Madonna-MDNA Tour
by Suzanne Drager
photo by Sheila Broderick
Madonna kicked off her MDNA World Tour in June, meeting with various forms of controversy at almost every stop. It’s no surprise that Madge, the undeniable reigning Queen of Pop, knows how to push buttons and Denver was no exception, or was it?
The Pepsi Center came alive Thursday night, opening with ardent fans donning costumes from every era of her Madgesty’s music; a couple of the more imaginative ones showing up in full-length white cotton bath robes, complete with matching head towels, reminiscent of the “Truth or Dare” era. The night started as an overly lit, dance club atmosphere with most fans drinking and fervently dancing to the rhythms of opener DJ MiSha Skye. According to some reviews, before Madge even hit the stage at the sold-out house things started going horribly awry. First, Madge is accused of being unapologetically three hours late. Sure, she was late. She’s always late. But in truth, it is only about an hour, and the bulk of fans didn’t seem to mind. There wasn’t a lot of booing or chanting during the wait, fans were busy taking pictures, dancing to the music feed, and people watching. No one was walking out in frustration; at least the seats didn’t show it.
The curtain dropped at 10:50 to reveal a vision of a Catholic church flanked with gargoyle-costumed dancers contorting their bodies eerily, as if possessed by forces beyond the natural realm. And red-robed monks pushed a large, chained incense burner back and forth across the lengthy stage. Then, what has become the real “controversy” was about to hit full force.
Next up was the Tarantino-esque vignette featuring Gang Bang, opening to a seedy motel room decorated with a crucifix on the wall near an open window. Masked men appeared, one after another, as a gun-wielding Madonna shoots each to an even larger backdrop of very realistic and well-timed blood splatters. A noticeable gasp and a mere split second moment of shock hit the audience, seemingly due to sheer surprise. And the exquisite timing of the shots and blood splatters, after which the audience immediately erupted in shouts of “Bang Bang” right along with Queen Madge as the gun shots continued to ring. No mass exodus, no booing, and no real measure of fan offense was taken, as reported by some media outlets, and none was intended. A visible 99.99 percent plus of the fans got it…. the media, not so much. Unless, just maybe, the media were trying to be ‘controversial” too? Apparently latching on to a recently reported twenty or so fans who reportedly complained about Madonna’s on-stage, artful gun dramatization, in an event center with a capacity of over 18,000. Hmmm, two sides of the same coin, one for performance and one for ratings, both for profit and controversy; an interesting turn, but not much substance. Just chalk it up to media hype, unnecessary, now national, media hype.
As to the rest of the evening, everything was meticulously calculated theatre, rather than traditional music concert, as with most Madonna events. Including some inklings of lip-synching vocals in the middle some of the more heavily choreographed songs. The vocals never missed, which, when given the sheer physicality of the show, would be nearly impossible.
For all the firepower, the marching band rendition of “Express Yourself” stole the show, featuring marching drummers suspended from the sky. A definite downer for some fans seemed to be the cabaret styled, slowed-down ballad version of “Like A Virgin.” As for Madonna’s performance of the song, it appeared to be an artful and reflective interpretation of her past, her youth, and her career as she looked back, but fell flat for the audience, who was just there to dance and sing along to the original version of the song, maybe, rightfully so.
Madonna’s MDNA tour is a phenomenal and artful performance full of controversy and politics; unfortunately, just not the overly exaggerated, Colorado-specific version of controversy hyped by various media outlets this round. It should also go without saying that this wasn’t a greatest-hits tour, which may have disappointed a few Denver fans in the beginning (fans who were expecting some full, original renditions of the hits), but even those fans were still having a great time all night.
To sum it up, The Pepsi Center was packed to the very end with screaming Madonna fans begging for more. To those that were there, and to those that weren’t, enough said.
Category: National News
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