Moderators BATCAT Posted October 1, 2012 Moderators Share Posted October 1, 2012 This all happened because my wife is a megafan. I like a lot of madonna's music but a lot of it I can take a pass on. I did think it would be cool to see her in concert though so I joined her for this show, her first tour since we've been together. It was at Rogers Arena in Vancouver. We had tremendous seats. There was a "regular" stage and also a section that jutted out like a "V"- we were right by the tip of that so when she walked out to the tip of it she was, like, ten or fifteen feet from us. Visually it was just amazing- lots of projecting stuff onto the stage (made me think of the recent production of The Wall was, actually) and over the top lights and costumes. In fact I would say in terms of visual appeal, this show and The Wall were probably the most impressive I've seen. It began with hooded figures chanting and lighting this giant (like, the size of a person) incense ball, which was then swung back and forth across the stage on a chain. It was exactly like being at a Ghost concert, if Ghost had, like, a billion dollars. It was a mix of hits and somewhat less-known stuff. The feel and arrangements were sometimes a bit altered and sometimes drastically so. ("Like a Virgin" was a weird piano-driven dirge with her lying on the floor and then crawling on top of the piano) The mood was all over the place but sort of unexpectedly dark much of the time. She clearly wasn't doing a straight up "feel-good hits" performance. She seemed kind of irritated with the crowd at times too. The band was good but I wished they got a bit more chance to shine... at times they were just kinda playing along in the background to pre-tracked stuff. Also a smaller band than usual (per Mrs Squid): the core band drums, guitar, keys, and some backup singers. Occasionally Madonna played her black Les Paul a bit. Of course it wouldn't be a Madonna appearance without scrutinizing her appearance so: she really did look fantastic. From about 12 feet away: Yes, she had bony, sinewy hands, but otherwise she looked absolutely beautiful. She was also unexpectedly very petite. There were a few weak spots in the show where my attention wandered but overall it was pretty damn impressive and I enjoyed it a lot. I'll be going the the Seattle show on Tuesday so I'll add any further thoughts I have after that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators BATCAT Posted October 1, 2012 Author Moderators Share Posted October 1, 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators BATCAT Posted October 1, 2012 Author Moderators Share Posted October 1, 2012 And yes, this is a drum line suspended from the ceiling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sharkbait Posted October 2, 2012 Members Share Posted October 2, 2012 Yes, she had bony, sinewy hands, but otherwise she looked absolutely beautiful. (cracking up!) Do you go to many of these mega-shows? I never do; 900 persons at The Great American Music Hall in SF is my upper limit for viewing live music. Any bigger than that and start getting distracted by the audience- borderline agoraphobia, maybe? Anyway, interested that the huge audience wasn't mentioned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members OldGuitarPlayer Posted October 2, 2012 Members Share Posted October 2, 2012 What kind of potato did you use to take those photos? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators BATCAT Posted October 2, 2012 Author Moderators Share Posted October 2, 2012 Yes, she had bony, sinewy hands, but otherwise she looked absolutely beautiful.(cracking up!)Do you go to many of these mega-shows? I never do; 900 persons at The Great American Music Hall in SF is my upper limit for viewing live music. Any bigger than that and start getting distracted by the audience- borderline agoraphobia, maybe? Anyway, interested that the huge audience wasn't mentioned. I don't enjoy being part of huge audiences, normally, and as a rule I don't like giant shows because it often means being so far form the stage you may as well be watching it on TV, but this all kind of changed when my wife and I started hanging out. She writes concert reviews for a paper so we will get really nice seats for free; when you're right up front you don't pay much attention to all the people behind you. It's more like you're seeing the show at a large club than a stadium-type venue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators BATCAT Posted October 2, 2012 Author Moderators Share Posted October 2, 2012 What kind of potato did you use to take those photos? My phone. It actually takes fairly nice photos under more static conditions, but when there's a lot of movement and changes in light (a lot of both that night for sure!) it doesn't do as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members vanlatte Posted October 2, 2012 Members Share Posted October 2, 2012 I would totally see that concert. Say what you want about Madonna, she knows how to put on a show. So few bands these days get the Bigger Than Life aspect, it's always a treat to see it in action. And Like a Prayer is the best double entendre ever written Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members twostone Posted October 2, 2012 Members Share Posted October 2, 2012 I would totally see that concert. Say what you want about Madonna, she knows how to put on a show. So few bands these days get the Bigger Than Life aspect, it's always a treat to see it in action. And Like a Prayer is the best double entendre ever written That's because Mandona is American icon idol as the queen of pop and can pack the house and charge what ever it takes to cover the cost of the production of the larger then life show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators BATCAT Posted October 2, 2012 Author Moderators Share Posted October 2, 2012 That's because Mandona is American icon idol as the queen of pop and can pack the house and charge what ever it takes to cover the cost of the production of the larger then life show. Yeah, I couldn't even count the number of semis behind the venue. Even a lot of "big" artists couldn't afford to put on a show of that magnitude night after night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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