iFeature | MADONNA The Celebration Tour in Full-Swing!
She’s on the march! Madonna has a lot to CELEBRATE as her latest world tour hits the road and gets rave reviews from fans and critics! The extensive set is an introspective look at an unparalleled career that is still going strong.
With her first set of four sold-out performances in London’s O2 Arena, under her belt, the Queen of Pop, Madonna is on target to take her show to its next world-trotting stops. Critics and audiences have lauded The Celebration Tour as everything that the pop legend promised and more, and although it didn’t go on without some glitches — including the star player herself having to address some health concerns that pushed the original summer launch into the fall, the show is proving wildly ambitious as it weaves through four decades of the artist’s career.
On night one of the Queen of Pop’s Celebration Tour the star hit a snag when a technical issue brought the show to a stop, but far from a standstill, and the O2 Arena’s strict Sunday curfew forced Madonna to cut the setlist short, leaving attendees without a proper final act. Madonna took it all in stride though, and weathered the snafus, apologizing and using the extra time to riff with her fans about her longevity, thank her children for giving her strength, and reveal just how ill she was. “I didn’t think I was going to make it,” the artist said (from deadline.com).
Madonna then went into an acoustic version of Gloria Gaynor’s classic dance floor anthem “I Will Survive”. Clearly! Rescheduling the North American lead of the tour while recovering, allowed her to retool and finesse parts of The Celebration Tour which is a deeply personal look at her climb as an artist, into an icon. After a rousing audience warm-up from drag comedian and personality Bob the Drag Queen (www.bobthedragqueen.com), Madonna opened the setlist with her 1999 hit “Nothing Really Matters”. The track, from her Grammy-winning Ray Of Light, was always structured as one of her most introspective, self-analytical looks at her vices and devices.
It isn’t long before Madonna dives into the club scene, revisiting several of her earliest hit singles including “Everybody”, “Burning Up” and “Holiday” to illustrate her seismic 80s debut and her profound impact on the culture. In one of the most profound moments of the show, Madonna segues from the joy of that rise, to pay respect to the AIDS crisis that took so many of her closest confidants in a transportive rendition of “Live To Tell”. Fans have all chronicled it as one of the more breathtaking moments of the show, with Madonna moving through a window in space and time over the stage.
The show also features appearances from her children who have certainly proven their talents and keen ability to grab the spotlight, although Mama Madonna is all too content and delighted to share it with her family. With four decades of greatest hits to visit, The Celebration Tour is meeting the bar of matching fan expectations who have been wanting their idol to revisit and recall some of her greatest chart-toppers, some of which are making their concert debut with Celebration. Musical director Stuart Price reported that many of the tracks in the setlist are arranged to sound like the original masters, giving them their most familiar and authentic presentation in a live setting yet.
The next stop on her journey will take Madonna across Europe with stops in Spain, Belgium, Denmark, and France, before returning to London and then hitting the States with a North American arrival and three shows at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.
Get your “FansEyeView” of Madonna’s “The Celebration Tour” Four Decades from the fan perspective in this online capture of the opening number:
THE CELEBRATION TOUR | starring Madonna | is weaving its way to a city near you! Goto madonna.com for the latest tour information and where to get available tickets.
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