Madonna Tour Stages Ranked

[Future Lover 1,010]

Madonna is known in the live performance industry for her creative stages. How would you ranked them from the worst to the best? 

 

 

10. Who's That Girl Tour

09. Drowned World Tour

08. The Virgin Tour

07. Sticky and Sweet Tour

06. The Girlie Show Tour

05. Blond Ambition Tour

04. Confessions Tour

03. Reinvention Tour

02. MDNA Tour

01. Rebel Heart Tour

[Headless.Headphones 728]

I really have no idea how to do this but all I can say is 

 

Rebel Heart >>>>>> The rest

 

Because I knew it was going to be her longest stage to date and she might appear to be close to me, and she sure was!

[mr00mister 893]

IMO

 

1. Confessions Tour: having screens on the floor was a game changer, and adding side catwalks was a clever thing. the dynamics of the different position of the screens gave the show a refreshing vibe, and props like the giant disco ball, the carousel horse, the cage or the giant mirror cross were really interesting, and let's not talk about the HUGE parkour prop on the entire stage! the cylindrical transparent screen (something U2 used 10 years later as the main feature of their show) was also a relevant addition, and it was cleverly used through the show.
2. The MDNA Tour: it was the perfect combination of stage shaping and technology. the roof was being used for the first time as a relevant part of the stage, and the controversial triangle was an intelligent desing. the lifting screens on the main stage, known as The Matrix, gave something interesting to look and transform the stage completely, without using actual props. it was hypnotizing!
3. Blond Ambition Tour: the more I see this show, the less I understand its desing. where do all the things go? the main lifter, in front of the stage, was a nice addition to her following tours.
4. The Girlie Show: interesting desing, the lifter used on Erotica blew my mind, and so did the catwalk.
5. Sticky & Sweet Tour: the cylindrical screens at the end of the runway gave a nice efect, but here we start with the now classic 3-screen configuration. the big M's at each side of the stage looked incredible each night. I still don't understand how did the moving band appeared on the runway for numbers like Heartbeat or Like a Prayer.
6. Rebel Heart Tour: A gorgeous concept, and a good way to reach more audience, usually ignored by the common stage configurations. The Machine, the screen that morphed onto the floor, was the main protagonist of this stage.
7. Re-Invention Tour: A wonderful take on everything M had done before. the rotating floor and the huge side screens were so incredible. the V shaped transparent runway was also something impressive to see on a stage.
8. Who's That Girl? Tour: the addition of screens, projections, and the moving band on the floor marked the beginning of an era where the stage was slowly becoming more important on her shows.
9. Drowned World Tour: lots of screens, a nice cage on the ceiling with more screens. it looked wantastic for that kind of show.
10. The Virgin Tour: a basic stage, perfect for its time, but too common comparing it to the rest of the contemporary artists.

we have to consider how her old tours used physial props on the background, which meant a large change of scene. now, they have the HUGE support of screens.

[Tilly 4]

(Best) MDNA Tour

Confessions Tour

Blond Ambition Tour

Sticky & Sweet Tour

The Girlie Show Tour

Reinvention Tour

Drowned World Tour

Rebel Heart Tour

Who's that girl Tour

(Worst) The Virgin Tour

[musicinferno 3,715]

Worst to best:

 

The Virgin Tour

Re-Invention Tour

Who's That Girl Tour

Drowned World Tour

Blond Ambition Tour

The Girlie Show

Sticky & Sweet Tour

MDNA Tour

Rebel Heart Tour

Confessions Tour

[Avatar 69]

From best to worst

Drowned World Tour - It doesn't particularly stand the test of time, but I remember how hyped up I was for the first M's tour that went full on embracing new form of medias, combining the ever-evolving stage design and a magnificent projections into a cohesive 2-hour dark pop theater.

Reinvention Tour - As opposed to DWT, the tour went minimal in setting, but delivered some amazing routines, song versions I still love and LaCroix corset alone stands as an iconic bit of M's imagery for me. Adore the musical aspect of this tour.

Rebel Heart Tour - I'm yet to see a good recording of this tour, since I sadly missed it, but from what I saw, this is Madonna I like the best. Playful imagery, toned down for a couple of darker-themed performances, and shitload of experimenting. Glad she finally fully embraced the 20s as a full section of the tour.

MDNA Tour - Even with a couple of "misses" in song selections, MDNA is a standout tour. She was in a dark place, and she traveled to light by the end of it. She made the odd choices work here. The opening, dark and atmospheric, an amazing back-to-back performance of "Like a Virgin Waltz" and "Love Spent", the soul of "Like a Prayer". So much to enjoy, and so cohesive.

Blond Ambition Tour - From iconic to cringe-worthy (Mah-tee-real goil, anyone?), this tour is a display of the classic Madonna world cherished and feared. The chameleon at her full force. "Express Yourself" alone worked wonders for me.

The Girlie Show Tour - Just a few steps away from BAT, actually, but the tour that delivered somewhat more refined version of concepts that were set just a couple of years prior to it. Great setlist, only overshadowed by some erratic on-stage behavior here and there. Amazing closure of her overly sexual persona, into a more refined mistress.

The Virgin Tour - Raw, strong and attention hungry, this is the Madonna I fell in love with. As simple as that. Classic for a reason.

Sticky and Sweet Tour - She seemed exhausted creatively, at least when it comes to stage setting and groundbreaking song reinventions, however, it was a fun, colourful tour with a couple of obvious highlights and some odd choices. It worked, but will never pop instantly in my head when I'm considering her greatest performances.

Confessions Tour - Somehow it never worked for me, imagery-wise, and I was never able to connect the themes with the setlist. Choreography was either all over the place or nothing would happen. "Jump" was a mess of on-stage visuals. As opposed to that, some of the tracks got the renditions that trample all over other performances, namely "Erotica" or "Paradise", for example. Fell in love with "Future Lovers" thanks to this tour.

Who's That Girl Tour - Seen it on DVD. Once. Glad she had fun with it.

EDIT: I fucked up, just realized the title of the topic. Damn it. XD

Anyhow, stages, from best to worst:

 

Drowned World Tour

Rebel Heart Tour

Blond Ambition Tour

Reinvention Tour

The Girlie Show Tour

MDNA Tour

Confessions Tour

Sticky and Sweet Tour

Who's That Girl Tour

The Virgin Tour

Edited September 28, 2016 by Avatar (see edit history)

[vitoralmeiida 1,062]

I believe this topic is about the stages, not the performance, so in my opinion those are M's best stages (from best to worst):

 

1. The Confessions Tour

2. The MDNA Tour

3. Rebel Heart Tour

4. The Re-Invention Tour

5. Blond Ambition Tour

6. Sticky & Sweet Tour

7. Drowned World Tour

8. The Girlie Show

9. The Virgin Tour

10. Who's That Girl Tour

[Clark_Kent 1,044]

From Best to Worst:

 

1. The MDNA Tour (it combined the best from screen projections + the best from theatrical stage)

2. Blond Ambition Tour (brings revolutionary theatrical stage)

3. Drowned World Tour (brings amazing tecnology)

4. Sticky and Sweet Tour (great use of multiple screens and catwalk)

5. The Girlie Show (sexy circus with impact elements)

6. Confessions Tour (just lot of screens... Drowned World did it better)

7. Re-Invention Tour (simply but classy)

8. Rebel Heart Tour (simply but messy)

9. Virgin Tour (old school stuff)

10. Who's That Girl Tour (Too much to handle)

[mr00mister 893]

I updated my previous post on this thread, adding a commentary on each stage.