTELY NO REGRETS. Just to remind us all again that no matter the backlash M received during this era she has no regrets at all. Crazy for you is just awkward in this section.

The Beast Within
Die Another Day
Don't Tell Me
Mother and Father
La Isla Bonita
Take A Bow

= instead of DCFMA I would have put TAB here instead and not as a mashup but performing LIB and TAB in full. TAB is one of her biggest hits and I know that DCFMA represents her Evita phase but I see it working only in Argentina

I Don't Search I Find
Bedtime Story
Ray of Light
Frozen
Rescue Me

= Rain is quite an odd choice here. The Sickick Remix of Frozen would have been better cause this section would represent her late 90s electronic resurgence and Frozen played a big part in this. Plus the remix went viral last year so it would have been amazing. Rescue Me as the closing number here would have worked perfectly! It fits the dark mood of Frozen and I would have been happy even with an a cappella number sang with the fans.

Like a Virgin / Billie Jean
Hung Up
Give Me All Your Luvin / Girl Gone Wild
Bitch I'm Madonna
Celebration / Music

= after the LAV segment the lines "time goes by so slowly" can be heard and we transition to HU. It would have been a great way to jump from one of her earliest biggest hits to one of her latest. Followed by a mashup of GMAYL and GGW. Then BIM and as the closing song Celebration but as a real mashup with Music and not just a snippet. It would have been cool if M would have stopped performing halfway through Celebration, complete silence, M looking at the screaming crowd and then saying "Hey Mr. DJ put a record on I wanna dance with my baby" and then continuing with Music.

Anyway, I am still happy of what we have!

[thiagosb 255]

Replace Burning Up with Express Yourself. 

Although I love Rain and it is a dream come true to see it live, it simply doesn’t work/fit with the setlist flow. Perhaps, it could be replaced by Frozen.

 

[True Blue 84 1,833]

As how much i love i will survive, I think she just should have played it at the opening night because that relates to the hospital story... 

And i would make it a 80's classic sing a long with songs like Causing a commotion or True Blue, she should do it acoustic and sing it together with the audience, i think that would be great, and switch between 80's classics wich arent included in the setlist ... 

[True Blue 84 1,833]

24 minutes ago, thiagosb said:

Replace Burning Up with Express Yourself. 

Although I love Rain and it is a dream come true to see it live, it simply doesn’t work/fit with the setlist flow. Perhaps, it could be replaced by Frozen.

 

Agree on this one to 

[Blue Jean 15,254]

The show is pretty flawless but considering it’s a hits tour the following songs should feature:

 

Like a Virgin (instead of the MJ crap)

Material Girl (no idea where)

Express Yourself (no idea where)

Music (final encore)

Frozen (perhaps instead of Rain)

 

[BuggedOut 4,122]

I would replace Ray of Light with the bigger hit, Causing a Commotion.

[Anapausis 5,914]

15 hours ago, thiagosb said:

Replace Burning Up with Express Yourself. 

 

Thiaguinho, I would gladly ask you to read carefully these words of mine:

On 10/29/2023 at 8:39 AM, Anapausis said:

Dear, the main problem with Burning Up's choice is that this was ACTUALLY the first finalized song she performed back in 1980 with Emmy and the Emmies that she got to record when already with a contract with Sire Records.

The problem with Gambler is that, ASIDE FROM BEING ALREADY FROM THAT TIME TOO, it was the finalized version to a Emmy track called "Best Girl" that features on the bootleg 1st Night out of Manhattan:

So, she rather got faithful to herstory by performing the demo for Burning Up than performing Gambler since song wasn't finished by that time (she would have to sing Best Girl instead and who knows this track?).

The demo for Burning Up, although recorded in 1981 as stated in Pre-Madonna album is actually from one year before since it was the only song M kept from her Emmy times after the dissolution of band and, later on, after her contract split to Camille Barbone. She loved it so DAMN HARD that she kept it to release as being not a ROCK ARTIST but as a DANCE ARTIST with a contract to release DANCE SINGLES.

We know about Rebel Heart Tour, and even there the presence of song is more than justified. It was her first "Bitch I'm Madonna" moment ever, as reminded by Belgian fansite Mad-Eyes.

EDIT: I don't believe she'd do justice nowadays to Promise to Try... Anyway Mother & Father is also about David's biological parents and he's not a "little girl" either... Well...

EDIT 2: @MPoweredbitte schön, read these words too, now you get why she would have never used Lucky Star to replace Burning Up. We all know where Lucky Star comes from...

If you just wanna save some time, just ignore the things I wrote through the EDITS...

[Anapausis 5,914]

7 hours ago, BuggedOut said:

I would replace Ray of Light with the bigger hit, Causing a Commotion.

I would love a eurodance version of Causing a Commotion, but I guess Sasha's remix for Ray of Light was already done, so...

[Redha DBL 7,349]

What is CBT ?

[Anapausis 5,914]

1 hour ago, Redha DBL said:

What is CBT ?

@MPowered's way to call The Celebration Tour as explicitly stated by him on OP. Reading's fundamental.

[missberic 764]

ADDED MOVED Replaced

1. NOTHING REALLY MATTERS
2. LUCKY STAR (Everybody)
3. INTO THE GROOVE (original version)
4. LIKE A VIRGIN / MATERIAL GIRL (medley on guitar, Burning Up)
5. OPEN YOUR HEART
6. HOLIDAY / I WANT YOUR LOVE
7. IN THIS LIFE INTERLUDE
8. LIVE TO TELL
9. CRAZY FOR YOU
10. EXPRESS YOURSELF (Like a Prayer)
11. LIVING FOR LOVE / BOB DITA INTERLUDE
12. EROTICA / YOU THRILL ME / PAPA DON'T PREACH
13. FEVER (longer, Justify My Love)
14. DEEPER AND DEEPER
15. UP DOWN SUITE INTERLUDE / VOGUE (no catwalk crap)
16. HUMAN NATURE (longer)
17. BAD GIRL (shorter) / RAIN (longer)
18. BEDTIME STORY INTERLUDE (Bedtime Story performance and The Beast Within)
19. RAY OF LIGHT
20. DON'T TELL ME (complete, Die Another Day)
21. 2 SURPRISE SONGS (Mother And Father, I Will Survive, La Isla Bonita and Don't Cry For Me Argentina)
22. I DON'T SEARCH I FIND INTERLUDE
23. 4 MINUTES / GIVE IT 2 ME MEDLEY (Michael Jackson tribute)
24. HUNG UP (longer)
25. CELEBRATION / MUSIC MEDLEY (longer, epic finale)
26. BITCH I'M MADONNA (encore, basically the other way around)

[thiagosb 255]

4 hours ago, Anapausis said:

Thiaguinho, I would gladly ask you to read carefully these words of mine:

If you just wanna save some time, just ignore the things I wrote through the EDITS...

Thiaguinho ♥️

Yes, I see your point. Well, keep Burning Up then and ADD Express Yourself  

I really believe Express Yourself is missing. And Music as well. Full performances, I mean.