Debord

The way I bought the tickets, coordinated with my friends on an Zoom call, I was at a my new job at that time, and I remember one person ringing the bell of the door constantly, and I was there with no lights, and only my computer, only focused on bullying the best tickets, and not answering! It was funny, dangerous and exciting haha! And everyone happy when we bought them! 
I think the effect of thinking that maybe is her last big tour, coming from Madame X / Eurovision / Medellin when things were not looking well and she was on a weird mood, made me think that. And as a fan I thought: ok this is the last time, because I'm also aproaching to my 40's and I thought I would not want to be waiting for hours to have a good place on the floor, and being pushed... But OMG, she was amazing, it was in Barcelona so it was only a few months after the healthscare and she was still a little insecure and stiff, but she gave a great show and I though: f*ck off, if she can do it, I can do it. And that's her effect, making you think that u can do everything if u want and empowered. 
For me Nothing really matters was always one of my favourite videos / songs, and opening the show with this, and the way that Bob says: I'ts a celebration bitches and the music starts... I think is her most iconic intro EVER! And the level was very high with the previous tour! 
 
 
 

Now that the tour is over, what are you favourite memories from it?
I think it's absolutely incredible that folk were talking about it beforehand like she was Michael Jackson going into the This Is It tour. It was going to be a disaster, she couldn't perform anymore, it might not even happen. And here we are, a critical and commercial success, one of history's largest concerts to end, a triumph in every respect.
I was lucky enough to attend opening night in London and I've never felt energy like it at a gig. I'll never forget it.

My favorite memory? 
I guess it was my best Madonna show ever! I sang from beginning to end, including the Beast within, the no fear,. I NEVER ever sung so much at a concert. I really enjoyed myself and Madonna. To me it was perfect. There have been some years I kinda grown apart from Madonna, like not identifying myself with her anymore... And I actually made peace with her. I don't like to say the 4 letters word, but I'm really thankful for her, really really thankful.  watching Rio today, was great too. This Little light of mine was a really sweet surprise, cause I really really really like that song. 
Nothing Really Matters is one of my all time favorite performances. Like a prayer, Beast Within, Rain, Sodade first Lisbon night (my night), MJ. Right now I feel lost, don't know what to believe in, but I like the gospel of Madonna Ciccone. 
Thank you guys for sharing Rio de Janeiro, caralho! 😁
I miss the status, cause I wanted to writte one just to say thank you. 

My favorite memorie is the day i finally got to see her live in person in Amsterdam dec 2nd. 
I looked up to her my entire life. When i was a little boy i allready knew i was into men. And watching Madonna, seeing her support gay men made me feel less lonely in a time when i was still in the closet. She gave me the feeling it was o.k to be gay. I also used to dance to La isla bonita and Causing a Commotion in my sisters room when i was a kid, wearing her tops lol pretending to be Madonna. 
 
I watched all of her videos and bought all of her albums and watched her tours over and over growing up. She was and still is so iconic!.. But for some reason i never got the chance to see her live in person. And then.... The Celebration Tour anoucement came. Me and my boyfriend and 2 co-workers of me imediatly decided we HAD to go. 
I will never forget the day the ticket sale started. The 4 of us all had to work all day so the husband of one of the co-workers had to get tickets for us because he was that day off. I was so nervous that day. Then the moment came, tickets went online and..... his ticketmaster account failed, he couldn't get in.  I was close to cry and pissed off at the same time lol... the 3 of us where on a lunch break when this happened. My boyfriend was at his own job so he didn't get involved in this tickets drama lol... Then when our break was over he texted us he was in, but the show had almost no seats left anymore, not with 4 spots next to each other so we decided to not do it. It was all 4 together or not ( i was thinking, dammit, should i go with my boyfriend without them lol) but im not that kind of person so with pain in my heart i tried to let it go. 
A few minutes later i went online secretly, because we are not allowed to be on our phones while working, to see if it was 100% sold out allready, just curious. And that exact same moment the 2nd Amsterdam date was anounced and went online, i though fuck it, i clicked and got in... I WAS IN! i said to my co-worker IM IN! but its a day later, and we all decided to go for it so i ordered 4 tickets, floor tickets, ( we said we take seats because one of the co workers has a hard time to stand in one place that long ). I was afraid to go back to see if there still where seats availeble so we decided to take the floor tickets.  Once i got to the payment section i needed a device from my bank to make the payment and i was not carrying that with me and i was like nooooooo! Without that i couldn't finish the payment. But then another co worker said: i got it with me in my bag, ... i said get it please, hurry lol... She gave me the device and i could finish the payment.  Tickets for Amsterdam dec 2nd where in the pocket!!! We literally screamed and jumped lol... 
The day of the concert was perfect. It was a 2 hour drive to Amsterdam and the fun started once we got in the car with the 4 of us. I made The Celebration Tour playlist and we sang all the way to Amsterdam. We had so much fun. We got there on time and we got such great spots, in front of the Bedtime Stories cube. It couldn't be more perfect. She was on fire that night. And we all enjoyed it so much. Especially to me it was something i dreamed of my entire life. It was one of the best days of my life and i will never forget it.  
 
So the entire experience from the anoucement to the concert itself is my favorite memorie, all of it... 

My favorite memories were being barricade in the Pit for two of her Madison Square Garden shows in New York City! It had always been my dream to be barricade for Madonna like you see all the screaming fans do in her tour films. I was so thrilled to finally achieve it  So close to the queen while doing what she does best!

Now that the tour is over, what are you favourite memories from it?
I think it's absolutely incredible that folk were talking about it beforehand like she was Michael Jackson going into the This Is It tour. It was going to be a disaster, she couldn't perform anymore, it might not even happen. And here we are, a critical and commercial success, one of history's largest concerts to end, a triumph in every respect.
I was lucky enough to attend opening night in London and I've never felt energy like it at a gig. I'll never forget it.

Now that the tour is over, what are you favourite memories from it?
I think it's absolutely incredible that folk were talking about it beforehand like she was Michael Jackson going into the This Is It tour. It was going to be a disaster, she couldn't perform anymore, it might not even happen. And here we are, a critical and commercial success, one of history's largest concerts to end, a triumph in every respect.
I was lucky enough to attend opening night in London and I've never felt energy like it at a gig. I'll never forget it.

Now that the tour is over, what are you favourite memories from it?
I think it's absolutely incredible that folk were talking about it beforehand like she was Michael Jackson going into the This Is It tour. It was going to be a disaster, she couldn't perform anymore, it might not even happen. And here we are, a critical and commercial success, one of history's largest concerts to end, a triumph in every respect.
I was lucky enough to attend opening night in London and I've never felt energy like it at a gig. I'll never forget it.

Attending my first ever opening night of a tour in London - being there as the crowd went wild when M opened with NRM, catching up with so many fans from all over the world, chatting to Guy and everything M did on stage - I was so close every night and it was such a relief seeing her so well and happy 

Now that the tour is over, what are you favourite memories from it?
I think it's absolutely incredible that folk were talking about it beforehand like she was Michael Jackson going into the This Is It tour. It was going to be a disaster, she couldn't perform anymore, it might not even happen. And here we are, a critical and commercial success, one of history's largest concerts to end, a triumph in every respect.
I was lucky enough to attend opening night in London and I've never felt energy like it at a gig. I'll never forget it.

Troll.

There are a lot of considerations in this. I think folk would instinctively use 'relevant' to mean 'doing really well in the charts' but the charts have become less and less relevant and I don't think most folk pay much attention to them. Music is also far more fragmented than ever before and even with big stars like Taylor and Beyonce, loads of the 'general public' barely know their music aside from big hits from years ago. Neil Tennant from Pet Shop Boys was speaking the other day and was asked about Taylor Swift and said he always found himself wondering 'what's Taylor Swift's Billie Jean?' which I think is saying basically this.
Madonna will always be 'relevant' cos she's one of the last of the megastars from an era where they just totally dominated culture and had a string of hits that were impossible to avoid. Folk know who she is, even if they don't actively listen to her. But in a more prosaic sense of relevancy the tour definitely helped - she was all over the UK media when the tour started here and the lunchtime magazine show This Morning had a whole episode dedicated to her the day before it kicked off.

You're so Deboring.

This line that M worked with relatively obscure producers until Hard Candy just won't die, despite being totally untrue. And after, even someone like Martin Solveig wasn't a big name producer and she's done songs with artists/producers no-one but the most switched on folk would have heard of like The Demolition Crew or SOPHIE. Even someone like Mike Dean had almost exclusively done rap records before working with her (he'd done some songs on the Beyonce self-titled). And then for Madame X it was clearly the most inspired she'd felt in ages and it's very clearly not working with popular folk to chase hits, and most people on here seem to hate it, so there's never any consistency beyond 'I like the older stuff and I've convinced myself it's cos of the producers'.

The gross would put it comfortably in the top 10 tours of the year for 2023 - obviously it's run 2023/24 so it won't fit neatly in one, but it's a great achievement by any measure and it being a woman in her 60s, over 40 years into her career, and coming soon after she almost died AND there was this air of 'she's not going to be able to do this, it'll be a disaster' around, just makes it an even bigger triumph. Getting disappointed cos it didn't gross as much as tours from over a decade ago is just dumb.

And (very very roughly) adjusted for inflation just these 5 tours alone come to almost $2 billion in gross.

And (very very roughly) adjusted for inflation just these 5 tours alone come to almost $2 billion in gross.

And (very very roughly) adjusted for inflation just these 5 tours alone come to almost $2 billion in gross.

Platinum in UK too.

Or applaud Mirwais for that 

I'm a big PSB fan (and going to see them for the umpteenth time in a few weeks) but they're very much in traditional legacy act territory - making records reminiscent of their peak era, which get respectful reviews and debut in the top ten but then vanish from the chart and no-one but the most hardcore of fans ever listens to them again. Obviously a record like Madame X didn't cut through but I think that's in part cos it was a 'difficult' pop album and I think it was Madonna firing on all creative cylinders (and I think there's plenty of hooks in there).
If we're going to compare Madonna to her peers, let's compare her to her actual peers. Michael Jackson, Prince, Whitney, George Michael are all gone. Janet hasn't done a record in 9 years. U2 haven't done a new record in 7 years. Mariah hasn't done a new record in 6 years. Acts like Bon Jovi and Red Hot Chili Peppers have their own vociferous fanbases who loudly complain that the stuff they put out now is nowhere near as good as their classic stuff. Fans of 'legacy' artists need to adjust expectations and think about how nostalgia and ageing feeds into fandom. As Madonna fans I think we're pretty lucky.

If I "silently judge" something who cares, cos no-one will ever know? And no, I'm not in the habit of going around judging people's appearances but let's not pretend that someone "commenting" on a haircut is remotely comparable to the societal obsession with tearing apart women's appearances. I don't see what's idealistic about it, it's very easy to respect bodily autonomy and keep any comments to ourselves.

I'm a big PSB fan (and going to see them for the umpteenth time in a few weeks) but they're very much in traditional legacy act territory - making records reminiscent of their peak era, which get respectful reviews and debut in the top ten but then vanish from the chart and no-one but the most hardcore of fans ever listens to them again. Obviously a record like Madame X didn't cut through but I think that's in part cos it was a 'difficult' pop album and I think it was Madonna firing on all creative cylinders (and I think there's plenty of hooks in there).
If we're going to compare Madonna to her peers, let's compare her to her actual peers. Michael Jackson, Prince, Whitney, George Michael are all gone. Janet hasn't done a record in 9 years. U2 haven't done a new record in 7 years. Mariah hasn't done a new record in 6 years. Acts like Bon Jovi and Red Hot Chili Peppers have their own vociferous fanbases who loudly complain that the stuff they put out now is nowhere near as good as their classic stuff. Fans of 'legacy' artists need to adjust expectations and think about how nostalgia and ageing feeds into fandom. As Madonna fans I think we're pretty lucky.

Pet Shop Boys have had their moments where they've tried a new direction and fans have hated it (something they referenced in the BBC doc). So now they put out albums which sound like what people expect Pet Shop Boys albums to sound like. I would take Madame X anyway over Madonna doing a "this is what people expect from me" album, unless her heart is really in making that kind of record. We'll see!

Or applaud Mirwais for that