Material Girl Takes Manhattan
From dancing atop a mechanical bull to soaring through the air with karate kicks, Madonna pulled out all the stops to dazzle the audience in number two of her five sold out Drowned World tour shows at Madison Square Garden.
In an extravagant performance unmatched since her 1993 Girlie Show tour, the middle-aged material girl put on a non-stop two-hour show featuring six costume changes, including a punk-style kilt outfit (obviously in tribute to her Scottish husband Guy Ritchie), a kick-butt karate geisha get-up and a country cowgirl dress.
More evident than her costume changes, perhaps, was something never seen before in past concerts -- Madonna playing guitar. It's a talent she has been perfecting for the past eight months and she took every chance to show it off on stage.
Fans were treated to a sensory overload of stage effects and choreography, from "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon"-inspired martial arts stunts to dancers donning laser helmets. The pop-queen unleashed a 22-song run, concentrating heavily on tracks off her latest albums, "Music" and "Ray of Light".
As usual, the Grammy-award winning artist pushed the envelope, screaming vulgarities at the audience, showing near-porn Japanese anime during a costume change and having one dancer suffocate his "Candy Perfume Girl" on stage. At one point she even broke out a rifle to shoot one of her dancers (reminiscent of her banned "What It Feels Like For A Girl" music video).
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To say the show was an all-around crowd-pleaser, however, is inherently untrue. Many left the Garden disappointed with the obvious lack of old material performed. Of her twelve #1 singles, she performed only one -- her latest, "Music". Some audience members never left the comfort of their chairs until classic favorites such as "Holiday" and "La Isla Bonita" brought them to their dancing feet.
Others were irritated by the hints of songs they were teased with but never saw performed. "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" was nothing more than a musical interlude featuring her dancers. The audience was also enjoyed short-lived excitement when only a segment of "Open Your Heart" was played between songs.
But, as one longtime fan explained, it was most likely difficult for Madonna to incorporate everything that fans would have wanted to hear. After all, it was the Drowned World tour, not an "Immaculate Collection" tour. "She just has so much material to choose from, it would have been impossible for her to please everyone," says fan Shari Vo-Ta.
Die-hard fans paid into the thousands of dollars on the black market for tickets to catch a glimps of the performer. But those who missed out this time around have nothing to fear. Contrary to earlier reports, Mrs. Guy Ritchie has no plans to give up her performing life entirely for her family. Publicists say that this will not be her last tour.
Ultimately, the 42-year-old Madonna proved that she has only gotten better with age and that she will never shed her image as the ultimate trendsetter, even if she is, as her encore outfit spelled out in sequins across her chest, a mother.
Written by Sue Chan.
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